Earthpulse Blog

This is the eleventh of a series of short articles on various deities. As I am not a Hindu myself, I would appreciate any feedback from Hindus.

---

Indra: an ancient Vedic deity

Brahma’s chosen king of the gods, Indra, has an impressive history; he was one of the old Indo-European gods. Known as ‘breaker of obstacles’ and ‘god of victory’, he features in both Iran’s ‘Avesta’ and Armenia’s ‘Vahagn’.

Warrior with the golden jaw

Violent and brave, but blessed with intelligence and wisdom, Indra is a true warrior with an athletic physique, including huge hands and neck and muscular arms. He is a bearded deity and his jaw is made of gold. His throat is like a river and he has a thousand testicles. He has a huge appetite, especially for the ritual Indo-Iranian drink, soma.

A magnanimous man of action, Indra rides a golden chariot pulled by two horses, though he is also depicted riding an elephant. His weapon of choice is a thousand-pointed jet club.

A leader and benefactor to the whole world, Indra brought light and life, made women fertile (and had many adventures with them), created cows’ milk, oxe and horses and fought his devotees enemies, of which there were many.

Vrtra and Indra’s many other foes

One of Indra’s most notable battles was with the evil serpent-like demon Vrtra, son of Tvastar. Lying immovable on the mountain, Vrtra was a symbol of universal disorder, the antithesis of life and light. The ultimate obstacle, he closed the space between the sky and the earth and stemmed the flow of all water. With a blow of his mighty club, Indra vanquished his foe and then, by plunging the weapon into the villain’s neck and splitting his head apart, he released the water. The gap between the strengthened earth and sky re-opened forever, sunrise and the dawn were created, order was re-established and life returned.

In addition to this feat, Indra destroyed the fortifications of the rebel Pipru, pulled Cambara down from the top of the mountain and drove out the robber Varcin’s gang. He fought bandits, sorcerers and those who acted from anger or greed. He also fought in the ‘battle of animals’ where garudas (giant mythical birds) and eagles fought serpents.

Trita Aptia and the Maruts

Indra did not fight alone. The warrior Trita Aptia fought alongside him, killing the three-headed Vicvarupa, freeing the cows held captive by the demon Vala and assisting with the victory over Vrtra. Indra was also supported by a tribe of young, handsome, gold-adorned fighters known as the Maruts. These powerful and fearsome warriors made the land tremble as they flew above the mountain. They sang Indra’s praises, strengthened him and surrounded him at the time of sacrifice. They also brought food, wealth and victory to the people and inspired artists.

Skanda’s wife
Indra once met a young girl, Devasena, in battle with an asura. After she had been rescued, Devasena (meaning ‘army of the gods’) told Indra that she wanted a husband. He presented her to Skanda, Shiva’s son.

The conundrum of Namuci

One of Indra’s toughest challenges was to defeat the cunning and venomous demon, Namuci. Namuci would not let go of what he owned and Indra eventually had to reach a deal. He would agree not to kill Namuci at any time of the day or night or with anything wet or dry. To make the situation worse, Namuci used Indra’s weakness for food and drink to intoxicate him on alcohol and soma. Fortunately, Sarusvati (below left) and the Asvins came to Indra’s aid and the warrior decapitated Namuci at dusk, using foam.

---

Do you have any personal experience of, or interest in, Indra or Hinduism that you would like to share? If so, please leave a comment below.

References/Sources used (please use my bookstore if you want to order the books):

Comte, F. (1991) ‘The Wordsworth Dictionary of Mythology’, Wordsworth, Kent


Image attributions

Indra image is in the public domain.
Sarasvati image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike 3.0 license by Durga

---

Are you a Dream Spirit? Sign up for free!

In 2009 I launched a members site for those of you who are interested in dreams. It’s called Dream Spirit and has lots of free content, including a searchable dream dictionary and forum. To join, please click
here. There is also a summer offer of a third off for those who want to upgrade and a generous referral program. Check it out by July 31st!

---

Read your stars with Earthpulse

Click here to read your weekly stars.
Please note that my stars (as with all horoscopes of this nature) make use of limited, widely applicable astrological factors and can be interpreted in many ways. This does not reflect the full scope of the art and science of astrology.
NB. The rights to my horoscopes are currently for sale to other online or offline publications. Please contact me for more information.

---

Now on radio!

I am also on radio, approximately once a month, here in the UK. The radio station is ‘Magic 999′,part of the ‘Rock FM’ group and I take calls for about 40 minutes from 0830 on Jude’s Breakfast Show. The show broadcasts to Lancashire but non-Lancastrians can listen online on www.magic999.co.uk. My next show is likely to be in July 2010.

Coming next: The Hindu Deities: Hanuman