इन्द्रस्य नु वीर्याणि प्र वोचं यानि चकार
प्रथमानि वज्री ।
अहन्नहिमन्वपस्ततर्द प्र वक्षणा अभिनत्पर्वतानाम् ॥
अहन्नहिं पर्वते शिश्रियाणं त्वष्टास्मै वज्रं
स्वर्यं ततक्ष ।
वाश्रा इव धेनवः स्यन्दमाना अञ्जः समुद्रमव जग्मुरापः ॥
— Rigveda, 1.32
Now I shall proclaim the heroic deeds of Indra, those foremost deeds that the mace-wielder performed:
He smashed the serpent. He bored out the waters. He split the bellies of the mountains.
He smashed the serpent resting on the mountain—for him Tvaṣṭar had fashioned the resounding [sun like] mace.
Like bellowing cows, streaming out, the waters went straight down to the sea.
As He tore down the heavens and struck a devastating thunderbolt at the mighty dragon Vritra through his Vajra, destroying his 99 fortresses in the wake. All the trapped waters of the world ravaged from the serpent's hold and through rivers went back to the seas. This is the Rig Vedic story of their hero Indra and how through his bravery and courage he became the king of the gods. Over a quarter of the 1,028 hymns of the Rig-Veda mention Indra, making him the most referred to deity than any other.
Not only in the Vedas but the legend of the Chaos Serpent and the Storm God is found in most of the other prominent world mythologies. In Egyptian mythology we have Apep vs Ra, Tiamat vs Marduk in Babylonian mythology, Zeus vs Typhon in Greek mythology, Jormungdar vs Thor in Norse mythology and Yamata no Orochi vs Susanoo in Japanese mythology. The metaphor actually reflects that how a person just through his staunch resilience can overcome any obstacle and revive the uninterrupted flow of goodness back into this world, no matter the odds.
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| Indra in his battle armour |
Indra is the king of the gods (Devas). He is one of the main gods of the Rigveda and is the Vedic cousin of the German Wotan, Norse Odin, Greek Zeus, and Roman Jupiter. In early religious texts, Indra plays a variety of roles. As king, he leads cattle raids against the dasyus. He brings rain as god of the thunderbolt, and he is the great warrior who conquers the anti-gods (asuras). He also defeats innumerable human and superhuman enemies, most famously the dragon Vritra, a leader of the dasyus and a demon of drought. Vritra is accused of hoarding the waters and the rains, of stealing cows, and as an anti-god for hiding the Sun. Indra is strengthened for those feats by drinks of the elixir of immortality, the soma, which priests offer to him in the sacrifice. Among his allies are the Maruts, who ride the clouds and direct storms. Indra is sometimes referred to as “the thousand-eyed.” In painting and sculpture, Indra is often depicted riding his white elephant, Airavata. Indra is also the father of Arjuna. In the Mahabharata War, Arjuna was a key warrior from the Pandava side and slew many warriors including Karna and Bhisma.
So who was this mysterious Indra who has left his mark on most of the ancient civilizations ? Was he just a pagan god of thunderstorm or was he a king of the Indus Saraswati civilization ? Or maybe the chief of a certain race called the Devas.. An extensive research of the Vedas by the scholars of various disciplines may yield further answers ! Maybe in the future we will come to realise who was this great god of our ancestors..
