Indra is the god of the heavens, thunder, and lightning. He is highly celebrated for his strength and power and for bringing happiness to the human world. Indra is often depicted with his thunderbolt weapon riding his white elephant mount known as Airavata. Airavata is a mighty elephant who is usually depicted with three or thirty-three heads and multiple trunks and tusks. Sometimes Airavata is referred to as the elephant of the clouds, as there is a myth that elephants can produce clouds. In this story, Indra is slaying the demon Vritra and Airavata is there to help.
One day, Indra was in the heavens overseeing the earth when he realized there was a great evil lurking in the shadows. This evil known as Vritra was responsible for the drought that the humans were experiencing. Indra had heard that Vritra appeared as a giant serpent with green scales and long fangs; however, he had also heard that Vritra also looked just like a man. Every place on the earth that had lovely rushing rivers, giant blue lakes, and small backyard ponds began to dry and drive away all the vegetation and life nearby. Indra got upon his mount Airavata and began searching for this creature all over the world, peeking in every corner and looking under every rock.
He began asking around, "Have you seen a mighty creature called Vritra? I have been told he sometimes resembles a man but also a giant dragon."
Every person, deity, and animal he asked shuddered in fear at the thought, but no one had seen the demon known as Vritra.
Growing impatient, Indra went down and took three giant strides to create a battlefield. He yelled out across the heavens and the earth, "Come fight me Vritra! Crawl out of the shadows and meet your demise."
Indra waited for days with his thunderbolt weapon, known as Vajra, and Airavata. Each day his anger grew as well as his plans on how to kill Vritra. Eventually, Vritra came forward from behind the trees and confronted Indra. He indeed was a mighty dragon with slimy looking turquoise scales. His wings spanned the battlefield and his tail had spikes that punctured the earth. Indra saw this mighty creature, but had no fear of defeating him.
"What took you so long, demon? Were you afraid of meeting the one that would gift you your death?" Indra asked.
Vritra just laughed and attacked Indra immediately. He broke one of Indra's two jaws which further enraged the already murderous god. The battle lasted for hours and both Indra and Vritra were not tiring out; however, Indra was ready to slay this foul demon. He grabbed his thunderbolt weapon, stood upon Airavata, and with one mighty thrust he struck Vritra right in the heart. Vritra cried out in anger, fear, and sadness, for he knew he had been bested. The life left Vritra's eyes and Indra cried out in triumph. The skies darkened and thunder echoed throughout the hills and valleys nearby, letting the world know that Vritra had fallen.
Indra then got upon his mount Airavata and began to travel to nearby villages sporting Vritra's dragon head as a trophy. While the villagers were happy that this demon had been defeated, they still had no water. Indra was confused, as the demon Vritra was the one responsible for the cause of these droughts. He went to the edge of a giant lake that was almost completely gone and called upon Airavata's powers. Airavata stretched his long trunks down into the deep depths of the underworld and sucked up all of its waters. He then lifted up and sprayed all of this water into the sky to form huge clouds. Indra then transformed these clouds and ordered them to rain down cool water until all of the water was returned to the rivers, lakes, and ponds. He also linked the waters of the sky to those of the underworld so that no other demon could ever cause this drought ever again.
Once the rain began to fall down, villagers from all around came to see Indra at the once empty giant lake where this miracle happened. They began to sing and dance as the rain fell around them. The once dead flowers began to bloom, the withered trees starting turning green, and the animals of the forest were returning home.
Indra and Airavata returned to the heavens, as their job was done. All was well.
Author's Note: I found this story while researching Indra the Thunder God and Airavata. This story is well known, as it not only establishes Indra as a demon slayer, but it also displays the power of Airavata. This story is actually one of the reasons why Airavata is known as the elephant of the clouds. I kept the majority of this story the same, but I did add a few details and dramatic effects. In the original story, Vritra does not hide from Indra. In fact, he has 99 fortresses where he hides the stolen river waters! I chose in this story to make Vritra hide because I thought it made the story more interesting, as Indra had to search for him and became angry. Vritra is also supposed to be a serpent demon, so I thought the hiding in dark places fit well with that persona. While Airavata is not essential in the battle between Indra and Vritra, he is very important for the ending of the story. Elephants are widely known to symbolize work, activity, and strength, as well as water, rain and fertility for abundant prosperity. There were also many myths that elephants were the ones who created clouds, which Airavata does in this story. In this story, Airavata fulfills all of these thoughts on elephants, as he not only gives Indra strength, but he also produces clouds that give the people the rain for their survival.