Indra, King of the Devas and Ruler of Svargaloka

Indra is the king of the devas and the ruler (adhipati) of Svargaloka, the celestial world. He is also called Devarāja, Devendra, Śakra, Mahendra and Vajrapāṇi. His weapon is the Vajra, the thunderbolt. It was made from the bones of Dadhīci Mahārṣi. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa tells the full account of his four great pāpas (sins), the breaking of his pride by Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, and how he was made pure again by the Rādhā Kavaca. The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, the Śiva Purāṇa, the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa and the Mahābhārata tell of him too.

Nature, role and titles

Indra is the lord of Svargaloka and the king of all the devas. He rules the celestial world where all virtuous souls (ātmā) go after lives of puṇya (merit). As Devarāja, his duty is to keep the order of dharma in the three worlds. He ensures that rain falls and crops grow through his authority over Parjanya (rain), and he guards the devas against attacks by the asuras.

His main title is Śatamakha, “he who has completed a hundred yajñas” (fire rituals). He earned it by a long series of yajñas done under the guidance of his teacher Bṛhaspati. Each yajña gathered great puṇya and spiritual power. When he finished one hundred, he reached the highest place of Devarāja.

His title Sahasra-netra, “thousand-eyed”, came through a strange chain of karma. Gautama Mahārṣi first cursed Indra with the look of a thousand yonis (female organs) on his body, as a mark of his wrong act with Ahalyā. Indra then did tapas (austerity) to Bhagavān Sūrya. Sūrya and Brahmā were pleased and changed the thousand yonis into a thousand eyes. This gave Indra his well-known thousand-eyed form.

He is also called Vajrapāṇi (wielder of the Vajra), Śakra and Devendra (lord of the devas).

His weapon, the Vajra (thunderbolt), was made from the bones of Dadhīci Mahārṣi. Dadhīci gave up his own body of his own will, so that his bones could be shaped into this unbeatable weapon to guard dharma. (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 47)

Indra’s four great pāpas

The Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 47, gives a full account of Indra’s pāpas. It tells what led to his crisis, his hiding, the time of Nahuṣa, and his last purification.

First pāpa: disrespect to Bṛhaspati

Indra earned the title Śatamakha with one hundred yajñas. After that his pride grew past all limits. What should have been an act of devotion and tapas became the seed of his ego. One day, in his divine court (sabhā), Bṛhaspati came in. He was Indra’s teacher and the guru of all the devas. Indra did not stand up to greet him.

Not showing the basic respect owed to a guru was a grave wrong. Bṛhaspati was deeply hurt. He saw that his student had been spoiled by pride. He cursed Indra and became invisible to him. Then he left Svargaloka altogether and gave up his place as teacher of the devas. Without Bṛhaspati’s guidance, the devas lost both their wisdom and their spiritual footing. (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 47)

Second pāpa: the wrong done to Ahalyā

Indra took the form of Gautama Ṛṣi. He went to Ahalyā, Gautama’s devoted wife, and was with her. Gautama Mahārṣi knew what had happened through his all-knowing sight. He gave Indra a fierce curse: “May one thousand yonis appear upon your body!” It was a clear and shameful mark of his wrong act.

Indra bore this suffering and then did tapas to Sūrya. By the joint grace of Sūrya and Brahmā, the thousand yonis became a thousand eyes. In this way Indra took the form now known as Sahasra-netra. The outer mark was changed, but the karmic result of the act remained. (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 47)

Third pāpa: killing Viśvarūpa, the first brahmahatyā

After Bṛhaspati left, the devas needed a new priest for their yajñas. They chose Viśvarūpa, the son of Tvaṣṭā (also called Tvaṣṭṛ), the architect of the worlds. But Viśvarūpa had a divided loyalty. While he performed the yajñas, he secretly gave a share of the offerings to the asuras, who were his mother’s relatives. The devas did not know.

Indra found out about this betrayal and was filled with rage. He killed Viśvarūpa on the spot. But Viśvarūpa was a brāhmaṇa, being the son of a brāhmaṇa line. To kill a brāhmaṇa is the gravest pāpa, called brahmahatyā. The doṣa (fault) of brahmahatyā clung to Indra at once. (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 47)

Fourth pāpa: killing Vṛtrāsura, the second brahmahatyā

Tvaṣṭā was grief-stricken and furious at his son’s death. He performed a great yajña. From it came the terrible asura Vṛtrāsura. He was made to avenge Viśvarūpa and to destroy Indra. Vṛtrāsura was very strong, and the ordinary weapons of the devas could not defeat him.

Bhagavān Viṣṇu told Indra that only a weapon made from the bones of Dadhīci Mahārṣi could overcome Vṛtrāsura. Dadhīci Mahārṣi understood that it had to be done. He gave up his body of his own will, so that his bones could be the material for the weapon. The Vajra was made from his bones. With the Vajra, Indra fought and killed Vṛtrāsura.

But Vṛtrāsura, though an asura, had the standing of a brāhmaṇa through the line of Tvaṣṭā. Killing him was a second brahmahatyā. Indra now carried the double weight of brahmahatyā-doṣa. (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 47)

Brahmahatyā pursues Indra

After the double brahmahatyā, the gathered pāpa took the form of a frightening being, brahmahatyā-doṣa shown as a dreadful woman. She began to chase Indra without rest through all the worlds. Wherever Indra ran, the brahmahatyā followed, and brought fear and distress.

Indra could not bear her presence. At last he fled to Mānasarovara (Lake Mānasa), the first sacred lake in the Himālaya. He made himself tiny and hid inside the stem of a lotus flower. There he stayed in great distress, cut off from his throne and from his work as Devarāja. (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 47)

The Nahuṣa episode

While Indra was away, the three worlds had no Devarāja. The devas could not work well without a king. They talked it over and chose Nahuṣa, a great and righteous king of the Lunar Dynasty, to serve as Indra for a time. Nahuṣa was placed on Indra’s throne in Svargaloka.

At first Nahuṣa ruled well. But the power of Indra’s throne spoiled him. He became drunk with divine authority and proud. He began to desire Śacī Devī, Indra’s own queen, as his wife. Śacī Devī was horrified and took shelter with Bṛhaspati.

Tārā, the wife of Bṛhaspati, also helped Śacī in this crisis. The devas saw how Nahuṣa had been spoiled and understood that the time had come to bring Indra back. Bṛhaspati arranged for Indra to be called back from Mānasarovara.

Nahuṣa was taken from Indra’s place, and Indra returned to take his throne again. (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 47)

Kṛṣṇa breaks Indra’s pride

Even after Indra came back to his throne, his deeper pride was not fully broken. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa then appeared before Indra as a small brāhmaṇa boy, a brahmacārī. He takes such a form to teach deep truths while looking humble and plain.

The boy spoke to Indra on karma and on the impermanence of the worlds. His words broke every last trace of Indra’s pride:

“All the current Indras across all universes were ants in their previous births. And all the ants you see now in your palace were Indras in their previous births.”

The boy then pointed to Lomaśa Muni, a ṛṣi whose chest was covered with hair. Each time an Indra dies, one hair falls from Lomaśa Muni’s chest. By counting the hairs that remain, one can judge how many more cycles of Indras are still to come. The meaning was crushing. The title and throne of Indra, which had seemed so complete and so grand, were only one turn in an endless cycle. Everyone who sits on Indra’s throne will one day be an ant, and every ant will one day be an Indra.

Indra’s pride was fully broken. He wanted to give up everything and become a sannyāsin (one who has renounced the world). But Śacī Devī and Bṛhaspati advised him that his dharma was to rule justly as Devarāja, not to give up. The post of Indra is itself a sacred duty, and doing it without attachment is the true path. (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 47)

Purification through the Rādhā Kavaca

Bṛhaspati taught Indra the Rādhā Kavaca, a divine prayer of protection (kavaca, armour) to Śrī Rādhādevī. It is a powerful hymn of protection that can destroy all doṣas, even the gravest brahmahatyā. Indra recited the Rādhā Kavaca with sincere devotion. His gathered brahmahatyā-doṣa was destroyed completely. He was made pure and given back the full dignity of Devarāja.

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa teaches from this that the grace of Rādhādevī, sought through her kavaca, can destroy even the heaviest karmic impurity. (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 47)

The seizure of Kayādhu

The seventh Skanda of the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa records another episode. Hiraṇyakaśipu went to Mandara Parvata to do his great tapas. Indra led the devas in an attack on the rākṣasas. During this attack Indra seized Kayādhu, the pregnant wife of Hiraṇyakaśipu and the daughter of Jambha, and began to carry her away.

Indra gave his reason. The child in her womb would be Hiraṇyakaśipu’s heir and would grow even stronger than his father. Indra meant to keep her captive until the birth and then destroy the child. Kayādhu wept like a kurarī bird as Indra carried her off.

Nārada Maharṣi appeared on the path by the will of Bhagavān Hari and stopped him. He said: “O Mahānubhāva! This pativratā woman (a faithful wife) has no fault. It is not right for you to carry off the wife of another. Let her go.” He told Indra that the child in the womb would be a great bhakta (devotee) of Śrī Hari, not an enemy to be feared. Indra accepted Nārada’s authority and let Kayādhu go.

This event became the way by which Prahlāda was formed in bhakti. Kayādhu lived in Nārada’s āśrama under his care. There Nārada taught her the Bhāgavata tattva (truth), and Prahlāda took it in while still in the womb. (Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 7th Skanda, Chapter 7)

Indra in the Rāsa Līlā

Indra, with Śacī Devī, is among the divine witnesses who came to Vṛndāvana to see the great Rāsa Līlā of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. He came in his divine vehicle with full respect. He understood that the Rāsa Maṇḍala was the most sacred event in creation. (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 28)

Titles and names

Śatamakha: one who has completed a hundred yajñas
Sahasra-netra: the thousand-eyed
Vajrapāṇi: wielder of the Vajra
Devendra: lord of the devas
Śakra: the mighty one
Purandara: destroyer of strongholds
Māghavan: the liberal one

The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, sixth Skanda

The sixth Skanda of the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa tells the same events as above, with these chapters:

Bṛhaspati’s departure (Chapter 7).
The choosing of Viśvarūpa and the Nārāyaṇa Kavaca (Chapters 7–8).
The killing of Viśvarūpa, and the yajña of Tvaṣṭā that produced Vṛtrāsura (Chapter 9).
The stotra (hymn of praise) of the devas, and Bhagavān Hari sending them to Dadhīci (Chapter 9).
Dadhīci giving up his body and the making of the Vajra (Chapter 10).
The great battle at the Narmadā (Chapters 10–12).
Vṛtrāsura’s death and Indra’s brahmahatyā (Chapter 12).
The cleansing of the brahmahatyā through the prāyaścitta (act of atonement) at the river Sarasvatī, the Nahuṣa episode, and Indra’s return to his place (Chapter 13).

The Bhāgavata gives these further details. Indra hid in the lotus stalk at Mānasarovara and meditated on Bhagavān Hari throughout his time away. Nahuṣa fell through the curse of Agastya.

The sixth Skanda also tells of Indra’s part in the account of Diti and the Marudgaṇas. He watched Diti’s Puṃsavana Vrata (vow). He found that she had missed her sandhyā prayers. He entered her womb to cut the embryo. In the end he accepted the protecting power of Bhagavān Hari, and Diti forgave him (Chapters 18–19). (Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 6th Skanda, Chapters 7–13, 18–19)

Kedāra Khaṇḍa: Indra’s pride, Bali’s conquest and the samudra manthana

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa tells in detail the events that led to the samudra manthana, the churning of the ocean. Indra was at the height of his power and pride in his celestial court. When Bṛhaspati arrived with his disciples, Indra did not stand up to greet him. Bṛhaspati silently turned and vanished. Nārada warned Indra: “Your kingdom is finished.”

Indra went to Bṛhaspati’s house to make peace. But meanwhile Bali learned of the weakness of the devas. He came forward with the armies of the daityas and took Svarga and all its treasures. The divine ratnas (jewels), among them Airāvata and Uccaiḥśravas, fell into the ocean in the confusion.

Indra went to Viṣṇu with Brahmā. Viṣṇu told him to be patient and arranged the samudra manthana, the joint churning of the Kṣīrasāgara (Ocean of Milk) by the devas and asuras together. The disaster of the Kālakūṭa poison came because the devas did not follow Nārada’s advice to please Śiva first. Only Śiva’s swallowing of the Kālakūṭa saved creation. In the end the Vāmana avatāra took Bali out of Svarga for good. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 9, 18–19)

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa also tells of Nahuṣa (Chapter 15). Indra fled from brahmahatyā after Vṛtra’s death. Nahuṣa was placed as Indra for a time. He became proud and made the Saptarṣis carry his palanquin. He kicked Agastya with his foot and was cursed to become a serpent. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 9, 15, 17, 18)

Śiva Purāṇa: the battle at Dakṣa’s yajña

The Satī Khaṇḍa of the Śiva Purāṇa has two important episodes with Indra.

The assembly at Prayāga

At the great assembly at Prayāga (Chapter 21), Indra was among the devas present when Dakṣa came and gave his insulting speech about Śiva. After Nandī’s curse, Dakṣa answered with curses on the gaṇas. The break-up of the assembly at Prayāga was the seed of the disaster at the yajña.

The battle at Dakṣa’s yajña

Vīrabhadra came down on Dakṣa’s yajña with crores of gaṇas. In the first fight, Nandī fought Indra himself. Indra and the devas fought the gaṇas before Vīrabhadra himself joined the battle. Viṣṇu was stabbed and left unable to move, and the Śārṅga bow was broken. Brahmā and Viṣṇu then withdrew, and the remaining devas, Indra among them, could not stand against the gaṇas. Indra’s presence and defeat at the yajña fulfilled the earlier curse of Dadhīci, as the Satī Khaṇḍa explains in Chapters 38–39. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Satī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 21, 33–37)

Mahābhārata: Arjuna in Svarga

The account of Surabhi

In the Vana Parva, Indra appears in the Surabhi Upākhyāna, told by Vyāsa to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. The divine cow Surabhi came weeping before Indra. She told him that one of her sons, an ox working a field, was being beaten by a farmer. Indra was moved by pity and sent rain at the right moment. The farmer had to stop, and the ox had rest. Vyāsa used this account to speak of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s duty toward the Pāṇḍavas. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 9)

The invitation to Arjuna

Arjuna received the Pāśupatāstra from Śiva, and the weapons of the other lokapālas on the peak of the Himālaya. After that Indra sent his divine charioteer Mātali with Indra’s own chariot to carry Arjuna to Indraloka. Its flag bore the vaijayantī sign, and it was drawn by the Hari horses. Arjuna was received in Indrasabhā with great honour. He sat at Indra’s side on half of the divine throne. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 41–44)

Citrasena and Ūrvaśī

Indra appointed the gandharva Citrasena to teach Arjuna gāndharva music and celestial dance. He also sent Ūrvaśī to Arjuna. Arjuna refused her because of her family line, and called her gurumātā (teacher’s mother). Ūrvaśī then cursed Arjuna to be a napuṁsaka among women for one year. Indra stepped in and showed that the curse was in fact the perfect disguise for the ajñātavāsa (the year of living unknown). What looked like a curse was turned by Indra’s wisdom into a vara (a boon). (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 45–46)

Lomaśa as messenger

The ṛṣi Lomaśa visited Indrasabhā and saw Arjuna sharing Indra’s throne. Indra explained that Arjuna was Nara, the eternal companion of Nārāyaṇa. Indra asked Lomaśa to take a message to Yudhiṣṭhira: he should not grieve for Arjuna, he should go on tīrtha-yātrā (a journey to holy places), and he should know that Arjuna would return with all the weapons needed. Indra also named the Nīvātakavacas in Pātāla as the next obstacle Arjuna must overcome. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 47)

Arjuna’s five years

Arjuna spent five years in Svarga. He learned the celestial arts from Citrasena, destroyed the Nīvātakavacas in Pātāla, and received more divine weapons from Indra. Indra sent him back to earth at the right time, fully armed for the coming war. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 48–50)

Mahābhārata, Mokṣadharma Parva: Indra taught by dānavas

The Śānti Parva, Mokṣadharma Parva (Chapters 222–228) has a group of dialogues in which Indra is the student of three dānavas in turn, each one defeated, imprisoned or humbled by him. In every case the dānava stays calm in misfortune. That calm becomes the occasion for a teaching which Indra, the winner, the powerful king of the devas, cannot match. These dialogues give the Mokṣadharma Parva’s most concentrated teaching on non-doership (akartṛtva), time (kāla) and calm of mind.

Śakra-Prahlāda-Saṃvāda (Chapter 222). Indra finds Prahlāda sitting in complete peace (śānti), though he has lost his kingdom and rule. Indra taunts him. Prahlāda teaches that the ātman does not act (akartā). It is svabhāva (own nature), not personal doing, that brings all things about. Paramabrahman is the source of all. One who knows this rests in the source, whatever forms it takes or loses.

Bali-Vāsava-Saṃvāda (Chapters 223–225, 227). Bali has been born again in a lowly form. Indra taunts him. Bali teaches that kāla is supreme, a great ocean in which all glory is a wave. He teaches non-doership. He shows the impermanence of all greatness with a long list of fallen emperors. Śrī (Lakṣmī) leaves Bali’s body while Indra watches. Bali accepts even this without grief. He explains the conditions under which Śrī stays and leaves. Bali’s anahaṃkāra-gīta says, “I am not the doer; kāla acted through me.”

Śrī-Vāsava-Saṃvāda (Chapter 228). After Bali’s teaching, Śrī (Lakṣmī) appears to Indra herself and explains the conditions of her dwelling. She lives in four pādas (places): bhūmi (earth), jala (water), agni (fire) and sajjanas (virtuous people). She has eight companions whose presence she needs: āśā, śraddhā, dhṛti, kṣānti, vijiti, sannati, kṣamā and vṛtti. Indra saw her leave Bali. Now he learns from her what draws her and what drives her away.

Śakra-Namuci-Saṃvāda (Chapter 226). The dānava Namuci is found bound and imprisoned. Indra taunts him. Namuci teaches that there is only one controller (eka-śāsaka). Bhavitavya, what must happen, always happens. Grief has no purpose, burns the body, and gives no real help. Kāla causes all seeming joys and sorrows. The dhuraṃdhara, one who bears the great burden, stays unmoved in misfortune like the Himālaya mountain.

Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva: power won at Kāśī and the test of Upamanyu

Upamanyu’s account to Kṛṣṇa (Chapter 14) records a tradition apart from the cycle of Bṛhaspati and Nahuṣa told above. Once, in the city of Kāśī, Indra worshipped Śiva, who was unclad (digambara) and smeared with ashes (bhasma), with intense bhakti. By that worship he gained his devarājatva, his rule as king of the devas.

The same chapter records that Śiva tested the devotion of the child-ascetic Upamanyu. Śiva took the form of Indra himself, riding an Airāvata-form and attended by all the signs of Indra’s rank, and offered Upamanyu any boon he wished. Upamanyu refused every temptation. He said he wanted nothing but devotion to Rudra. He went on to answer the philosophical challenge of the disguised “Indra” with the liṅga-yoni argument for the supremacy of Śiva. Then the disguise fell away, and Śiva showed his true form with Pārvatī. This episode belongs mainly to the account of Upamanyu. (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 14)

Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva: Bhaṅgāsvana

The Anuśāsana Parva keeps an itihāsa told by Bhīṣma to Yudhiṣṭhira, in which Indra shows a petty and vengeful side. King Bhaṅgāsvana had no sons. He performed the Agniṣṭoma yajña, which honours Agni alone as giver of sons and leaves Indra without a share. Bhaṅgāsvana had done no wrong. Still, Indra held a lasting vaira (enmity) over this. He watched for years for a chance to act against the king and found none, until he made one. While the king was hunting, Indra confused his mind with māyā. The king bathed, without knowing it, in an enchanted lake that turned him into a woman.

This curse brought no real ruin. Bhaṅgāsvana accepted her changed nature, bore a second hundred sons to an ascetic husband, and joined both groups of sons in brotherly rule. Indra was troubled that his revenge had become a kind of gift. He then took the form of a brāhmaṇa and on purpose sowed discord between the two sets of a hundred brothers. He falsely pointed to the age-old rivalry of the devas and dānavas, both sons of Kaśyapa Prajāpati, as a model for how sons of different mothers must always compete. This made-up quarrel led to a war between brothers that killed all two hundred sons.

Indra gave way only when the grieving mother came to him with humility and truthful words. He offered to bring back either set of sons. She chose the sons of her womanhood, and explained that a mother’s love is greater than a father’s. He granted the vara and let all two hundred live again. He also let her stay a woman by her own choice, after she explained that women have far greater rati-sukha (delight of union) than men. (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 12)

Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva: Indra as “Dhṛtarāṣṭra” at Hastikūṭa

In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma tells Yudhiṣṭhira the itihāsa of Hastikūṭa. Indra takes the form and name of a king called Dhṛtarāṣṭra, clearly a different person from the Kaurava king of the main narrative. He does this to seize a splendid elephant that the brāhmaṇa Gautama had raised from a calf.

Gautama refuses every offer of payment. Again and again he threatens to drag the king before the court of Yama at Saṃyamanī. “Dhṛtarāṣṭra” shuts himself out, world by world, from every high destination Gautama names, since none of them belongs to one who has taken a brāhmaṇa’s property by force. Only when Gautama names Brahmaloka itself does Indra give way and show who he really is: Śatakratu. He gives back the elephant, whom Gautama had treated as his “son”, and himself leads Gautama to a Brahmaloka that ordinary beings cannot reach. (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 102)

Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva: Śunaḥsakha tests the seven ṛṣis

In the Bisa-Stainya Upākhyāna, seven ṛṣis were suffering from famine: Kaśyapa, Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Bharadvāja, Gautama, Viśvāmitra and Jamadagni. With them were Arundhatī, Gaṇḍā and Paśusakha. Indra joined their company, disguised as an unusually strong wandering ascetic named Śunaḥsakha, who had a dog with him.

The rākṣasī Kṛtyā had been created by King Vṛṣādarbhi to destroy the whole company. At a divine lotus pond she demanded Śunaḥsakha’s name. He gave a riddle she could not understand even when he told it a second time. He struck her dead with his tridaṇḍa (triple staff) and burned her to ash.

Indra then showed who he was. He explained that he had hidden the lotus stalks the company had gathered, only to test whether they were free of lobha (greed) after all their trials. He found them free of greed even in the worst need, and gave the whole company imperishable worlds of puṇya. (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 93)

Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva: Saṃvarta and Marutta

The Saṃvarta-Maruttīya ākhyāna in the Aśvamedhika Parva is told by Vyāsa to Yudhiṣṭhira. It is meant to support his plan to pay for his Aśvamedha from a store of gold left behind. It is one of the fullest accounts of Indra’s jealousy of a mortal’s yajña-glory, and of the limits of his own power against brahma-bala (the strength of a brāhmaṇa).

Indra could not surpass King Marutta, whatever he tried. He first made Bṛhaspati swear never to serve as Marutta’s purohita (family priest). Marutta then gained Saṃvarta, the estranged brother of Bṛhaspati, as his yājaka (priest of the yajña). At Muñjavanta, Saṃvarta’s stotra to Śiva showed a mountain of hidden gold. This made Marutta’s yajña richer than even the wealth of the devas.

Indra sent Agni twice to Marutta, offering Bṛhaspati as guru in return for amaratva (deathlessness), and was refused both times. Saṃvarta threatened to burn Agni with the glance of his curse. Agni would not go a third time. Indra scolded him for his fear. Agni reminded him of his own past shame in the episode of Cyavana and Mada at Śaryāti’s yajña. There the tapas-power of Cyavana had struck away Indra’s very hand along with the Vajra it held.

Indra then sent a gandharva named Dhṛtarāṣṭra, not the Kuru king of the same name, with a final warning: accept Bṛhaspati or be struck by the Vajra. Marutta refused. He held to the mitra-droha teaching, that giving up one who has taken refuge with you is a pāpa equal to brahmahatyā. Only Saṃvarta’s saṃstambhinī-vidyā (the power that holds things still) stopped the Vajra as it came near.

The account ends not in Indra’s defeat but in his own willing peace. He came in person to Marutta’s yajña, took the first drink of soma, and himself arranged the divine hospitality of the rite. (Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapters 5, 9–10)

Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva: Indra as the caṇḍāla, and the Vajra that opened Nāgaloka

In the Uttaṅkopākhyāna, Kṛṣṇa granted the ṛṣi Uttaṅka a boon of water in the desert. He also asked Indra to give Uttaṅka amṛta (the drink of deathlessness) directly. Indra objected: “a mortal cannot be given immortality.” In the end he agreed to a pact. He would take the form of a caṇḍāla, an outcast hunter, foul and with dogs, and offer Uttaṅka the amṛta in that form. If Uttaṅka took amṛta from a caṇḍāla‘s hand, well and good. If he refused, Indra would never give it.

Uttaṅka saw only a repulsive caṇḍāla and did not know Indra beneath the disguise. In disgust he refused the water. Afterward he scolded Kṛṣṇa for having “sent” it to him in this way. He did not know that the offer had been real amṛta, and that he had refused Indra himself. (Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 55)

Later in the same upākhyāna, Uttaṅka dug in desperation at an anthill with only a wooden stick. He wanted to reach Nāgaloka and win back the stolen maṇi-kuṇḍalas (jewelled earrings) of Madayantī. Indra arrived in his chariot. He told Uttaṅka plainly that no stick could break through to a realm thousands of yojanas away. Then, since he could not shake the brāhmaṇa’s resolve to give up his life rather than fail, Indra joined his own vajrāstra to Uttaṅka’s stick. The Vajra split the earth open and made the path into Nāgaloka. This is among the few episodes in which Indra’s Vajra is placed directly and willingly at the service of a brāhmaṇa’s resolve born of tapas, instead of being used against a rival power. (Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 58)

Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva: the Vajra and Śiva’s Śrīkaṇṭha

In the Umā-Maheśvara Saṃvāda, Śiva tells Umā that Indra once wanted Śiva’s aiśvarya (lordship) and hurled his Vajra at him. This was the same weapon made from Dadhīci’s bones. The Vajra scorched Śiva’s throat and went away. Śiva was left with the name Śrīkaṇṭha, “he in whom Śrī dwells at the throat”. It is read as a sign of Śiva’s great kāruṇya (compassion), even toward one who had gone against him out of envy. (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 141)

Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva: Pāṇḍu and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s fate

Nārada spoke to Śatayūpa and the ṛṣis at the forest āśrama of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He said that he had once gone unexpectedly to Indra’s mansion. There he saw Indra, the husband of Śacī, talking with the excellent king Pāṇḍu about Dhṛtarāṣṭra, who was then doing severe tapas in the forest. Indra himself told them that Dhṛtarāṣṭra had three more years to live. After that he would go with Gāndhārī to the realm of Kubera, and then travel the divine lokas in the kāmagamana vimāna (a flying chariot that goes where one wishes). (Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapter 20)

Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva: the combat of Indra and Vṛtra as an inner teaching

Kṛṣṇa was comforting Yudhiṣṭhira after the war. He told the combat of Indra and Vṛtra again, as an inner teaching about the life of the soul. It is told in addition to the battle accounts given elsewhere. In this reading, Indra stands for the ātma-tattva in the form of knowledge (jñāna-rūpa), the knowing self. Vṛtra stands for the knot of kāma (desire) and ahaṃkāra (ego) that this self must overcome.

Vṛtra flees one after another into pṛthivī (earth), jala (water), agni (fire), vāyu (air), ākāśa (space), and at last into Indra’s own being. He takes in turn gandha (smell), rasa (taste), rūpa (form), sparśa (touch) and śabda (sound), and finally Indra’s own aiśvarya. Indra is bewildered by moha (delusion). Then Vasiṣṭha, the guru, wakes him with the Rathantara sāman, which is explained here as the mahāvākya (great saying):

Aham Brahmāsmi

“I am Brahman.” Only then does Indra kill the Vṛtra who had entered his own being. (Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 11)

Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva: the roll-call of identities

Vyāsa told the true celestial identities of the warriors who fell at Kurukṣetra. He said that Arjuna, whom Kuntī had called as a son of Indra, was in his true nature the ṛṣi Nara. This stands beside, and does not take away from, Arjuna’s birth through the calling of Indra. (Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapter 31)

Mahābhārata, Mahā Prasthānika Parva: carrying Yudhiṣṭhira to Svarga

At the end of the great departure, Draupadī and the four younger Pāṇḍavas had fallen. Yudhiṣṭhira alone went on with the dog. Indra came thundering through svarga and earth in his chariot and told the king to climb in. He said that Yudhiṣṭhira’s brothers and Draupadī had already reached svarga, having cast off their human bodies. Yudhiṣṭhira alone would enter svarga in his own body.

The king would not leave the faithful dog behind. Indra urged him to give it up. Dogs have no place in svarga, he said, and the Krodhavaśas would carry off the fruit of one’s iṣṭa and pūrta rites if a dog were near. Yudhiṣṭhira held firm, and the dog proved to be Dharma himself.

Then Indra, with Dharma and the other devas, carried the king upward. Even in that glory Yudhiṣṭhira told Indra he wanted no world apart from the place where his brothers and Draupadī had gone. Indra pressed him to enjoy the place his own puṇya had won. The king answered that without them he would not stay. (Mahābhārata, Mahā Prasthānika Parva, Chapter 3)

Mahābhārata, Svargārohaṇa Parva: welcome to the imperishable worlds

In the last parva, Indra (Mahendra, Devendra) receives Yudhiṣṭhira into the celestial world. He says that imperishable worlds (akṣaya-lokas) have been won by the king’s puṇya, and tells him to put grief aside.

The king shrinks back at the sight of Duryodhana seated in glory. Then, looking for his brothers, he is led through a naraka that is not real. It is Indra who planned that short descent as a chala (a device), just as Yudhiṣṭhira had once used a device against Droṇa with the words about Aśvatthāman. Indra then gives the great teaching on how karma ripens. Whoever enjoys the fruits of puṇya first must afterward see naraka. Whoever goes through naraka first rises to lasting svarga. So every king must look briefly on the place of torment.

When the vision is gone, Indra leads the king to the sacred Ākāśa Gaṅgā and shows him each hero seated in his divine place. (Mahābhārata, Svargārohaṇa Parva, Chapters 1, 3)

Sources

Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapters 28 and 47
Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 6th Skanda, Chapters 7–13, 18–19
Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 7th Skanda, Chapter 7
Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Satī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 21, 33–37, and 38–39 (for Dadhīci’s earlier curse)
Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 9, 15, 17, 18, 19
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 9, 41–50
Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokṣadharma Parva, Chapters 222–228
Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 12, 14–15, 93, 102, 141
Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapters 5, 9–11, 55, 58
Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapters 20, 31
Mahābhārata, Mahā Prasthānika Parva, Chapter 3
Mahābhārata, Svargārohaṇa Parva, Chapters 1, 3