|
|
| |
| Home » Other Hindu Gods and Goddesses » Indra |
| |
Indra |
|
|
Indra is one of the most prominent Gods in Hinduism. Indra is thought to be the God of war and also of weather. Indra is considered as the Lord of the Gods. It is for this reason that He is addressed as Devraj Indra. His residence is in Heaven. Though Indra happens to be depicted as the prime Deity in the Rig Veda, one of the four parts of Veda, the sacred Hindu religious text, Indra has been referred to have had an amorous and brash character. In all kinds of mythologies in the country of India, Indra is found to be a very prominent character.
|
In Rig Veda, the character of Indra has been beautifully and elaborately depicted. Indra is the Lord of all the gods in the Heaven or the 'Swarga'. Indra takes much delight in drinking 'Soma' . He is the god of power that is specially required in wars. Indra himself is referred to have become victorious in a huge number of wars. He was also worshiped by the warriors before they set out for the wars. There is one very interesting story related to the popularity of Lord Indra as the god of War. All of the combatant kings who took part in the Battle of the Ten Kings as combatants had worshiped Indra.
So far as the physical appearance of Lord Indra is concerned, He is depicted in the Rig Veda, to be a very handsome figure with fair complexion. The fairness of the skin of Lord Indra has been repeatedly mentioned in the Rig Veda. He is very strong by himself. He is believed to be owning the 'Vajra' or the Thunder. When Indra killed Vritra, he is believed to have used as many as four instruments or weapons. Those weapons of Indra are a hook, a net and a bow in addition to the Thunder or the Vajra.
Indra got married to Indrani, the daughter of Puloman whom Indra killed. Indra was the father of Arjuna, the son of Kunti in the Mahabharata. He is also the father of Rsabha, Rbhus, Khmala, Nilambara, Midhusa and Jayanta. Indra has been conferred human attributes more than he has been attributed with divine features. The character of Indra has been depicted in Rig Veda not to be so much fair. He had an illicit affair with Ahalya, the wife of Maharishi Gautama. When he was caught, Gautama cursed Indra, as a result of which the body of Indra was covered by one thousand vaginas. Indra was also cursed that his reign in Heaven would suffer from tremendous disasters. The reflection of this curse coming true is clear when Indra is found to be humiliated a number of times by the strong and powerful demons like Ravana and Indrajit. There are also many other stories of Indra in the Hindu mythology. It is also believed that Indra has as many as fourteen different forms. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
