Vṛtra Vadha (Padma Purāṇa)

The Bhūmi Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells how Kaśyapa Maharshi made Vṛtra to avenge the killing of his son Bala. The Saptarshis made a peace between Vṛtra and Indra. Indra then killed Vṛtra by a trick. He had the apsarā Rambhā bring Vṛtra to drink wine, and then struck him with the vajra. By this Indra took on brahmahatyā, the great pāpa (sin) of killing a brāhmaṇa, which followed him afterwards.

Bala’s death and Kaśyapa’s anger

In chapter 23, Bala, a son of Diti, was killed by Indra. Bala was a brahmacārī (a student under vow) and a tapasvin (one who does austerity), and he was killed during his sandhyāvandana (the prayer at dawn and dusk). Bala had done no harm. Diti grieved, and Kaśyapa, her husband, was moved by the wrong done.

Kaśyapa drew on the great power of his tapas and did a rite of making by will. From the flames of his jaṭā (matted hair), he made a being of great power, Vṛtra. Vṛtra was made to avenge Bala’s death and to challenge Indra’s rule. He rose as a huge asura, burning with the fire of tapas, given the task of calling Indra to account. The Bhūmi Khaṇḍa tells this in chapter 24.

The Saptarshis make peace

The making of Vṛtra set the three worlds trembling. His power was great, and he faced Indra directly, and the devas could not hold him back. The Saptarshis, the seven great ṛshis, stepped in to make peace between the two sides. They went to both Kaśyapa with Vṛtra, and Indra, and brought about an agreement. Vṛtra would not be killed by the usual means of war. A pact was made: Vṛtra would stand down on the condition that Indra would not strike him with metal weapons, or with wood, or with stone, by day or by night, wet or dry. These conditions cover all the usual ways of killing and seemed to make Vṛtra safe from harm. He agreed to the peace. Indra also agreed, in outward show. The Bhūmi Khaṇḍa tells this in chapter 24.

Indra’s trick: Rambhā and the sea-foam

Indra did not mean to keep the pact. He took counsel with the devas and ṛshis about a way to kill Vṛtra that, on the surface, broke none of the agreed conditions. The plan they reached was deceitful in more than one way.

First, Rambhā, the most alluring of the apsarasas, was sent to draw Vṛtra’s attention away. The great asura, in spite of his fire of tapas, did not escape the charm of the apsarā. He drank surā (wine) with her and became drunk.

Second, Indra used a weapon made of sea-foam. It is not metal, wood or stone. It comes from water, and it is neither dry nor wet in the usual sense. He struck Vṛtra with it while he was drunk, at twilight, which is neither day nor night. Every clause of the pact was kept in the letter and broken in spirit. The Bhūmi Khaṇḍa tells this in chapter 25.

Brahmahatyā

Vṛtra fell. But Indra at once found that he could not escape the result. By killing Vṛtra through the breaking of a solemn pact, Indra took on brahmahatyā, the great pāpa of killing a brāhmaṇa. It attached to him in plain sight, as a śāpa (curse) that followed him through his realms.

The narrative describes the brahmahatyā as a form that actually chases Indra, and he cannot outrun it. The Bhūmi Khaṇḍa tells this in chapter 25.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, chapters 24–25
• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, chapter 23 (the death of Bala)