'Indra' (
Sanskrit: इनà¥à¤¦à¥à¤° or इंदà¥à¤°, ''indra'') is the god of
weather and
war, and lord of
Svargaloka in
Hinduism. Mentioned first as the chief deity in the sacred text of
Rig Veda, Indra is bestowed with a heroic and almost brash character.
Origins
Indra or Indhor is attested as a god of the
Mitanni. If Indra as a deity is cognate to other Indo-European gods, either
thunder gods such as
Thor or
Perun, or heroic gods, or gods of intoxicating drinks, his name has either not been preserved in any other branch, or else it is itself an Indo-Iranian innovation.
Janda (1998:221) suggests that the
Proto-Indo-European (or
Graeco-Aryan) predecessor of Indra had the epitheta ''
★ trigw-welumos'' "smasher of the enclosure" (of
Vritra,
Vala) and ''diye-snūtyos'' "impeller of streams" (the liberated rivers, corresponding to Vedic ''apam ajas'' "agitator of the waters"), which resulted in the Greek gods
Triptolemos and
Dionysos.
In the religious practices of the foundation of Hinduism, i.e.
Vedic civilization, Indra has prominence over the continuation of chief god of the Indo-European pantheon
Dyēus (Dyēus appears in the
Vedas as
Dyaus Pita, a relatively minor deity who, interestingly, is the father of Indra). Compare to this the relatively low status of
Tyr compared to
Odin or
Thor in
Norse paganism. The battle between Indra and
Vritra is reflected in the
Avesta, but only among the Indo-Aryans does Indra appear to have risen to the head of the pantheon.
Indra in the Rig Veda
The
Rig-Veda states,
''He under whose supreme control are horses, all chariots, the villages, and cattle'';
''He who gave being to the Sun and Morning, who leads the waters, He, O men, is Indra.'' (2.12.7, trans. Griffith)
It further states,
“''Indra, you lifted up the outcast who was oppressed, you glorified the blind and the lame.''†(Rg-Veda 2:13:12)[1]
Indra is the chief god of the
Rigveda (besides
Agni). He delights in drinking
Soma, and the central
Vedic myth is his heroic defeat of
Vritra, liberating the
rivers, or alternatively, his smashing of the
Vala, a stone enclosure where the
Panis had imprisoned the cows, and
Ushas (dawn). He is the god of war, smashing the stone fortresses of the
Dasyu, and invoked by combatants on both sides in the
Battle of the Ten Kings.
The Rig-Veda frequently refers to him as 'Åšakra' - the mighty-one. In the Vedic period, the number of gods was assumed to be thirty-three and Indra was their lord. (The slightly later Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad enumerates the gods as the eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras, the twelve Adityas, Indra and Prajapati). As lord of the Vasus, Indra was also referred to as 'VÄsava'.
By the age of the
Vedanta, Indra became the prototype for all lords and thus a king could be called MÄnavendra (Indra or lord of men) and
Rama, the hero of the
Ramayana, was referred to as RÄghavendra (Indra of the clan of Raghu). Hence the original Indra was also referred to as Devendra (Indra of the Devas). However, Sakra and Vasava were used exclusively for the original Indra.
Though, modern texts usually adhere to the name Indra, the traditional Hindu texts (the Vedas, epics and Puranas) use Indra, Sakra and Vasava interchangeably and with the same frequency.
"''Of the Vedas I am the Sama Veda; of the demigods I am Indra, the king of heaven; of the senses I am the mind; and in living beings I am the living force [consciousness].''" (Bhagavad Gita 10.22)
[1]
Status and function
Indra is an important god in many Hindu mythological tales. He leads the
Devas (the gods who form and maintain
Heaven and the elements, such as
Agni (Fire),
Varuna (Water) and
Surya (Sun), and constantly wages war against the demonic
Asuras of the netherworlds, or
Patala, who oppose morality and
dharma. He thus fights in the timeless battle between good and evil. As the God of War, he is also regarded as one of the
Guardians of the directions, representing the east.
Modern Hindus, however tend to see Indra as minor deity in comparison to others in the Hindu pathenon, such as
Shiva,
Vishnu,
Devi or
Surya. A Puranic story illustrating the subjugation of Indra's pride is illustrated in the story of
Govardhan hill where
Krishna,
avatar or incarnation of
Vishnu carried the hill and protected his devotees when Indra, angered by non-worship of him, launched rains over the village.
Characteristics
In
RigVeda,
Indra is repeatedly described as a fair skinned person:
''"Fair cheeks hath Indra, Maghavan, the Victor, Lord of a great host, Stormer, strong in action.
What once thou didst in might when mortals vexed thee, where now, O Bull, are those thy hero exploits?"'' (RigVeda, Book 3, Hymn XXX: Griffith)
[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv03030.htm]
''"May the strong Heaven make thee the Strong wax stronger: Strong, for thou art borne by thy two strong Bay Horses. So, fair of cheek, with mighty chariot, mighty, uphold us, strong-willed, thunderarmed, in battle."'' (RigVeda, Book 5, Hymn XXXVI: Grffith)
[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv05036.htm]
Indra's weapon, which he used to kill
Vritra, (with the help of other gods), is the thunderbolt (
Vajra), though he also uses a
bow, a
net and a hook. He rides a large, four-tusked white elephant called
Airavata. When portrayed having four arms, he has lances in two of his hands which resemble elephant goads. When he is shown to have two, he holds the Vajra and a bow .
[2]
Indra lives in
Svarga in the clouds around
Mt. Meru. Deceased warriors go to his hall after death, where they live without sadness, pain or fear. They watch the
Apsaras and the
Gandharvas dance, and play games. The gods of the elements, celestial sages, great kings and warriors enrich his court.
Relations with other gods
He is married to
Indrani (whose father,
Puloman, Indra killed), and is the father of
Arjuna (by
Kunti),
Jayanta,
Midhusa,
Nilambara,
Khamla,
Rbhus,
Rsabha. Indra is also the father of
Vali and brother to
Surya. He is attended to by the
Maruts (and the
Vasus), children of
Diti (mother of demons) and
Rudra. Indra had slayed Diti's previous wicked children, so she hoped her son would be more powerful than him and kept herself pregnant for a century, practicing
magic to aid her fetal son. When Indra discovered this, he threw a thunderbolt at her and shattered the fetus into 7 or 49 parts; each part regenerated into a complete individual, and the parts grew into the Maruts, a group of storm gods, who are less powerful than Indra.
Stories about Indra
Indra is not a perfect being, and is ascribed with more human characteristics and vices than any other Vedic deity. Perhaps consequently, he also has the most hymns dedicated to him: 250 (Masson-Oursel and Morin, 326). A well-known story about Indra tells of a sin that he committed and how he was punished for it.
Indra and Vritra
Vritra, an
asura, stole all the water in the world and Indra drank much
Soma to prepare himself for the battle with the huge serpent. He passed through Vritra's ninety-nine fortresses, slew the monster and brought water back to Earth.
In a later version of the story, Vritra was created by
Tvashtri to get revenge for Indra's murder of his son,
Trisiras, a pious
Brahmin whose increase of power worried Indra. Vritra won the battle and swallowed Indra, but the other gods forced him to vomit Indra out. The battle continued and Indra fled.
Vishnu and the
Rishis brokered a truce, and Indra swore he would not attack Vritra with anything made of metal, wood or stone, nor anything that was dry or wet, or during the day or the night. Indra used the foam from the waves of the ocean to kill him at twilight.
In yet another version, recounted in the
Mahabharata,
Vritra was a Brahmin who got hold of supernatural powers, went rogue and became a danger to the gods. Indra had to intervene, and slew him after a hard fight. A horrible
goddess named
BrÄhmanahatya (the personified sin of Brahmin murder) came from the dead corpse of
Vritra and pursued Indra, who hid inside a lotus flower. Indra went to
Brahma and begged forgiveness for having killed a Brahmin.
"Vajrayudha" which Indra possessed is believed to be prepared from backbone of a sage Dadhichi to kill Asuras.
Ahalya's curse
Indra had an affair with
Ahalya, wife of
Gautama Maharishi. He was punished by
Gautama with a curse that one thousand phalluses would cover his body in a grotesque and vulgar display, and that his reign as king of the gods would meet with disaster and catastrophe. Gautama later commuted the curse, upon the pleading of
Brahma, to one thousand eyes, instead of phalluses.
Due to this sin Indra's throne remains insecure forever. He is repeatedly humiliated by demonic kings like
Ravana of Lanka, whose son
Indrajit (whose name means victor over Indra) bound Indra in serpent nooses and dragged him across Lanka in a humiliating display. Indrajit released Indra when
Brahma convinced him to do so in exchange for celestial weapons, but Indra, as the defeated, had to pay tribute and accept Ravana's supremacy. Indra realized the consequences of his sin, and was later avenged by the
Avatara of Vishnu,
Rama, who slew
Ravana to deliver the three worlds from evil, as described in the epic ''
Ramayana''.
:''See also:
Rukmangada,
Tulsi''
Indra and the Ants
In a story from the ''Brahmavaivarta Purana''
[3][4], Indra defeats Vritra and releases the waters. Elevated to the rank of King of the Gods, Indra orders the heavenly craftsman, Vishvakarma, to build him a grand palace. Full of pride, Indra continues to demand more and more improvements for the palace. At last, exhausted, Vishvakarma asks Brahma the Creator for help. Brahman in turn appeals to Vishnu, the Supreme Being.
Vishnu visits Indra's palace in the form of a brahmin boy; Indra welcomes him in. Vishnu praises Indra's palace, casually adding that no former Indra had succeeded in building such a palace. At first, Indra is amused by the brahmin boy's claim to know of former Indras. But the amusement turns to horror as the boy tells about Indras ancestors, about the great cycles of creation and destruction, and even about the infinite number of worlds scattered through the void, each with its own Indra. The boy claims to have seen them all. During the boy's speech, a procession of ants had entered the hall. The boy saw the ants and laughed. Finally humbled, Indra asks the boy why he laughed. The boy reveals that the ants are all former Indras.
Another visitor enters the hall. He is Shiva, in the form of a hermit. On his chest lies a circular cluster of hairs, intact at the circumference but with a gap in the middle. Shiva reveals that each of these chest hairs corresponds to the life of one Indra. Each time a hair falls, one Indra dies and another replaces him.
No longer interested in wealth and honor, Indra rewards Vishvakarma and releases him from any further work on the palace. Indra himself decides to leave his life of luxury to become a hermit and seek wisdom. Horrified, Indra's wife Shachi asks the priest Brihaspati to change her husband's mind. He teaches Indra to see the virtues of both the spiritual life and the worldly life. Thus, at the end of the story, Indra learns how to pursue wisdom while still fulfilling his kingly duties.
The 14 Indras
Each
Manu rules during an eon called a Manvantara. 14 Manvantaras make up a Kalpa, a period corresponding to a day in the life of Brahma. Every Manvantara has a different Indra. The list is according to Vishnu Purana(Chapters 3.1 and 3.2):
| Manvatara/Manu | Indra |
|---|
| Svayambhuva | Yajna (Avatar of Vishnu) |
| Swarochish | Vipaschit |
| Uttam | Sushaanti |
| Taamas | Shibi |
| Raivat | Vibhu |
| Chaakshush | Manojav |
| Shraaddhdev | Purandar (the present Indra) |
| Savarni | Bali |
| Daksha Saavarni | Adbhut |
| Brahma Saavarni | Shanti |
| Dharma Saavarni | Vish |
| Rudraputra Saavarni | Ritudhaama |
| Ruchi (Deva Saavarni) | Devaspati |
| Bhaum (Indra Saavarni) | Suchi |
In Zoroastrianism
Indra does not occur in the
Zoroastrian texts composed before the 3th century BCE. In the ''
Vendidad'', the youngest texts of the
Avesta, Indra is one of the six chief demons that are seen to stand opposite the six
Amesha Spentas. In this sextet, Indra is the direct enemy of ''Asha Vahishta'', and so the opponent of ''
asha'' (Vedic ''
rta''), order, truth, and righteousness. (''Vd.'' 10.9)
Similarly, in the ''
Denkard'', a 9th century CE
Middle Persian text, Indra is the arch-demon that "is the spirit of apostasy and further deceives the worldly existence of mankind" (9.3). In the ''Bundahishn'', a Zoroastrian account of creation completed in the 12th century CE, Indra "freezes the minds of the creatures from practicing righteousness just like much frozen snow. He instills this into the minds of men that they ought not to have the sacred shirt and thread girdle" (''Gbd.'' 27.6). At the renovation of the universe Indra will be defeated by ''Asha Vahishta'' (''Gbd.'' 34.27)
In Buddhism, Jainism and Chinese religion
Main articles: Sakra
In Buddhist and Jain texts, Indra is commonly called by his other name
Åšakra, ruler of the
heaven. Åšakra is, however, sometimes given the title 'Indra', or, more commonly, 'DevÄnÄm Indra', "Lord of the Devas". In Buddhist countries such as China, Korea and Japan, he is known as Taishakuten. Some Buddhists have also even interpreted that the
Jade Emperor is another interpretation of Indra.
In
Jainism, Indra awards a golden robe to
Mahavira, and later welcomes him into heaven.
The ceremonial name of
Bangkok claims that the city was "given by Indra and built by
Vishnukam."
See also
★
Rigvedic deities
★
Hindu deities
★
Zeus
★
Le roi de Lahore, an opera by
Jules Massenet in which the god Indra plays an important part
References
1. "Indra and Shiva" by KOENRAAD ELST
2. (Masson-Oursel and Morin, 326).
3. Zimmer, ''Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization'', ed. Joseph Campbell (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1962), p. 3-11
4. webadept-ga, "Re: Religion and Suffering," 07 Jan 2003 21:26 PST, Google Answers, 28 March 2007
# Masson-Oursel, P.; Morin, Louise (1976). "Indian Mythology." In New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, pp. 325-359. New York: The Hamlyn Pulishing Group.
★ Janda, M., ''Eleusis, das indogermanische Erbe der Mysterien'' (1998).
External links
★
Indra, the Storm-God - by
Benjamin Slade
★
Weekly podcast on Vedic Chanting and Vedic Mythology with stories from the Puranas
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