In Hinduism, the Vedic king of the gods, to whom many of the prayers of the Rig Veda are addressed.
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Indra (Sanskrit: इन्द्र or इंद्र, indra) is the chief deity of the Rigveda, and the god of weather and war, and lord of Svargaloka in Hinduism.
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.
In the Vedic religion, 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). 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.
Vedic Indra
The Rig-Veda states,
He under whose supreme control are horses, all chariots, and 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)
Indra is the chief god of the Rigveda (besides Agni).
By the age of the Hindu epics, Indra became 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, was referred to as Rāghavendra (Indra of the clan of Raghu). Hence the original Indra was also referred to as Devendra (Indra of the Devas). 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.
In Hinduism
Status and function
Indra is an important god in many tales and epics.
Vaishnavites and most modern Hindus, see Indra as minor deity and contemporary Hindus often worship a personal supreme God such as Shiva,Vishnu, Devi or Surya, seen by them as the great god. 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 art, Indra is depicted as a muscular, red man, sometimes with four very long arms.
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.
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.
According to one belief, Indra pulled his father, Dyaus Pita, from the sky by the foot;
Some scholars have also argued that there is a continuity between Indra and Shiva (Rudra).
Stories about Indra
Indra is not a perfect being, and is ascribed with more human characteristics and vices than any other Vedic deity.
Ahalya's curse
Indra had an affair with Ahalya, wife of Gautama Maharishi. 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. Ravana released Indra when Brahma convinced him to do so, but Indra, as the defeated, had to pay tribute and accept Ravana's supremacy.
Indra and Vritra
Vritra (Verethra in Avesta), an asura, stole all the water in the world and Indra drank much Soma to prepare himself for the battle with the huge serpent.
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.
In Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism retains Indra as the leader of "false gods" (all, or almost all other gods), beings who can be equated with devils. (Vd. 10.9)
Similarly, in the Denkard, a 9th century Middle Persian text, Indra is the arch-demon that "is the spirit of apostasy and further deceives the worldly existence of mankind" (9.3). At the renovation of the universe Indra will be defeated by Asha Vahishta (Gbd. 34.27)
In Buddhism and Jainism
Indra is rarely referred to in Buddhist texts, and when he is it is either as a minor deity (a lord of the yakṣas, for instance) or as the object of worship of the Brahmins.
In Jainism, Indra awards a golden robe to Mahavira, and later welcomes him into heaven.
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