“Vaisampayana said, ‘It is known that the spiritual sons of Brahman were
the six great Rishis (already mentioned). There was another of the name
of Sthanu. And the sons of Sthanu, gifted with great energy, were, it is
known, eleven. They were Mrigavayadha, Sarpa, Niriti of great fame:
Ajaikapat, Ahivradhna, and Pinaki, the oppressor of foes; Dahana and
Iswara, and Kapali of great splendour; and Sthanu, and the illustrious
Bharga. These are called the eleven Rudras. It hath been already said,
that Marichi, Angiras. Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, and Kratu--these six great
Rishis of great energy--are the sons of Brahman. It is well-known in the
world that Angiras’s sons are three,--Vrihaspati, Utathya, and Samvarta,
all of rigid vows. And, O king, it is said that the sons of Atri are
numerous. And, being great Rishis, they are all conversant with the
Vedas, crowned with ascetic success, and of souls in perfect peace. And,
O tiger among kings, the sons of Pulastya of great wisdom are Rakshasas,
Monkeys, Kinnaras (half-men and half-horses), and Yakshas. And, O king,
the son of Pulaha were, it is said, the Salabhas (the winged insects),
the lions, the Kimpurushas (half-lions and half-men), the tigers, bears,
and wolves. And the sons of Kratu, sacred as sacrifices, are the
companions of Surya, (the Valikhilyas), known in three worlds and devoted
to truth and vows. And, O protector of the Earth, the illustrious Rishi
Daksha, of soul in complete peace, and of great asceticism, sprung from
the right toe of Brahman. And from the left toe of Brahman sprang the
wife of the high-souled Daksha. And the Muni begat upon her fifty
daughters; and all those daughters were of faultless features and limbs
and of eyes like lotus-petals. And the lord Daksha, not having any sons,
made those daughters his Putrikas (so that their sons might belong both
to himself and to their husbands). And Daksha bestowed, according to the
sacred ordinance, ten of his daughters on Dharma, twenty-seven on Chandra
(the Moon), and thirteen on Kasyapa. Listen as I recount the wives of
Dharma according to their names. They are ten in all--Kirti, Lakshmi,
Dhriti, Medha, Pushti, Sraddha, Kria, Buddhi, Lajja, and Mali. These are
the wives of Dharma as appointed by the Self-create. It is known also
throughout the world that the wives of Soma (Moon) are twenty-seven. And
the wives of Soma, all of sacred vows, are employed in indicating time;
and they are the Nakshatras and the Yoginis and they became so for
assisting the courses of the worlds.