Hinduism: A Short History (11 page)

In every fight between the Divine and the Demon, between good and bad, between right and unjust, something of the Indra-Vṛtra battle is contained; every saviour is an “Indra” in whatever form he may appear. And in every evil there is a “Vṛtra”; evil appearing in many forms is vanquished by Indra-God in many forms.
⁴⁰

As a rule, the Vedic interpretation of the Brāhmaṇas is not very inspiring.
⁴¹
But certain quite typical features occur. Thus the
Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa
reinterprets the Vedic salvation myth in such a way that the god who performs the saving deed appears less important than the ritual sacrifice in whose service the Brāhmaṇa was composed. Indra is still considered to be the strongest and most powerful god, the chief of gods, identical with sun and fire. But quite revealingly the
Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa
says that he is born from
yajña
(sacrifice) and
vāk
(sacred word), produced by
ṛk
(hymn) and
sāman
(tune). Indra’s greatness is derived from his activity as the great sacrificer, not from his Vṛtra-slaying, which is but a result of sacrificial power. His victory is not due to his prowess and natural strength but to the performance of Vājapeya. The salvific element is not god but
yajña;
it is no longer necessary to pray to Indra for protection. Indra himself depends on the sacrifice, performed by the Brahmans. The motives for the fights among gods and demons are usually to win a share in the sacrifice. This is the highest reward – which Indra wins.

The
Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa
combines with the Vṛtra-slaying another story about the killing of Tvaṣṭṛ’s three-headed son Viśvarūpa. With Soma poured into fire, Tvaṣṭṛ produces Vṛtra “Indra-enemy.” Vṛtra “became possessed of Agni and Soma, of all sciences, all glory, all nourishment, all prosperity, since it grew while rolling onward, it became Vṛtra; since he sprang forth footless, therefore he was a serpent. Danu and Danāyu received him like mother and father whence they call him Dānava.”
⁴²

A
mantra
is supposed to have an infallible effect. Because of a wrong accent however, Vṛtra, instead of being invincible and defeating Indra, became the victim of Indra’s wrath. Vṛtra’s downfall is not due to Indra’s
vajra
but to a transfer of Agni-Soma from Vṛtra to Indra “accompanied by all the gods, all the sciences, all glory, all nourishment, all prosperity.”

In the Upaniṣads Indra is reinterpreted in accord with the teaching of Vedantic spirituality. Thus the
Kauśītaki Upaniṣad
has a long chapter in which knowledge of Indra is described as the greatest possible boon to men. Indra reveals himself as the slayer of the three-headed son of Tvaṣṭṛ, the deliverer of the Arunmukhas to the wild dogs, the one who transfixed the people of Prahlada in the sky, the Paulomas in the atmosphere, the Kālakāñjas on earth. It is noteworthy that there is no mention of the Vṛtra-fight. For the Upaniṣads “Indra is Truth.”
⁴³
Indra is to be worshiped as
prāṇa
(breath), as
prajñātma
(the self made as wisdom), as
ayus
(life), as
amṛta
(nectar of immortality). To those who “reverence him as life, as immortality, a full term in this world, immortality, indestructibility in the heavenly world” is offered.
⁴⁴

The Upaniṣads are fond of curious etymologies of Indra: in all of them Indra is ultimately identified with
ātman
and
brahman
. The
Bṛhadār-aṇyaka Upaniṣad
quotes an old etymology: “Indha (the kindler) by name is this person here in the right eye. Him, who is Indha, people call ‘Indra’ cryptically, for the gods are fond of the cryptic, as it were, and dislike the evident.”
⁴⁵
The
Chāndogya Upaniṣad
(II, 22, 3) says: “All vowels are embodiments of Indra.” And the
Aitareya Upaniṣad
(I, 3, 13ff): “I have seen it
(idam adarśa)
said he. Therefore his name is
idam-dra
. Idamdra, verily is his name. Him who is Idam-dra they call ‘Indra’ cryptically, for the gods are fond of the cryptic, as it were.”

The profound change which took place in the attitude toward the Vedic gods is best expressed by an episode narrated in the
Chāndogya Upaniṣad
. Prajāpati acts as
guru
to Indra in order to impart
brahmavidyā
to him.
⁴⁶
Indra’s position with regard to the “new salvation” is in no way better than the position of any human or, for that purpose, of even the
asuras
. His is only a temporary advantage. His entire realm is transitory and therefore not interesting for the seeker of immortality. If he does not acquire Brahman knowledge, he will lose his Indrahood one day and be reborn as a lower being. Any mortal can win
brahmavidyā
but not even to the Lord of the Gods is it given by nature.

Indra is still called
Vṛtrahan
, but Vṛtra is never mentioned and salvation is not connected with this deed of Indra. It is, however, interesting to see that in the Upaniṣads Indra is always on the side of the Brahmanknower, never on the side of
avidyā
(which is connected with
asuras)
, so that it can be said: he who has
brahmavidyā
has also Indra. Madhva, the only one among the major Vedāntins to write a commentary on the
Ṛgveda
, provides a philosophical explanation of the episode. According to him Vṛtra represents the concentrated essence of ignorance
(ajñāna)
, figuratively described as cloud, serpent, or mountain. Indra is the Supreme Being who slays the demon of ignorance, with his weapon of
vajra
, true knowledge, and confers lasting benefit on the cows (individual selves) which have been imprisoned by the power of ignorance.
⁴⁷

Most scholars today attribute to
Itihāsa-Purāṇa
considerable importance as a source for Indian religion, independent from the Veda, and parallel to the
Ṛgveda
which is seen as an anthology in which “mythical episodes are referred to in an allusive way” and which constitutes only “remnants of an immense literature of legend which must have existed in an oral form long before.”
⁴⁸
The
Itihāsa-Purāṇa
in many cases preserves the entire myth, whereas the
Ṛgveda
contains only an allusion to the myth.

The existence of Purāṇas from the Sūtra-period onwards is certain; there are early references to
Purāṇas
as sources of law. The
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
mentions
Itihasa-Purāṇa
among the subjects of study of learned men. Internal evidence from the
Ṛgveda
also justifies the assumption that besides the highly formal hymns used in the official Vedic liturgy there existed popular forms of narratives, oral for many centuries and constantly growing. Several attempts have been made to reconstruct the “Original
Purāṇa Saṃhitā,”
which “existed long before the Christian era.”
⁴⁹
Usually the
Vāyu Purāṇa
is considered to be closest to the “Original Purāṇa.”
⁵⁰
Though the actual shape of the Purāṇas and Epics as they are known to us is recent,
⁵¹
they preserve materials and myths that might actually be as old as, or even older than, the
Ṛgveda.
⁵²
Very often the myths have been reinterpreted in the Purāṇas to fit into a sectarian context, but generally the old narrative can be recognized and reconstructed.

The Indra-Vṛtra battle is dealt with in
Itiādsa-Purāṇa
in amazing detail; often the same work has several accounts of it. That may be one more argument for our thesis that the Indra-Vṛtra fight constitutes the great Vedic salvation myth which was so popular that the later Hindu sects could not afford to leave it out but had to reinterpret it to show the superiority of their own accepted god over Indra, the hero of the story.

Indra-V
ṛ
tra in the
Rāmayāṇa

The
Rāmayāṇa
presupposes the story of the Indra-Vṛtra battle as well known and uses it as a point of reference when describing fierce battles. Thus we find, as in the
Ṛgveda
, only allusions to the drama. The beginning of Indra’s reign is placed at the time of the victory which the Devas won over the Dānavas after their fight for
amṛta
, the draught of immortality. There is a reference to “the blessings which the gods, overjoyed poured forth when Vṛtra was destroyed by Indra of the thousand eyes.”
⁵³
Several times Vṛtra’s fall is mentioned when the poet describes the destruction of a particularly dangerous enemy. The
Rāmayāṇa
connects the day of Vṛtra’s death with the journey of Jaṭāyu and all the vultures to the Sun; as a result their wings were scorched.

Indra-V
ṛ
tra in the
Mahābhārata

Unlike the
Rāmayāṇa
, the
Mahābhārata
deals at great length with the Indra-Vṛtra myth. In the
Mahābhārata
there are five versions of the myth with very significant differences.

The first time the decisive Indra-Vṛtra battle is narrated by Ṛṣi Lomaśa in the
Āraṇyaparvan;
the whole story figures in the Kṛta-Yuga. Vṛtra was the leader of the Kal(ak)eyas, warrior tribes (Dānavas) of great prowess who fought Indra with the
devas
. The
devas
approached Brahmā to get his support in destroying Vṛtra. Brahmā sends them to Ṛṣi Dadhica, to ask him, “for the good of the three worlds: ‘give us thy bones.’”
⁵⁴
The Ṛṣi does as requested, discarding his body. Out of the bones Tvaṣṭṛ forms the terrible
vajra
. Armed with this bone-weapon Indra approaches Vṛtra who at that time occupied the entire earth and heaven. The first encounter is short and disastrous for the
devas:
all the gods, with Indra at their head, have to flee to Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu and all the other gods transfer part of their own energy to Indra. When Indra approaches Vṛtra again, he roars so terribly that Indra is frightened. Then Indra throws his
vajra
again against Vṛtra. Indra, fearing he might not have killed Vṛtra, takes refuge in a lake. The gods are then able to kill off the minor
Dānavas
. Some of the
Dānavas
escape into the depth of the sea, where they plot the destruction of the three worlds. They arrive at the conclusion that the best way to ruin the world is to destroy
saṃnyāsa
, the institution of the life of a “renouncer.”

A second Indra-Vṛtra tradition is preserved in the
Udyogaparvan:
Tvaṣṭṛ, the Lord of creatures and foremost of celestials, is engaged in
tapasya
(austerities). Out of dislike for Indra he has created a three-headed son, who was supposed to occupy the throne of Indra. “He read the Vedas with one mouth, drank wine with another, and looked with the third as if he would absorb the whole world!”
⁵⁵
He is a staunch
tapasvī
(ascetic), and Indra becomes afraid lest he might lose his position. Indra first tries to entice him with the help of
āpsaras
. The attempt fails and Indra kills him with his
vajra
. Here the author mentions that Indra contracts the sin of Brāhmaṇa-murder. Indra is afraid the
asura
will come back to life because his eyes are still looking at him. So he asks a carpenter to cut off the three heads. The carpenter argues with Indra but at last is persuaded to do it. Out from the several heads fly a great number of birds.

Tvaṣṭṛ, enraged, creates Vṛtra for the sole purpose of killing Indra. Vṛtra is mighty and powerful like a mountain. In their first encounter Vṛtra remains victorious and swallows Indra. The gods create Jrmbika to kill Vṛtra. But when Vṛtra yawns, Indra comes out again. The second meeting, too, proves Vṛtra to be superior and Indra flees. The
devas
consult with the
ṛṣis
how to kill Vṛtra. Indra says: “This whole indestructible universe has been pervaded by Vṛtra. There is nothing that can be equal to the task of opposing him. I was capable of yore, but now I am incapable. I believe him to be unapproachable. Powerful and stouthearted, possessing immeasurable strength in fight he would be able to swallow up all the three worlds with the gods, the
asuras
and men ...,”
⁵⁶
The only solution, again, is to approach Viṣṇu. The
devas
praise Viṣṇu as
trivikrama
and the one who secured
amṛta
for the gods, as the one who has destroyed
asuras
in battles, who has bound Bali and raised Indra to the throne of heaven. Viṣṇu adivses them to make peace with Vṛtra as a preliminary means for overthrowing him. Viṣṇu himself would enter Indra’s
vajra
. The
devas
and
ṛṣis
follow Viṣṇu’s advice and offer to Vṛtra “eternal friendship with Indra, happiness and a permanent abode in Indra’s regions.” Vṛtra, at first suspicious, accepts peace after the
devas
have assured him that Indra would not kill him “by what is dry or wet, stone or wood, weapon or missile, by day or by night.” But Indra remains bent on killing Vṛtra. One evening, at dusk (“not by day or by night”) he sees the
asura
near the sea when a mass of froth is coming in (“neither wet nor dry”). Combining it with his
vajra
in which Viṣṇu’s own energy dwells, he kills Vṛtra with froth. “And when Vṛtra was killed the cardinal points were free from gloom; and there also blew a pleasant breeze, and all beings were much pleased.” Indra is again the Lord of the world, which is relieved from all evil.

This account makes much of the sin of Brahmanicide which Indra was supposed to have incurred by killing the three-headed demon and of the “sin of falsehood” incurred by treacherously killing Vṛtra. Indra grows sad: “And he betook himself to the confines of the worlds, and became bereft of his senses and consciousness. And overpowered by his own sins, he could not be recognized. And he lay concealed in water, just like a writhing snake. And when the Lord of celestials oppressed with the dread of Brahmanicide had vanished from sight, the earth looked as if a tempest had passed over it. And it became treeless, and its woods withered; and the course of rivers was interrupted; and the reservoirs lost all their waters; and there was distress among animals on account of cessation of rains. And the deities and all the great
ṛṣis
were in exceeding fear; and the world had no king and was overtaken by disasters. Then the deities and the divine saints in heaven, separated from the chief of the gods, became terrified, and wondered who was to be their king. And nobody had any inclination to act as the king of the gods.”
⁵⁷