Introduction

In this storybook, I will tell the tale of Indra, the Thunder God in Indian culture. In many cultures, the God of Thunder is often revered as one of the most powerful Gods in the hierarchy, such as Zeus and Thor in Greek and Norse mythology. Indra is seen as the savior to humankind for his defeat of the evil drought-serpent Vritra. This serpent is portrayed as being able to obstruct human happiness and sunshine. Often, being able to bring about natural phenomena such as rain and thunder is associated with bringing life and the harvest. Thus, Indra is often revered very highly.

First, I will outline the creation of his deadly weapon, the Vajra. In this story, we will learn more about the properties and history of the Vajra, as well as why this weapon is perfectly suited to Indra and Indra alone. The story will delve deeper into the need for the Vajra and its exact making and molding for Indra alone.

After we are more acquainted with Indra's backstory and how he acquires the Vajra, we will move on to using the Vajra to defeat Vritra, the drought serpent. In this story, I will outline an epic fight between a cherished God and an evil serpent, where the winner might not be as obvious as it sounds. We will cover more from Vritra’s side as well, to allow for a better “view” of Indra during the action to allow readers to discern more about divine battles.

Finally, in an attempt to learn more about Indra, I will end this Storybook with a story about a transcendental "Thunder God" spirit that morphs between Indra, Zeus, and Thor depending on the needs of the lands and the dominating hopes of the people. In this story, we will see exactly what determines when this Thunder Being assumes the form of Indra, versus when it assumes the form of a different God. The key focus of this story will be on learning more about Indian culture, and how exactly the form of Indra was shaped.

The stories as a whole should function first as an introduction to Indra where I hope to establish the backstory of the God and to create an image of how he gains his power and the reverence of the Vajra. Then, I hope to show how he is viewed in the public eye as he defeats the drought serpent. The purpose of that story will be more to tell it from the perception of Indian culture. Finally, when I tell about Indra's personalities, I will be giving more from the viewpoint of Indra, and how a God views different conflicts and opportunities for improving the area around them.

Overall, this storybook should serve as a way to learn first about Indra’s famous weapon, the Vajra. Second, it will explore the Vritra, and an epic battle where readers will see God’s battles and punishments. Finally, readers will learn more about Indra as a whole, and hopefully, Indian culture as well. This is also a great opportunity to learn more about the process of creating a website and working on storytelling.

First Story: The Vajra