| King of the Gods God of Weather and War | |
| Devanagari | इन्द्र or इंद्र |
|---|---|
| SanskritTransliteration | Indra |
| Tamil script | வஞ்சிஇறை, வேந்தன் (Old Tamil), இந்திரன் |
| TamilTransliteration | Wanji-irai, Wendan, Intiran |
| Affiliation | Deva |
| Abode | Amarāvati in Svarga |
| Weapon | Vajra |
| Consort | Sachi (Indrani) |
| Mount | Airavata |
Indra (Devanagari)or Śakra isthe King of the gods or Devas andLord of Heaven or Svargaloka inHindumythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall and isassociated with Vajrapani - the Chief Dharmapala orDefender and Protector of theBuddha, Dharma and Sangha whoembodies the power of all primordial or DhyaniBuddhas.
Indra is one of the chief deities inthe Rigveda.He is celebrated as a demiurge who pushes up the sky, releases dawn (Ushas)from the Vala cave, and slaysVṛtra;both latter actions are central to the Somasacrifice. On theother hand, he also commits (like Zeus) many kinds of mischief (kilbiṣa) for which he issometimes punished. He has many epithets, notablyvṛṣan the bull,and vṛtrahan,slayer of Vṛtraand maghavan "the bountiful'. Indra appears as the name of an arch-demon inthe Zoroastrian religion,while his epithet Verethragna appears as a god of victory.
In Puranic mythology,Indra is bestowed with a heroic and almost brash and amorous character attimes, even as his reputation and role diminished in laterHinduism withthe rise of the Trimurti. Indra is also called Śakra frequentlyin the Vedas and in Buddhism (Pali: Sakka). He is known in Burmese pronounced [ðadʑá mɪ́ɴ];in Thai asพระอินทร์ PhraInn, in Malay as Indera, in Tamil asIntiran,in Chinese as 帝释天 Dìshìtiān, andinJapanese as 帝釈天 Taishakuten.
Origins
Aspects of Indra as a deity are cognate to otherIndo-European gods; they are either thundergodssuch as Thor, Perun, and Zeus, or gods ofintoxicating drinks such as Dionysos. The name of Indra (Indara) is also mentioned amongthe gods of the Mitanni, a Hurrian speaking people who ruled northern Syria fromca.1500BC-1300BC
Janda (1998:221) suggests that the Proto-Indo-European (or Graeco-Aryan)predecessor of Indra had the epithet *trigw-welumos "smasher ofthe enclosure" (of Vritra, Vala)and diye-snūtyos "impeller of streams" (the liberatedrivers, corresponding to Vedic apam ajas "agitator of thewaters"), which resulted in the Greek gods Triptolemos and Dionysos.
Vedic Indra corresponds to Verethragna ofthe Zoroastrian Avesta as the noun verethragna-corresponds to Vedic vrtrahan-,which is predominantly an epithet of Indra. The wordvrtrahan-/verethra- means"obstacle". Thus, vrtrahan-/verethragna- is the"smiter of resistance". Vritra as such does not appear in either theAvesta or in 9th-12th century books of Zoroastrian tradition. Since the name 'Indra'appears in Zoroastrian texts as that of a demon opposing Truth (Vd. 10.9; Dk.9.3; Gbd. 27.6,34.27)!> Zoroastrian tradition has separated both aspects of Indra.
In the Rig Veda
The Rig-Veda states,
He under whose supreme control are horses, allchariots, the villages, and cattle;
He who gave being to the Sun and Morning, who leads the waters, He, O men, isIndra. (2.12.7, trans. Griffith)
He who gave being to the Sun and Morning, who leads the waters, He, O men, isIndra. (2.12.7, trans. Griffith)
It further states, Indra, you lifted up theoutcast who was oppressed, you glorified the blind and the lame. (Rg-Veda 2:13:12)
Indra is, with Varuna and Mitra, one of the Ādityas, thechief gods of the Rigveda (besides Agni and theothers such as the Ashvins). He delights in drinking Soma, and the central Vedicmyth is his heroic defeat of Vṛtrá,liberating the rivers, or alternatively, his smashing of the Vala cave,a stone enclosure where the Panis had imprisoned the cows that are habituallyidentified with Ushas,the dawn(s). He is the god of war, smashing the stone fortresses of the Dasyu,but he is alsois invoked by combatants on both sides in the Battle of the Ten Kings.
Indra as depicted in Yakshagana,popular folk art of Karnataka
The Rig-Veda frequently refers to him as Śakra:the mighty-one. In the Vedic period, the number of gods was assumed to bethirty-three and Indra was their lord. (Some early post Rigvedic texts such asthe Khilas and the late Vedic Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad enumerates the gods asthe eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras, the twelve Adityas, Indra, and Prajapati). As lord ofthe Vasus, Indra was also referred to as Vāsava.
By the age of the Vedanta, Indrabecame the prototype for all lords and thus a king could be called Mānavendra(Indra or lord of men) and Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, wasreferred to as Rāghavendra (Indra of the clan of Raghu). Hence the originalIndra was also referred to as Devendra (Indra of the Devas). However, Sakra andVasava were used exclusively for the original Indra. Though modern textsusually adhere to the name Indra, the traditional Hindu texts (the Vedas, epicsand Puranas) use Indra, Sakra and Vasava interchangeably and with the samefrequency.
"Of the Vedas I am the Sama Veda; of thedemigods I am Indra, the king of heaven; of the senses I am the mind; and inliving beings I am the living force [consciousness]." (Bhagavad Gita10.22)
Status and function
In the Rig Veda,Indra is the king of the gods and ruler of the heavens. Indra is the god ofthunder and rain and a great warrior, a symbol of courage and strength. Heleads the Deva (the gods who form and maintain Heaven) and theelements, such as Agni (Fire), Varuna (Water)and Surya (Sun),and constantly wages war against the opponents of the gods, the demon-like Asuras. As the god ofwar, he is also regarded as one of the Guardians of the directions,representing the east. As the favourite 'national' god of the Vedic Indians,Indra has about 250 hymns dedicated to him in the Rigveda.
In Rig Veda,Indra the solar god is sometimes described as golden-bodied ("Gora" that meansgolden-yellowish) with golden jaw, nails, hair, beard.
One Atharva Vedic verse reads, "In Indra areset fast all forms of golden hue."
In the RV1.65 reads, "SAKRA, who is the purifier (of his worshipers), andwell-skilled in horses, who is wonderful and golden-bodied." Rig Vedaalso reads that Indra "is the dancing god who, clothed in perfumedgarments, golden-cheeked rides his golden cart." One passagecalls him both brown and yellow. "Him with the fleece they purify,brown, golden-hued, beloved of all, Who with exhilarating juice goes forth toall the deities"
Indra is described in the Rig Veda of dying hishair a yellow colour from yellow Soma juice. One part of the Rig Veda says,"At the swift draught the Soma-drinker waxed in might, the Iron One withyellow beard and yellow hair." The Rig Veda/Mandala 10/Hymn 96
Other characteristics
Like violent gusts of wind the droughts that Ihave drunk have lifted me Have I not drunk of Soma juice?
Fair cheeks hath Indra, Maghavan, the Victor, Lordof a great host, Stormer, strong in action. What once thou didst in might whenmortals vexed thee, where now, O Bull, are those thy hero exploits?
—RigVeda, Book 3, Hymn XXX: Griffith
May the strong Heaven make thee the Strong waxstronger: Strong, for thou art borne by thy two strong Bay Horses. So, fair ofcheek, with mighty chariot, mighty, uphold us, strong-willed, thunder armed, inbattle.
—RigVeda, Book 5, Hymn XXXVI: Grffith
Indra's weapon, which he used to kill Vritra, is the (Vajra), though healso uses a bow, a net,and a hook. In the post-Vedic period, he rides a large, four-tusked whiteelephant called Airavata. When portrayed having four arms, he has lances intwo of his hands which resemble elephant goads. When he is shown to have two,he holds the Vajra and a bow. He lives in Svarga in theclouds around Mt. Meru. Deceased warriors go to his hall after death,where they live without sadness, pain or fear. They watch the Apsaras andthe Gandharvas dance,and play games. The gods of the elements, celestial sages, great kings, andwarriors enrich his court.
Indra's Bow
Relations with other gods
In Hindu myth, he is married to Indrani (whosefather, Puloman,Indra killed), and is the father of Arjuna(by Kunti), Jayanta, Midhusa, Nilambara, Khamla, Rbhus, Rsabha. Indra is abrother to Surya.He is attended to by the Maruts (and the Vasus), children of Diti (mother ofdemons), and Rudra.Indra had slain Diti's previous wicked children, so she hoped her son would bemore powerful than him and kept herself pregnant for a century, practicing magic to aid her fetal son. When Indradiscovered this, he threw a thunderbolt at her and shattered the fetus into 7or 49 parts; each part regenerated into a complete individual, and the partsgrew into the Maruts, a group of storm gods, who are less powerful than Indra.
Indra and Vṛtrá
In post-Vedic myth, Vṛtrá,an asura,stole all the water in the world and Indra drank much Soma to preparehimself for the battle with the huge serpent. He passed through Vṛtrá's ninety-ninefortresses, slew the monster and brought water back to Earth.
In another version of the story, Vṛtrá was created by Tvashtri toget revenge for Indra's murder of his son, Trisiras, apious Brahmin whoseincrease of power worried Indra. Vṛtráwon the battle and swallowed Indra, but the other gods forced him to vomitIndra out. The battle continued and Indra fled. Vishnu and the Rishis brokereda truce, and Indra swore he would not attack Vṛtrá 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, Vṛtrá wasa Brahmin who got hold of supernatural powers, went rogue and became a dangerto the gods. Indra had to intervene, and slew him after a hard fight. Ahorrible goddess named Brāhmanahatya (thepersonified sin of Brahmin murder) came from the corpse of Vṛtrá andpursued Indra, who hid inside a lotus flower. Indra went to Brahma andbegged forgiveness for having killed a Brahmin. "Vajrayudha", whichIndra possessed, is believed to be prepared from backbone of a sage Dadhichi tokill Asuras.
In the Puranas
Status and function
Krishna holding Govardhanhill fromSmithsonian Institution’s collections
In post-Vedic texts, Indra is described with morehuman characteristics and vices than any other Vedic deity. Modern Hindus, alsotend to see Indra as minor deity in comparison to others in the Hindu pantheon,such as Shiva, Vishnu, or Devi. A Puranic storyillustrating the subjugation of Indra's pride is illustrated in the story of Govardhanhill where Krishna, Avataror incarnation of Vishnu carriedthe hill and protected his devotees when Indra, angered by non-worship of him,launched rains over the village.
Gautama's curse
Indra tricked Ahalya, the wife of GautamaMaharishi, in the guise of the saint into letting him make love to her.Gautama punished him with a curse.
Due to this sin, Indra's throne is supposed toremain insecure forever. He is repeatedly humiliated by demonic kings likeRavana ofLanka, whose son Indrajit (whose name means "victory overIndra") bound Indra in serpent nooses and dragged him across Lanka in ahumiliating display. Indrajit released Indra when Brahma convincedhim to do so in exchange for celestial weapons, but Indra, as the defeated, hadto pay tribute and accept Ravana's supremacy. Indra realized the consequencesof his sin and was later avenged by the avatar ofVishnu, Rama,who slew Ravana to deliver the three worlds from evil as described in the epicof the Ramayana.
According to the tradition of the temple of Suchindram near Nagercoil,southern Tamil Nadu, Indra was promised relief from the curse ifhe could manage to worship the Trimurti -Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva -simultaneously. This he succeeded in doing at Suchindrum, where the presidingdeity is Sthanumalayan, a combined form of Shiva (Sthanu), Vishnu (Mal) andBrahma (Ayan), and was accordingly granted relief. Tradition maintains that hecontinues to worship each night at the temple, on account of which the priestsof the temple, on appointment, are made to take a vow in Tamil "Ahamkaṇdathai puram çollamattān", meaning "I will never reveal anything I see within".Further, part of their duty is to clean the sanctumsanctorum of the temple and leave it ready for all rituals at nightbefore closing the temple and clean it again, when they reopen it in themorning.
Indra and the Ants
In this story from the Brahmavaivarta Purana, Indradefeats Vṛtráand releases the waters. Elevated to the rank of King of the gods, Indra ordersthe heavenly craftsman, Vishvakarma, to build him a grand palace. Full ofpride, Indra continues to demand more and more improvements for the palace. Atlast, exhausted, Vishvakarma asks Brahma the Creator for help. Brahma in turn appealstoVishnu, theSupreme Being.
Vishnu visits Indra's palace in the form of aBrahmin boy; Indra welcomes him in. Vishnu praises Indra's palace, casuallyadding 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 theamusement turns to horror as the boy tells about Indra's ancestors, about thegreat cycles of creation and destruction, and even about the infinite number ofworlds scattered through the void, each with its own Indra. The boy claims tohave seen them all. During the boy's speech, a procession of ants had enteredthe hall. The boy saw the ants and laughed. Finally humbled, Indra asks the boywhy he laughed. The boy reveals that the ants are all former Indras.
Another visitor enters the hall. He is Shiva, inthe form of a hermit. On his chest lies a circular cluster of hairs, intact atthe circumference but with a gap in the middle. Shiva reveals that each ofthese 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, Indrarewards Vishvakarma and releases him from any further work on the palace. Indrahimself decides to leave his life of luxury to become a hermit and seek wisdom.Horrified, Indra's wife Shuchi asks the priest Brihaspati to change herhusband's mind. He teaches Indra to see the virtues of both the spiritual lifeand the worldly life. Thus, at the end of the story, Indra learns how to pursuewisdom while still fulfilling his kingly duties.
The 14 Indras
Each Manu rulesduring an eon called a Manvantara. 14 Manvantaras make up a Kalpa, a periodcorresponding to a day in the life of Brahma. Every Manvantara has 1 Indra thatmeans with every Kalpa 14 Indras changes. Thae Markandye Rishi is said to havea complete age of one Kalpa and in a Puran on his name called "MarkandeyPuran" the exact age corresponding to the human age or solar year isdescribed in details. The following list is according to Vishnu Purana 3.1–2):
Manvatara/Manu | Indra |
Svayambhuva | |
Swarochish | Vipaschit |
Uttam | Sushaanti |
Taamas | |
Raivat | Vibhu |
Chaakshush | Manojav |
Shraaddhdev | Purandar (the present Indra) |
Savarni | |
Daksha Saavarni | Adbhut |
Brahma Saavarni | Shanti |
Dharma Saavarni | Vish |
Rudraputra Saavarni | Ritudhaama |
Ruchi (Deva Saavarni) | Devaspati |
Bhaum (Indra Saavarni) | Suchi |
Indra on Airavata, with Ganesh riding his trunk oneither side, at Baksei Chamkrong, Siem Reap, Cambodia
In Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism and Bali
Indra as Sakka and Sachi Riding theDivine Elephant Airavata, Folio from a Jain text, Panchakalyanaka (FiveAuspicious Events in the Life of Jina Rishabha), circa 1670-1680, Painting in LACMA museum,originally from Amer, Rajasthan
A Burmese statue of Thagyamin,the Burmese representation of Sakka-Indra.
Main article: Śakra (Buddhism)
In Buddhism and Jainism, Indra iscommonly called by his other name, Śakra or Sakka, ruler of the Trāyastriṃśaheaven. However, Śakra is sometimes given thetitle Indra, or, more commonly, Devānām Indra, "Lord of theDevas". The ceremonial name of Bangkok claimsthat the city was "given by Indra and built by Vishvakarman."The provincial seal of SurinProvince, Thailand is an image of Indra atopAiravata.
In Jainism, Indra is also known as Saudharmendra,and always serves the Tirthankaras. Indra most commonly appears in storiesrelated to Mahavira,in which Indra himself manages and celebrates the five auspicious events inthat Tirthankara's life, such as Chavan kalyanak, Janmakalyanak, Diksha kalyanak,Kevalgyan kalyanak, andNirvan kalyanak.
In China, Korea, and Japan, he is known bythe characters 帝释天(Chinese: 釋提桓因,pinyin: shì dī huán yīn, Korean: "Je-seok-cheon" or 桓因 Hwan-in,Japanese: "Tai-shaku-ten", kanji: 帝釈天). In Japan, Indraalways appears opposite Brahma (梵天, Japanese: "Bonten") inBuddhist art. Brahma and Indra are revered together as protectors of thehistorical Buddha (释迦,Japanese: "Shaka", kanji: 釈迦), and are frequently shown givingShaka his first bath. Although Indra is often depicted like a bodhisattva inthe Far East, typically in Tang dynasty costume, his iconography also includesa martial aspect, wielding a thunderbolt from atop his elephant mount.
Some Buddhists regard the Daoist Jade Emperor asanother interpretation of Indra.
In the Huayanschool of Buddhism and elsewhere, the image of Indra'snet is a metaphor for the emptiness of all things.
In Bali, the legend of Tirtha Empul Temple origin is related toIndra. The sacred spring was created by the Indra, whose soldiers were poisonedat one time by Mayadanawa. Indra pierced the earth to create a fountain ofimmortality to revive them.
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