The Rise of Indra

Indra taking on Vritra in snake form. Source: Pinterest

In the time before time there was Purusha the primordial God. Before him was nothing and after him, everything. In the beginning he gave birth to the first gods of his own body. From his mouth was born Indra and his brother Agni who were the first to come, then many others from the rest of his body followed. Indra was given governance over all of the Gods born from Purusha and became the God of Thunder and Storms. His brother Agni was given dominion over fire. Indra with his power over thunder and the sky bested many foes in his early years. He spent most of his time since his creation fighting demons that wished to destroy the world and throw it into chaos. He conquered many demons atop his celestial mount Airavata, a giant four-tusked elephant.

Indra overcame the challenge with minimal effort. These demons he was facing, however, were so beneath him it almost wasn't worth his time to fight them. He only did it because for others it would have been a great challenge but for him it was trivial. He could risk less and do more if he held this responsibility. With his power he created rivers for the people so they could grow and prosper from the life they bring. He also herded a divine collection of cattle in the heavens that would provide nourishment for the earth and its people. He brought prosperity to the gods and humans who lived in his domain using his great power, and protected them from the demons that tried relentlessly to enslave them and subvert his power.

Indra was growing a reputation among Gods around the world for his generosity and devotion to his subjects. Although still seen as a minor player on the world stage by more western Gods that had gained much acclaim around the world for their mighty deeds, recognition of his deeds and his name was spreading quickly. This would all change however, when a new foe would cross into Indra's domain.

A great demon by the name of Vritra, who was magnitudes stronger than anything Indra had faced before, appeared from the earth in the form of an enormous snake. He appeared right on Indra's doorstep and proceeded to suck the life from the land, creating a great drought and bringing much strife and hardship to the people in Indra's domain. Vritra's humongous body was blocking all of the rivers and streams that Indra had created for his people. Vritra was so large that he started to spill over into other lands and cause droughts to foreign peoples as well. He became a problem for the world and required immediate attention. Other powerful Gods from other lands took notice and decided to travel to Indra's domain to take care of the demon. Zeus, the Thunder God from the region of Greece, was the first to march for Vritra with his host of warrior gods.

None of the Gods under Indra's control dared take on Vritra. Indra was the only one in his region that had the power to take on the demon, but no one outside of Indra's domain knew the extent of his strength. Indra hastened to confront Vritra atop his mount Airavata. When he arrived, the other God's from Zeus' party were already in battle with the beast. Vritra was beating down many of Zeus' companions. Indra rode up onto the mighty snake and without skipping a beat he began to hurl thunderbolts at it. Vritra recoiled and got beaten back by every blow. Indra's blows were coming too quick to counter and he slayed the demon seemingly in no time at all while the other Gods watch in disbelief as someone with Zeus' power bests their foe. They had all ridden to confront the beast because they had thought there was no one powerful enough in the region to defeat it, but they were shocked to find Indra possessed such great power.

Author's Note:

The source story is a little bit confusing to parse through because Indra has some conflicting stories attributed to him but most of it was drawn from his stories in the Vedic texts. His origin is the same and many of his attributes like his herd of celestial cattle, his creation of rivers, and his constant battles with demons all come from his mythology. The changes I made come into play when I begin to talk about the other gods and how they take note of Indra. I added them as spectators to one of Indra's most famous battles with the massive demon snake Vritra so it could set up his future conflicts with them. It is meant to spark fear into the other god's eyes as they see a powerful terrifying force from somewhere they had not expected. The image selected was meant to show Indra in his battle with Vritra to give a nice visual for the story. The purpose of this story is to set up Indra in the world and show how he would quickly come to be at odds with other powers around the world. It shows how he came to gain some acclaim and the event that sets off the future conflicts with notable thunder gods from other regions.

bibliography:

Indra, Wikipedia

Indra, from the Ancient History Encyclopedia, by Mark Cartwright