vedic deities indra
. 
Vedic texts
Indra was a prominent deity in the Historical Vedic religion. In Vedic times Indra was described in Rig Veda 6.30.4 as superior to any other god. Sayana in his commentary on Rig Veda 6.47.18 described Indra as assuming many forms, making Agni, Vishnu, and Rudra his illusory forms.
Over a quarter of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda mention Indra, making him the most referred to deity.
These hymns present a complex picture of Indra, but some aspects of Indra are often repeated. Of these, the most common theme is where he as the god with thunderbolt kills the evil serpent Vritra that held back rains, and thus released rains and land nourishing rivers.
For example, the Rigvedic hymn 1.32 dedicated to Indra reads:
इन्द्रस्य नु वीर्याणि प्र वोचं यानि चकार प्रथमानि वज्री ।
अहन्नहिमन्वपस्ततर्द प्र वक्षणा अभिनत्पर्वतानाम् ॥१।।
अहन्नहिं पर्वते शिश्रियाणं त्वष्टास्मै वज्रं स्वर्यं ततक्ष ।
वाश्रा इव धेनवः स्यन्दमाना अञ्जः समुद्रमव जग्मुरापः ॥२।।
—Rigveda, 1.32.1–2[59]
Translation:
1. 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.
2. He smashed the serpent resting on the mountain—
for him Tvaṣṭar had fashioned the resounding [sunlike] mace.
Like bellowing milk-cows, streaming out, the waters went straight down to the sea.
Even though Indra is declared as the king of gods in some verses, there is no consistent subordination of other gods to Indra. In Vedic thought, all gods and goddesses are equivalent and aspects of the same eternal abstract Brahman, none consistently superior, none consistently inferior. All gods obey Indra, but all gods also obey Varuna, Vishnu, Rudra and others when the situation arises. Further, Indra also accepts and follows the instructions of Savitr (solar deity). Indra, like all Vedic deities, is a part of henotheistic theology of ancient India.
The second-most important myth about Indra is about the Vala cave. In this story, the Panis have stolen cattle and hidden them in the Vala cave. Here Indra utilizes the power of the songs he chants to split the cave open to release the cattle and dawn. He is accompanied in the cave by the Angirases (and sometimes Navagvas or the Daśagvas). Here Indra exemplifies his role as a priest-king, called bṛhaspati. Eventually later in the Rigveda, Bṛhaspati and Indra become separate deities as both Indra and the Vedic king lose their priestly functions. The Vala myth was associated with the Morning Pressing of soma, in which cattle was donated to priests, called dakṣiṇā.
Indra is not a visible object of nature in the Vedic texts, nor is he a personification of any object, but that agent which causes the lightning, the rains and the rivers to flow. His myths and adventures in the Vedic literature are numerous, ranging from harnessing the rains, cutting through mountains to help rivers flow, helping land becoming fertile, unleashing sun by defeating the clouds, warming the land by overcoming the winter forces, winning the light and dawn for mankind, putting milk in the cows, rejuvenating the immobile into something mobile and prosperous, and in general, he is depicted as removing any and all sorts of obstacles to human progress. The Vedic prayers to Indra, states Jan Gonda, generally ask "produce success of this rite, throw down those who hate the materialized Brahman". The hymns of Rigveda declare him to be the "king that moves and moves not", the friend of mankind who holds the different tribes on earth together.[69]
Indra is often presented as the twin brother of Agni (fire) – another major Vedic deity. Yet, he is also presented to be the same, states Max Muller, as in Rigvedic hymn 2.1.3, which states, "Thou Agni, art Indra, a bull among all beings; thou art the wide-ruling Vishnu, worthy of adoration. Thou art the Brahman, (...)."[71] He is also part of one of many Vedic trinities as "Agni, Indra and Surya", representing the "creator-maintainer-destroyer" aspects of existence in Hindu thought.
Rigveda 2.1.3 Jamison 2014[74]
You, Agni, as bull of beings, are Indra; you, wide-going, worthy of homage, are Viṣṇu. You, o lord of the sacred formulation, finder of wealth, are the Brahman [Formulator]; you, o Apportioner, are accompanied by Plenitude.
Indra is also found in many other myths that are poorly understood. In one, Indra crushes the cart of Ushas (Dawn), and she runs away. In another Indra beats Surya in a chariot race by tearing off the wheel of his chariot. This is connected to a myth where Indra and his sidekick Kutsa ride the same chariot drawn by the horses of the wind to the house of Uśanā Kāvya to receive aid before killing Śuṣṇa, the enemy of Kutsa. In one myth Indra (in some versions[which?] helped by Viṣṇu) shoots a boar named Emuṣa in order to obtain special rice porridge hidden inside or behind a mountain. Another myth has Indra kill Namuci by beheading him. In later versions of that myth Indra does this through trickery involving the foam of water. Other beings slain by Indra include Śambara, Pipru, Varcin, Dhuni and Cumuri, and others. Indra's chariot is pulled by fallow bay horses described as hárī. They bring Indra to and from the sacrifice, and are even offered their own roasted grains.
Upanishads
The ancient Aitareya Upanishad equates Indra, along with other deities, with Atman (soul, self) in the Vedanta's spirit of internalization of rituals and gods. It begins with its cosmological theory in verse 1.1.1 by stating that, "in the beginning, Atman, verily one only, was here - no other blinking thing whatever; he bethought himself: let me now create worlds".
This soul, which the text refers to as Brahman as well, then proceeds to create the worlds and beings in those worlds wherein all Vedic gods and goddesses such as sun-god, moon-god, Agni, and other divinities become active cooperative organs of the body. The Atman thereafter creates food, and thus emerges a sustainable non-sentient universe, according to the Upanishad. The eternal Atman then enters each living being making the universe full of sentient beings, but these living beings fail to perceive their Atman. The first one to see the Atman as Brahman, asserts the Upanishad, said, "idam adarsha or "I have seen It". Others then called this first seer as Idam-dra or "It-seeing", which over time came to be cryptically known as "Indra", because, claims Aitareya Upanishad, everyone including the gods like short nicknames
The section 3.9 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad connects Indra to thunder, thunderbolt and release of waters. In section 5.1 of the Avyakta Upanishad, Indra is praised as he who embodies the qualities of all gods.
Post-Vedic texts
In post-Vedic texts, Indra is depicted as an intoxicated hedonistic god. His importance declines, and he evolves into a minor deity in comparison to others in the Hindu pantheon, such as Vishnu, Shiva, or Devi. In Hindu texts, Indra is some times known as an aspect (avatar) of Shiva.
In the Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata, the divine sage Kashyapa is described as the father of Indra, and Aditi as his mother. In this tradition, he is presented as one of their thirty-three sons. Indra married Shachi, the daughter of the danava Puloman. Most texts state that Indra had only one wife, though sometimes other names are mentioned.
Bhagavata Purana mention that Indra and Shachi had three sons named Jayanta, Rishabha, Midhusha.[84] Some listings add Nilambara and Rbhus.Indra and Shachi also had two daughters, Jayanti and Devasena. Jayanti becomes the spouse of Shukra, while Devasena marries the war god Kartikeya.
Indra is depicted as the spiritual father of Vali in the Ramayana and Arjuna in the Mahabharata.Since he is known for mastering all weapons in warfare, his spiritual sons Vali and Arjuna also share his martial attributes. He has a charioteer named Matali.
Indra had multiple affairs with other women. One such was Ahalya, the wife of sage Gautama. Indra was cursed by the sage. Although the Brahmanas (9th to 6th centuries BCE) are the earliest scriptures to hint at their relationship, the 7th- to 4th-centuries BCE Hindu epic Ramayana – whose hero is Rama – is the first to explicitly mention the affair in detail.
Indra becomes a source of nuisance rains in the Puranas, caused out of anger with an intent to hurt mankind. Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, comes to the rescue by lifting Mount Govardhana on his fingertip, and letting mankind shelter under the mountain till Indra exhausts his anger and relents.
According to the Mahabharata, Indra disguises himself as a Brahmin and approaches Karna and asks for his kavacha (body armor) and kundala (earrings) as charity. Although being aware of his true identity, Karna peeled off his kavacha and kundala and fulfilled the wish of Indra.
According to the Vishnu Purana, Indra is the position of being the king of the gods which changes in every Manvantara—a cyclic period of time in Hindu cosmology. Each Manvantara has its own Indra and the Indra of the current Manvantara is called Purandhara.
The Sangam literature of the Tamil language contains more stories about Indra by various authors. In the Cilappatikaram, Indra is described as Malai venkudai mannavan, literally meaning, "Indra with the pearl-garland and white umbrella".
Sangam literature also describes Indra Vizha (festival for Indra), the festival for want of rain, celebrated for one full month starting from the full moon in chittrai (Chaitra) and completed on the full moon in Puyali (Vaisakha). This is described in the epic Cilappatikaram in detail.
In his work Tirukkural (before c. 5th century CE), Valluvar cites Indra to exemplify the virtue of conquest over one's senses.
devaluation of Indra
Several factors contributed to the devaluation of Indra in the post-Vedic era, including the rise of new deities, shifts in religious philosophy, and his portrayal in later scriptures as an insecure and flawed rule
..Philosophical and theological changes
During the Puranic period (c. 500 CE onwards), the primary focus of worship shifted away from the Vedic gods toward the trimurti: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer). Vishnu and Shiva especially gained immense popularity, absorbing the powers and prominence of many older deities
Indra's position becomes a temporary post: In later texts like the Puranas, the position of Indra was defined as a temporary title, not an eternal or supreme identity. Any being who performs enough merit can ascend to the throne of Indra, only to be replaced by another after their karmic merits expire. This contrasts sharply with the permanence and supremacy of Vishnu and Shiva.
Shift from ritualism to personal devotion: The Vedic era was defined by complex fire rituals (yagnas) performed by priests to appease gods like Indra. In the post-Vedic era, however, the focus moved toward bhakti (personal devotion) and worship of specific deities like Vishnu (through his avatars, such as Krishna and Rama) and Shiva. This made Vedic rituals and their patron deity less central to religious practice.
Constant insecurity: Post-Vedic texts frequently depict Indra as paranoid and insecure about his position. He often fears that sages performing great penance might become powerful enough to usurp him, so he sends celestial nymphs (apsaras) to distract them and break their focus
Vedic texts
Indra was a prominent deity in the Historical Vedic religion. In Vedic times Indra was described in Rig Veda 6.30.4 as superior to any other god. Sayana in his commentary on Rig Veda 6.47.18 described Indra as assuming many forms, making Agni, Vishnu, and Rudra his illusory forms.
Over a quarter of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda mention Indra, making him the most referred to deity.
These hymns present a complex picture of Indra, but some aspects of Indra are often repeated. Of these, the most common theme is where he as the god with thunderbolt kills the evil serpent Vritra that held back rains, and thus released rains and land nourishing rivers.
For example, the Rigvedic hymn 1.32 dedicated to Indra reads:
इन्द्रस्य नु वीर्याणि प्र वोचं यानि चकार प्रथमानि वज्री ।
अहन्नहिमन्वपस्ततर्द प्र वक्षणा अभिनत्पर्वतानाम् ॥१।।
अहन्नहिं पर्वते शिश्रियाणं त्वष्टास्मै वज्रं स्वर्यं ततक्ष ।
वाश्रा इव धेनवः स्यन्दमाना अञ्जः समुद्रमव जग्मुरापः ॥२।।
—Rigveda, 1.32.1–2[59]
Translation:
1. 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.
2. He smashed the serpent resting on the mountain—
for him Tvaṣṭar had fashioned the resounding [sunlike] mace.
Like bellowing milk-cows, streaming out, the waters went straight down to the sea.
Even though Indra is declared as the king of gods in some verses, there is no consistent subordination of other gods to Indra. In Vedic thought, all gods and goddesses are equivalent and aspects of the same eternal abstract Brahman, none consistently superior, none consistently inferior. All gods obey Indra, but all gods also obey Varuna, Vishnu, Rudra and others when the situation arises. Further, Indra also accepts and follows the instructions of Savitr (solar deity). Indra, like all Vedic deities, is a part of henotheistic theology of ancient India.
The second-most important myth about Indra is about the Vala cave. In this story, the Panis have stolen cattle and hidden them in the Vala cave. Here Indra utilizes the power of the songs he chants to split the cave open to release the cattle and dawn. He is accompanied in the cave by the Angirases (and sometimes Navagvas or the Daśagvas). Here Indra exemplifies his role as a priest-king, called bṛhaspati. Eventually later in the Rigveda, Bṛhaspati and Indra become separate deities as both Indra and the Vedic king lose their priestly functions. The Vala myth was associated with the Morning Pressing of soma, in which cattle was donated to priests, called dakṣiṇā.
Indra is not a visible object of nature in the Vedic texts, nor is he a personification of any object, but that agent which causes the lightning, the rains and the rivers to flow. His myths and adventures in the Vedic literature are numerous, ranging from harnessing the rains, cutting through mountains to help rivers flow, helping land becoming fertile, unleashing sun by defeating the clouds, warming the land by overcoming the winter forces, winning the light and dawn for mankind, putting milk in the cows, rejuvenating the immobile into something mobile and prosperous, and in general, he is depicted as removing any and all sorts of obstacles to human progress. The Vedic prayers to Indra, states Jan Gonda, generally ask "produce success of this rite, throw down those who hate the materialized Brahman". The hymns of Rigveda declare him to be the "king that moves and moves not", the friend of mankind who holds the different tribes on earth together.[69]
Indra is often presented as the twin brother of Agni (fire) – another major Vedic deity. Yet, he is also presented to be the same, states Max Muller, as in Rigvedic hymn 2.1.3, which states, "Thou Agni, art Indra, a bull among all beings; thou art the wide-ruling Vishnu, worthy of adoration. Thou art the Brahman, (...)."[71] He is also part of one of many Vedic trinities as "Agni, Indra and Surya", representing the "creator-maintainer-destroyer" aspects of existence in Hindu thought.
Rigveda 2.1.3 Jamison 2014[74]
You, Agni, as bull of beings, are Indra; you, wide-going, worthy of homage, are Viṣṇu. You, o lord of the sacred formulation, finder of wealth, are the Brahman [Formulator]; you, o Apportioner, are accompanied by Plenitude.
Indra is also found in many other myths that are poorly understood. In one, Indra crushes the cart of Ushas (Dawn), and she runs away. In another Indra beats Surya in a chariot race by tearing off the wheel of his chariot. This is connected to a myth where Indra and his sidekick Kutsa ride the same chariot drawn by the horses of the wind to the house of Uśanā Kāvya to receive aid before killing Śuṣṇa, the enemy of Kutsa. In one myth Indra (in some versions[which?] helped by Viṣṇu) shoots a boar named Emuṣa in order to obtain special rice porridge hidden inside or behind a mountain. Another myth has Indra kill Namuci by beheading him. In later versions of that myth Indra does this through trickery involving the foam of water. Other beings slain by Indra include Śambara, Pipru, Varcin, Dhuni and Cumuri, and others. Indra's chariot is pulled by fallow bay horses described as hárī. They bring Indra to and from the sacrifice, and are even offered their own roasted grains.
Upanishads
The ancient Aitareya Upanishad equates Indra, along with other deities, with Atman (soul, self) in the Vedanta's spirit of internalization of rituals and gods. It begins with its cosmological theory in verse 1.1.1 by stating that, "in the beginning, Atman, verily one only, was here - no other blinking thing whatever; he bethought himself: let me now create worlds".
This soul, which the text refers to as Brahman as well, then proceeds to create the worlds and beings in those worlds wherein all Vedic gods and goddesses such as sun-god, moon-god, Agni, and other divinities become active cooperative organs of the body. The Atman thereafter creates food, and thus emerges a sustainable non-sentient universe, according to the Upanishad. The eternal Atman then enters each living being making the universe full of sentient beings, but these living beings fail to perceive their Atman. The first one to see the Atman as Brahman, asserts the Upanishad, said, "idam adarsha or "I have seen It". Others then called this first seer as Idam-dra or "It-seeing", which over time came to be cryptically known as "Indra", because, claims Aitareya Upanishad, everyone including the gods like short nicknames
The section 3.9 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad connects Indra to thunder, thunderbolt and release of waters. In section 5.1 of the Avyakta Upanishad, Indra is praised as he who embodies the qualities of all gods.
Post-Vedic texts
In post-Vedic texts, Indra is depicted as an intoxicated hedonistic god. His importance declines, and he evolves into a minor deity in comparison to others in the Hindu pantheon, such as Vishnu, Shiva, or Devi. In Hindu texts, Indra is some times known as an aspect (avatar) of Shiva.
In the Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata, the divine sage Kashyapa is described as the father of Indra, and Aditi as his mother. In this tradition, he is presented as one of their thirty-three sons. Indra married Shachi, the daughter of the danava Puloman. Most texts state that Indra had only one wife, though sometimes other names are mentioned.
Bhagavata Purana mention that Indra and Shachi had three sons named Jayanta, Rishabha, Midhusha.[84] Some listings add Nilambara and Rbhus.Indra and Shachi also had two daughters, Jayanti and Devasena. Jayanti becomes the spouse of Shukra, while Devasena marries the war god Kartikeya.
Indra is depicted as the spiritual father of Vali in the Ramayana and Arjuna in the Mahabharata.Since he is known for mastering all weapons in warfare, his spiritual sons Vali and Arjuna also share his martial attributes. He has a charioteer named Matali.
Indra had multiple affairs with other women. One such was Ahalya, the wife of sage Gautama. Indra was cursed by the sage. Although the Brahmanas (9th to 6th centuries BCE) are the earliest scriptures to hint at their relationship, the 7th- to 4th-centuries BCE Hindu epic Ramayana – whose hero is Rama – is the first to explicitly mention the affair in detail.
Indra becomes a source of nuisance rains in the Puranas, caused out of anger with an intent to hurt mankind. Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, comes to the rescue by lifting Mount Govardhana on his fingertip, and letting mankind shelter under the mountain till Indra exhausts his anger and relents.
According to the Mahabharata, Indra disguises himself as a Brahmin and approaches Karna and asks for his kavacha (body armor) and kundala (earrings) as charity. Although being aware of his true identity, Karna peeled off his kavacha and kundala and fulfilled the wish of Indra.
According to the Vishnu Purana, Indra is the position of being the king of the gods which changes in every Manvantara—a cyclic period of time in Hindu cosmology. Each Manvantara has its own Indra and the Indra of the current Manvantara is called Purandhara.
The Sangam literature of the Tamil language contains more stories about Indra by various authors. In the Cilappatikaram, Indra is described as Malai venkudai mannavan, literally meaning, "Indra with the pearl-garland and white umbrella".
Sangam literature also describes Indra Vizha (festival for Indra), the festival for want of rain, celebrated for one full month starting from the full moon in chittrai (Chaitra) and completed on the full moon in Puyali (Vaisakha). This is described in the epic Cilappatikaram in detail.
In his work Tirukkural (before c. 5th century CE), Valluvar cites Indra to exemplify the virtue of conquest over one's senses.
devaluation of Indra
Several factors contributed to the devaluation of Indra in the post-Vedic era, including the rise of new deities, shifts in religious philosophy, and his portrayal in later scriptures as an insecure and flawed rule
..Philosophical and theological changes
During the Puranic period (c. 500 CE onwards), the primary focus of worship shifted away from the Vedic gods toward the trimurti: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer). Vishnu and Shiva especially gained immense popularity, absorbing the powers and prominence of many older deities
Indra's position becomes a temporary post: In later texts like the Puranas, the position of Indra was defined as a temporary title, not an eternal or supreme identity. Any being who performs enough merit can ascend to the throne of Indra, only to be replaced by another after their karmic merits expire. This contrasts sharply with the permanence and supremacy of Vishnu and Shiva.
Shift from ritualism to personal devotion: The Vedic era was defined by complex fire rituals (yagnas) performed by priests to appease gods like Indra. In the post-Vedic era, however, the focus moved toward bhakti (personal devotion) and worship of specific deities like Vishnu (through his avatars, such as Krishna and Rama) and Shiva. This made Vedic rituals and their patron deity less central to religious practice.
Constant insecurity: Post-Vedic texts frequently depict Indra as paranoid and insecure about his position. He often fears that sages performing great penance might become powerful enough to usurp him, so he sends celestial nymphs (apsaras) to distract them and break their focus
Comments
Post a Comment