CHAPTER VII.

THE STORM DEITIES.

1. INDRA.

As was noticed previously, Indra, together with Agni and Surya, by means of sacrifice obtained supremacy

Click to enlarge
INDRA.

over the other gods; and if we may judge from the number of hymns addressed to him in the Vedas, he was the most popular deity,

He is the god of the firmament, in whose hands are the thunder and the lightning; at whose command the refreshing showers fall to render the earth fruitful. When it is borne in mind that in India for months together the earth, exposed to the scorching rays of the sun, becomes so hard that it is impossible for the fields to be ploughed or the seed to be sown, it will not be regarded as wonderful that the god who is supposed to bestow rain should frequently be appealed to, and that the most laudatory songs should be addressed to him. To the poetic, minds of the Vedic age, the clouds that the winds brought from the ocean were enemies who held their treasures in their fast embrace until, conquered by Indra, they were forced to pour them upon the parched soil. And very naturally when, in answer to the cry of his worshippers, the genial rains descended, and the earth was thereby changed from a desert to a garden, songs of thanksgiving and praise, couched in the strongest terms, were addressed to him. The attributes ascribed to him refer principally to his physical superiority; and the blessings sought from him are chiefly of a physical rather than a spiritual character.

Indra is not regarded as an uncreated deity. In some hymns he is spoken of as the twin-brother of Agni, and therefore the son of Heaven and Earth; whilst, in other hymns, heaven and earth are said to have been formed by him. Although his parents are often referred to, it is but seldom that they are named; and when they are named, they are not always the same. He is the king of the gods; and in post-Vedic ages his reign is said to extend for a hundred divine years only; at the end of which time he may be superseded as king by some other of the gods, or even by

man, if any be able to perform the severe penance necessary to obtain this exalted position.

In pictures, Indra is often represented as a man with four arms and hands; with two he holds a lance, in the third is a thunderbolt, whilst the fourth is empty. He is also sometimes painted with two arms only, and, having eyes all over his body, is then called Sahasraksha (the thousand-eye). He is generally depicted as riding upon the wonderful elephant Airavata, who was produced at the churning of the ocean, [**] carrying a thunderbolt in his right hand and a bow in his left. In the Vedic Age his worship was far more popular than it is at present.

The position and attributes of Indra as taught by the Vedas will be seen from the following description, abbreviated from that given by Dr. Muir:-- [*+]