Heavenly king and gods. In addition to the supreme gods, which have already been described, the Indian gods had their own king - Indra. One might ask: “How is this possible? After all, the king of the gods should be the most important thing above them, and here there are three more gods above Indra!” To understand this, you need to know a little about the history and culture of ancient India. The entire population in it was divided into four groups, which were called varnas. They were believed to have been created by the great Brahma himself. The highest varna included the Brahmans - the priests, and below them was the varna of warriors - the Kshatriyas, to which all the kings in ancient India belonged. It so happened that on earth the king was considered inferior to the Brahman; therefore, among the gods, their king was lower in position than the three supreme gods.
Origin and early exploits of Indra. Indra was the seventh and most beloved son of Aditi, the mother of the gods. They said that he was born in an unusual way, but no one knew how. Immediately after his birth, Indra grabbed his weapon and appeared in golden armor before all the gods, so that everyone understood how great a warrior had been born.
From a very early age, Indra entered into an irreconcilable struggle with the asuras. The insidious asura Emusha, who had the appearance of a boar, stole grain from the gods for sacrifice and hid it behind twenty-one mountains, among other treasures of the asuras. No one was able to return the stolen goods, and the triumphant Emusha had already begun to cook porridge when young Indra took up his bow. His arrow pierced through all the mountains and defeated the wicked man, and then Vishnu brought the grain back to the gods. This is how Indra first demonstrated his strength.
Chariot and weapons of Indra. Indra won several more victories over the asuras, and then the gods asked Brahma to make the young warrior king over them. After all, they would not have found another such defender. The skillful craftsman god Tvashtar made a golden chariot and a weapon - a vajra - for Indra. No one could describe what it was; the dazzling brilliance of the vajra made it impossible to discern its form. Some said it was shaped like a cross, and some said it was shaped like a disk, or a hundred corners, or maybe just four corners. Be that as it may, the vajra was a formidable weapon, and armed with it, Indra could safely go into battle with any opponent.
The heavenly city of Amaravati. High in the sky is a city inhabited by the gods and ruled by Indra. This city is called Amaravati and the path to it is long and difficult. First you need to get to the top of the great Mount Meru in the distant northern mountains, and from there along the star road straight to the city of Indra. But only people who led a righteous life on earth and fulfilled their duty, and brave warriors who died in battle, but did not waver in spirit, did not succumb to the fear of death, can see this road and walk along it to the heavenly kingdom.
Not far from the city there is a grove in which the righteous and the gods find rest, and the city gates are guarded by a white elephant, huge as a cloud, the father of all elephants. The city has one hundred golden palaces, the most luxurious of which belongs to Indra - where he sits on a throne with his wife, surrounded by saints and sages. In the city of Amaravati, its inhabitants are not frozen by the cold or burned by the heat; spring reigns there forever and there is no old age, no illness, no sorrow. There, beautiful celestial maidens - apsaras - dance in circles, and beautiful melodies delight the ears. Thus, the gods and those people who during their lifetime strictly followed the path of goodness are in joy and joy in the heavenly city.
Indra and Namuchi. Indra's friend was the mighty asura Namuchi. There was no one equal in strength to Indra among the gods, and Namuchi surpassed all other asuras in power. And an unprecedented thing happened: God and Asura entered into an alliance and swore not to harm each other and not to strike either day or night, neither on water nor on land, neither with dry weapons nor covered with moisture. But Namuchi was the master of a strong intoxicating drink - sura. The gods did not drink sura, they had their own drink - the divine soma, which was once delivered from heaven by an eagle, Indra's bird. Indra himself was fed with soma - as a child he drank it instead of his mother's milk.
One day, Namuchi, wanting to deprive Indra of his strength and become the strongest in the universe, mixed a sinful sura into the soma that Indra drank. At that very moment the king of the gods lost his power, and his treacherous ally rejoiced. Indra was saddened: how to regain the lost power now? And he went for advice to the twin brothers Ashwin, who were the gods of the pre-dawn and evening twilight. The wise Ashwins gave him cunning advice, and Indra challenged Namuchi to a fight. But what about the oath? It’s very simple: the opponents fought in the hour of twilight, which cannot be called either day or night; they fought in the surf, where the waves constantly wash over the coastal sand - and really, who can say whether this territory belongs to water or land? And in Indra’s hands was a vajra, which he rubbed with sea foam - and who can judge whether a weapon that has not touched water is wet? But it was difficult to call it dry either.
Of course, the treacherous Namuchi was defeated. Indra cut off his head and released the blood from him, and from this blood the Ashvins prepared a drink that restored Indra to his lost strength. Thus the gods got rid of the danger that threatened them all if Indra remained powerless.
three-headed elephant
Victory of Indra over Vritra. Indra's greatest feat was his victory over the terrible dragon Vritra. And this monster appeared because of the resentment of the master god Tvashtar against Indra. The fact is that this most skillful of gods had a wife who came from the family of asuras; and so she gave birth to a terrible three-headed son, Vishvaruna. His three faces were like the sun, moon and flame; one of his heads read the sacred Vedas in a loud voice, the other drank wine, and the third was ready to swallow everything around him. Vishvaruna was outwardly a friend of the gods, but in reality he was on the side of the asuras, and during the war of the gods he plotted secret treason with them. The mighty Indra found out about this, and the monster lost its heads.
This infuriated Tvashtar - after all, the murdered man was his son! To take revenge on Indra, he created the giant dragon Vritra from sacred soma and fire. He was armless and legless; at ninety-nine days his huge body curled up on the mountains, blocking the path to the flow of all rivers; Vritra swallowed all their water to the last drop, and then, obeying the order of Tvashtar, he began to grow every day to the distance of an arrow in each direction, pushing the oceans away from their former shores and threatening to grow to such a size that it would be possible to swallow the entire Universe.
The frightened gods prayed to Indra for help, and he led their army against the monster. But Vritra breathed fire on them, and the gods fled in horror, leaving Indra alone with the dragon. And then Vritra opened his mouth and swallowed Indra. After that, curled up again, he fell into sleep, no longer fearing attack. But then Shiva sent Yawning to Vritra; when he opened his mouth in his sleep, Indra climbed out and dealt a terrible blow to the dragon with his vajra. The world shook from the roar of a mortally wounded monster; even Indra could not resist the horror and fled to the edge of the world, where he hid in a lotus stem so that Vritra would not find him if the blow was not fatal.
But he was afraid in vain. Vritra was dead, and the waters of the rivers, freed from his huge belly, rushed to the ocean. Indra made a bowl from Vritra's skull and cut his body into two parts. The one that was created from soma ascended into the heavens and became the moon; and the remainder, by the will of Indra, became part of the body of people - the stomach. And when a person loved to eat too much, in ancient India they said about him that he makes a sacrifice to Vritra - his insatiable belly.
Om! O devas, let our ears listen to what is auspicious;
Let our eyes see what is auspicious, O worthy of worship!
May glorious Indra bless us!
May the omniscient Sun bless us!
Om! May peace be with us!
May peace be in our surroundings!
May there be peace in the forces that act on us!("Atharvaveda", "Shandilya Upanishad", chapter III)
I ndra (Sanskrit: इन्द्र - ‘lord’; ‘strength’)- god (lord) of gods, is one of the main gods of the Vedic pantheon, in various interpretations can be presented as the god of rain and thunderstorms - the thunderer, the god of war, always the leader in the battles of devas with asuras, the lord of Svarga, the creator of the heavenly Indra-loka. Indra holds the firmament, he is the one “who with his own strength set Heaven and earth apart, like wheels with the help of an axle” (“Rigveda”, X.89.4), “who strengthened the high sky, filled the two worlds, airspace, held the earth and expanded her" (Rigveda, II.15.2), “who gave birth to this Heaven and Earth, by force erected two wide, deep spaces, established where there are no supports” (Rigveda, IV.56.3). He also rotates the starry space, like the wheels of a cart, “encompassing wide expanses around, Indra turns him like the wheels of a chariot, unstoppable, like an active stream, he killed the black darkness with his brilliance” (“Rigveda”, X.89.2). He is the personification of the world tree - a symbol represented in the mythology of many countries - symbolically uniting three worlds: the crown of the tree is located in the heavens (the abode of the devas), the trunk is in the earthly world; the roots are in the underground (the abode of the asuras).
Indra was born from the union of Kashyapa and Aditi, is one of the Adityas, according to the texts of the Rigveda, who support the universe (their names: Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Varuna, Daksha, Ansha, Indra, Martanda), the Vishnu Purana lists twelve adityas: Vishnu, Sakra, Aryaman, Dhatri, Tvashtri, Pushan, Vivasvan, Savitar, Mitra, Varuna, Amsha and Bhaga. Indra belongs to the lokapalas - the guardians of the world (countries of light), of which there are only eight: Indra, Agni, Yama, Nairita, Varuna, Marut, Kubera and Shiva.
His birth was marked by special circumstances - in the first moments after his birth, dressed in golden military armor, blinding with its light, Indra filled the entire Universe. His destiny was to become a great warrior, called to defeat the forces of darkness. Indra's wife is the thousand-eyed princess Indrani, aka Shachi, Pulomaya, Mahendri. Arjuna is one of the main characters in the epic Mahabharata, one of the Pandava brothers, and was the son of the god Indra. Companions accompanying the god Indra: the gods of the winds - the Maruts, the god of the storm Parjanya, the guardian god of the Universe Vishnu, the god of the wind Vayu, the god of the water element Varuna, the fire god Agni, the sun god Surya, the frantic god Rudra, as well as Dhanesha, Yama and Nirriti. The abode of Indra is the thousand-gate city of Amaravati, located near the sacred Mount Meru, there is a wonderful grove of Nandana (Sanskrit - ‘bliss’), where valiant brave warriors who died in battles end up. According to the Vishnu Purana, the world of Indra is intended for kshatriyas who are steadfast in battle. “...A delightful city inhabited by Siddhas and Charanas. It was decorated with sacred trees covered with flowers of all seasons. A fragrant wind blew through him, mixing wondrous, blissfularomas of various trees.<…>The magical forest of Nandana, inhabited by apsaras, whose trees seemed to welcome with their wonderful blossoms” (“Mahabharata”, part III “Aranyakaparva”, chapter 44).
In the Vedic pantheon, Indra initially occupied one of the most important places. Most of the hymns of the Rig Veda are dedicated specifically to the god Indra. However, in the “post-Vedic” era, Indra gave way to Trimurti. The Puranas “cloth” Indra for the most part with human vices, and endow him with traits that are not inherent in our understanding of the supreme god of the Vedic pantheon. In this article we will not present the “Puranic” version regarding the “fun” and “cunning” of the god Indra, but will turn to the origins - the greatest heritage of the Vedic tradition - the Rig Veda. Here he is presented as the greatest and highest of all gods, the conqueror of the asuras, nagas, daityas; Also, the narrative of the entire Veda of hymns is permeated with a description of the main cosmogonic plot - the confrontation between Indra and Vritra.
Names of God Indra
Aditi performed tapasya for a hundred years according to the calculation of the gods. After which she gave birth to a son, he had four arms and shone with the dazzling brilliance of millions of suns. He had many names, including: Indra, Sakra, Pakshasana, Maghava, Vidyuja, Marutvana, Akhandala, Vasuda, Vasudatta
"Padma Purana"
Indra has many names and epithets that characterize his main qualities. In particular:
Shakra
- mighty, strong;
Vajrapani
, Vajrin
- possessor of a vajra, wearing a vajra;
Mahendra
- the great Indra;
Vesava
- lord of the good;
Meghavahana
- sitting on the clouds;
Maghava
- generous;
Devapati
- lord of the devas;
Devraj
- king of the gods;
Devanam Indra
- lord of thirty-three gods;
Vritrakhan
- winner of Vritra;
Balakhan
- winner of the Ball;
Sahasraksha
- thousand-eyed;
Purandara
- destroyer of strongholds;
Swargapati
- Lord of Svarga;
Jishnu
- leader of the heavenly army;
Purandara
- destroyer of (enemy) cities;
Thunderman
- thunder arrow holder;
Parjanya
- rain, thundercloud;
Puruhuta
- called by many;
Shata-kratu
- lord of a thousand sacrifices;
Thousand-Eyed Consort Shachi
;
Amita-kratu
- immeasurable.
Also in the Rig Veda (I.100.12) he is referred to as “a master of a thousand plans, possessed of a hundred tricks”, “possessed of a hundred supports” (I.102.6) or “immovable as a mountain, possessed of a thousand reinforcements” (I.52.2) .
In the Vedic scriptures one can find references to various types of weapons that accompany Indra in battle. Thus, in the Skanda Purana we find the following names of weapons that Indra uses in battles with asuras: Tvashtra, Agneya and Vayavya; Weapons with mystical powers of transformation are also used: the weapons of Narasimha and Garuda, the weapons of Narayana.
...Shakra released the weapon Tvashtra. When this weapon was tucked into the bow, fiery sparks flew from it, causing thousands of mechanical creatures to appear. The battle continued with these machines in the skies. The firmament has lost its stars. “...” The universe was filled with streams of rain... Seeing that Agney’s weapon was repulsed, Indra launched the incomparable weapon Vayavya, and with the power of it the clouds were dispersed, the sky brightened and became like a blue lotus petal. "..." Sakra, who slays (enemies) in battle, released the weapon of Garuda. Following this, thousands of Garudas emerged from him. “...” O Lord, remember the weapon belonging to Narayana, the possessor of great purity of mind. Hearing this, he released the Narayan astra
Skanda Purana, Chapter 21
The use of some types of weapons is accompanied by mantras, such as:
Vritra's killer unleashed Narasimha's irresistible weapon. Following this, thousands of lions appeared due to the power of the mantra. They had claws like saws. “...” Then he took an arrow with a sharp tip, which is revered in battle and destructive to enemies. The wise Indra put it in his invisible bow and released it with the Aghora Mantra. He pulled the bowstring, whose rays were reliable, right up to his ear, and quickly delivered it to the enemy he was killing. “...” After this, an arrow with a sharpened tip, fired during the battle from Purandara’s bow with a mantra, like the midday sun, pierced the body of the asura Jambha
Skanda Purana, Chapter 21
The Mahabharata mentions a powerful weapon called the flame of Indra, “majestic and spewing tongues of flame,” “quickly piercing space, filled with lightning,” “a bright flame illuminating everything around.” Also used in battles are Vasava's dart, which destroys enemies, and Indra's thunder arrow, an octagonal, highly revered club, replete with diamonds, precious stones and pearls.
Indradhanus is the bow of Indra, which is a rainbow decorating the vault of heaven with the tints of seven colors.
In the Mahabharata we also find a description of another powerful weapon, summoned by mantras and brought into action by willpower:
Then Arjuna launched seventeen fiery, inescapable, menacing arrows, similar to the flames or Ashani of Indra, at him. With a mighty effort of will, Karna mastered himself and caused the appearance of the “weapon of Brahma.” Then Arjuna called upon the “weapon of Indra” with spells. Having sworn with mantras to Gandiva, his bowstring and arrows, the Conqueror of wealth poured out showers of arrows, like the rains of Purandara. Those powerful arrows, filled with angry ardor, flying from Partha’s chariot (invisible in flight), then became visible only at Karna’s chariot itself.
Mahabharata, Book VIII Karnaparva, Chapter 66
The Ramayana tells of Indra's diamond-like arrow:
In great anxiety, looking from the vault of heaven, both gods and demons awaited the outcome of the battle...
Like a hard diamond, or Indra’s thunder arrow, Ravana took the weapon, hoping to kill Rama...
Fire was spewed out, and the look was frightened, and the mind was terrified by the weapon, which in its brilliance and hardness was similar to a diamond,
It crushed any obstacle with its three teeth, and the shocked ears, thundering fiercely, deafenedRamayana, Book VI, Part 102
Indra's Arrow
From his own hands, Shakra handed him his favorite weapon -
vajra, the blow of which no one can withstandMahabharata, Book III Aranyakaparva, Chapter 45
Vajra (Sanskrit - translated from Sanskrit has two meanings: “lightning strike” and “diamond”) - Indra’s arrow, a double-headed club with pointed ends, a weapon whose purpose was to defeat Vritra in battle. Represents a powerful force that promotes liberation, a symbol of power over dark forces.
And released, like Indra’s thunder arrow, by Indra himself, it, distinguished by its high strength, seemed to fill the whole earth with a loud roar, sparkling with strong brilliance and terrible, plunged into awe...
Mahabharata, Book VII Dronaparva, Chapter 103
Literally can be translated from Sanskrit as “diamond club”. A diamond, which has the qualities of strength, personifies firmness of spirit and indestructible existence. Lightning also symbolically implies an irresistible force. The Vajra was made by the blacksmith god, creator of the weapons of the gods, Tvashtar. He forged the Amogha spear for Indra (translated from Sanskrit as ‘inevitable’). With Vajra, Indra breaks a mountain, a stone cave, and frees the waters (cows). It is also called Bhaudhara, Shata-bradhna (‘one hundred points’), Sahasra-parna (‘thousand-leaved’). According to the hymns of the Rigveda, Indra uses a bow from which he shoots an arrow with a hundred tips and a thousand feathers (Rigveda, VIII.77. 6–7).
The duel between the gods Indra and Vritra
We now want to glorify, O Indra, your past great deeds, and we also want to glorify your present deeds. We want to glorify the vajra in your hands, thirsting for exploits, Glorify a pair of dun horses - signs of the sun
"Rigveda", II.11.6
The battle between the god Indra and the demon Vritra is described in the Rig Veda and is the basis on which the entire, essentially cosmogonic narrative of the Veda hymns is based. Vritra (Sanskrit वृत्र - 'shutter', 'obstacle'), one of his names is Shushna ('withering'), a demon with the body of a snake and three heads, having an obvious resemblance to a dragon, which is the main prototype of evil and dark forces in mythologies different countries of the world. The demon of drought - he was called upon to be killed by the god Indra, who has exorbitant power, who, according to the hymns of the Rigveda, was “grown to kill Vritra” (X.55.7). In this regard, Indra is called Vritrahan, which means the killer of Vritra. Vritra is described as lying in the waters, he owns 99 fortresses (Rigveda, I.54.6), which Indra destroys. Vritra fetters the waters, which, thanks to Indra, begin to move again. There are different interpretations of this legend, the deep symbolism of which cannot be explained literally; it is worth keeping in mind that in any myth the images of the gods are anthropomorphized. It is clear that Indra acts as the force of light and good, and his antipode Vritra personifies darkness, gloom and evil. This battle contains the meaning of the ongoing eternal struggle between the forces of light and darkness, good and evil, righteousness and ignorance.
In one interpretation of the legend, Indra is the god of thunder, the personification of lightning, breaking the storm clouds that hold the waters (the root of the name “Vritra” is “lie”, which means “to hold, cover”, literally “holding the waters of the clouds”), which rain pour out onto the ground. Symbolically, the meaning of the liberation of heavenly waters is hidden here. Another interpretation of the myth of the confrontation between Indra and Vritra is the battle for daylight, when the Sun returns as Indra, who defeated Vritra, who had shackled the world in darkness. It can also be interpreted as a battle for the liberation of cows (a possible allegory of cows with locked waters, days, morning rays of the Sun).
According to the version of the Indian researcher, one of the founders of the Arctic theory of the ancestral home of the Aryans B. G. Tilak, the description of the duel between Indra and Vritra in the Rig Veda reflects the confrontation between the forces of nature when Indra frees the Sun (Rig Veda, VI.20.5), hidden by Vritra in the darkness , which defeats the long winter, and the ice-bound waters are freed... According to Tilak’s version, a sacrifice was carried out to help Indra, designated in the Veda of hymns as “Shata-kratu” - the owner of hundreds of sacrifices, in the battle with Vala, in order to free the dawn from captivity ( Sun), shackled by the darkness of the night, libations were made of divine nectar - soma, intended for Indra, who fought with Vritra for 100 nights in the ocean engulfed in darkness. Indra is the destroyer of 99 or 100 fortresses, which, according to the Arctic theory, represent nights (100 inextricably lasting nights in the homeland of our ancestors in the Arctic, in the polar region, where the Sun goes below the horizon not for one night, as in our latitudes, but for a long time ). So, at the northernmost pole, day and night last for six months. At the end of the battle (after 100 nights), bright days began (from 7 to 11 months). Therefore, the essence of the legend about Indra’s victory lies in the phenomenon of “gifting” light to people who were waiting for his appearance in the darkness of the long night of the Arctic region.
Cosmogonic symbolism can also be traced here, reflecting the moment of the creation of the Universe. Indra appears as the force that, from chaos, primordial darkness, generates light and life. Also symbolically in this legend, the primordial chaos from which the Universe arose is represented in the image of Vritra; Indra must destroy it, creating a world of duality. Inertia and passivity are transformed into movement, life. Initially, the world consisted of the original inseparable waters, merged together, “water vapor”, which filled all space. We are talking about the creation of the material world from the substance that precedes it - ether.
There was no non-existence, and there was no existence then. There was no air, no firmament, beyond it. What was moving back and forth? Where? Under whose protection? What kind of bottomless, deep water was it? The darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning. An indistinguishable abyss - all this. That vital activity that was enclosed in emptiness
"Rigveda", X.129.1,3
This myth about the creation of the Universe and the confrontation between the forces of light and darkness is found in many other legends of the peoples of the world. Thus, in Babylon, the god Marduk (also “father of the gods”, “lord of the gods”) confronts the monster Tiamat (the personification of the world ocean-chaos, “darkness”), having defeated which, the god creates heaven and earth from the body of the dragon. In Slavic mythology, the thunder god Perun is opposed by the son of the ruler Navi Chernobog - Skipper the Serpent, the personification of chaos. Among the Western Semites, the warrior god Balu, who strikes with a lightning spear, confronts the chthonic monster Latan (Leviathan), who personifies the water element, also the god of the underworld Mutu, the embodiment of the original chaos and drought. Egyptian mythology tells the story of the confrontation between the solar god Ra and the inhabitant of the underworld - the serpent Apophis, whose task was to devour the Sun and plunge the earth into darkness. The priests, with numerous spells, sought to keep the forces of darkness in the underworld, supporting the god Ra in his fight against the demon of darkness Apep. The Hittites preserved various versions of the confrontation between the god of thunderstorms, rain and lightning Ishkur (or Adad) and the serpent Illuyanka; the legends tell how they take turns defeating each other, but at the end of the legend, the god Ishkur kills the dragon. In Iran, the Avesta contains legends about the god of war Veretraghn, the protector of the Aryan country. "Verethraghna" is an epithet of the Vedic "Vritrahan" - the etymological similarity of the names is noticeable. In Iranian mythology, there is a legend about the struggle between the heavenly horseman, the rain god Tishtrya, in the form of a white horse, and the drought demon Apaoshi, represented in the form of a black horse. The ancient Greek myth about the victory of the solar god Apollo over the serpent Python is also symbolic. The son of the thunder god Zeus, Hercules performs 12 labors, in one of which he is confronted by a snake-like monster - the Lernaean Hydra, which he expels from the underground kingdom of Hades with burning arrows. In Scandinavian mythology
The Younger Edda contains the legend of the struggle between the god of thunder and storm Thor and the world serpent Jormungandr, who encircled the Earth. By the way, Thor’s war hammer is called “Mjolnir” (Old Scand. - “crushing”), with a blow it generated peals of thunder and blazing lightning. Also symbolic is the legend of Siegfried and the dragon Fafnir. The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf tells the story of the warrior Beowulf's fight against the dragon.
Image of god Indra
Indra is depicted as a four-armed god seated on a golden chariot drawn by two dun horses, but most often there are images of Indra riding his vahana - a white elephant. In his right hand is a thunder club, vajra. He always has weapons with him: arrows, a bow, a large hook and a net (a symbol of comprehensive power, protection). In other hands he can also hold an axe, chakra, disk and tanka, and one of his hands can be folded into a protective abhaya mudra, which can be seen in the images of many other gods, because the abhaya mudra, symbolizing the power of the deity, grants them protection. Sometimes Indra is presented as a god with two arms, while 1000 eyes are depicted on his body; in this case, the all-seeing Indra is called “thousand-eyed” - nothing will go unnoticed by Indra, everything in the Universe is under his sensitive gaze. Indra's Vahana is his war elephant Airavata (Sanskrit: ऐरावत - 'rising from the waters'), the king of all elephants.
Indra, the king of the gods, has an elephant -
When he knows the king's intention to go somewhere,
He transforms himself, creating thirty-three heads,
Each head has six tusks.
He has the miraculous power of transformation"Avatamsaka Sutra"
Indra also belongs to Uchchaikhshravas (Sanskrit: उच्चैःश्रवस् - ‘pricked up ears’) - a seven-headed flying horse of white color, the king of horses - who appeared among the treasures of the watery depths during the churning of the Milky Ocean.
Mantras to Indra
1. “Indra Sahasranama” - a thousand names of Indra.
2. “Indra-gayatri” - a modification of the traditional Gayatri mantra from the Rigveda (III.62.10). There are various variations of this mantra.
Om bhur bhuvah svaha
Tat savitur varenyam
Om sahasranetraya vidmahe
Vajrahastaya dhimahi
Tanno Indra prachodayat
3. Indra mantra from the Mahabharata (“Adiparva”, part III, verse 152)
Vajrasya bhartā bhuvanasya goptā; vṛtrasya hantā namucer nihantā
Kṛṣṇe vasāno vasane mahātmā; satyānṛte yo vivinakti loke
“Oh, owner of the vajra, protector of the Universe, who defeated Vritra and Namuchi.
O illustrious one, you bring out truth and lies in this world." 4. Indra-bhagavan mantra.
Oṁ namo bhagavate mahārājāya / rājadevāya
“Hail to the supreme king of the devas!”
The mantra is a variation of the traditional Mahavishnu mantra: "Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya" from the Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana.
Indra's Diamond Network
"Indra's Diamond Network"- this is a metaphor that describes the primordial outer space, the primary substance, the ethereal energy field, Akasha, a network that unites all parts of the Universe. To understand the essence of this allegory, we can draw an analogy with dew on a web: each dewdrop reflects the entire web in its entirety, with all other dewdrops - the entire network in each drop. This network is located above Indra's palace and extends to all corners of the world. This metaphor is described in the Buddhist Mahayana tradition - the Avatamsaka Sutra (Flower Garland of Sutras), in its final part - the Gandavyuha Sutra.
The essence of the concept: “all in one, and one in all.” A similar picture of the universe is presented in the modern world of science - this is the theory of fractals, the essence of which reflects the principle of self-similarity, the infinite divisibility of matter, when each particle consists of a collection of the same particles - a fractal is a reduced copy of the entire pattern. This theory only scientifically confirms a concept that has existed since Vedic times. Similar statements were also put forward in ancient times by Aristotle, Descartes, and Anaxagoras. Ancient natural philosophy viewed man as a microcosm, which is a macrocosm (the Universe) in miniature.
Comprehension of the essence of the metaphor of “Indra’s network”, symbolically depicting how the Buddha contains countless Earths, each atom in these lands also contains countless Earths, each earth contains an innumerable number of Buddhas, and so on ad infinitum, leads to the awareness of the unity of being, the interconnection of everything existing in the Universe
According to the text of the Avatamsaka Sutra, the oceans of the worlds are manifested in every atom of the Universe, which illustrates the infinite interconnection of all things, reflecting or containing one in many, and many in one. This relationship is symbolically called "Indra's network", which is an imaginary network of gem crystals reflecting each other: each gem contains reflections of all the gems in the network. When any change occurs on one crystal, the same change will appear in every crystal in the entire network. The noumenal nature, or emptiness, in one phenomenon is the same as in all phenomena, and permeates all phenomena; and as this is true for one, so it is true for all. Moreover, the interdependence of phenomena means that ultimately one depends on all and all depend on one; therefore, the existence of all is considered an integral part of the existence of one, and vice versa.
All objects of desire are transitory.
Like soap bubbles are empty inside,
So everything that exists is like a mirage,
Like passing clouds or the Moon reflected in the water...
The qualities of objects of desire are perishable
True joy comes only from that which is real and eternal.Avatamsaka Sutra (Flower Garland of Wisdom Sutra)
In fact, the key idea here is that the entire world around us is a large mirror in which a small particle of existence is reflected - each of us. We do not observe externally what has no manifestation within ourselves.
In conclusion, let us quote a text from the Shandilya Upanishad, which reflects the essence of existence and once again reminds us of the unity of all things. When describing a specific deity, it is quite difficult to abstract from others and identify specific traits and qualities characteristic of him alone - there are none. Everything is one and manifested in interconnection and interaction. Remember that by dividing the gods, we are dividing the divine Svarga. God is present in everything that exists in the Universe. God is one and multiple at the same time.
“Then the Almighty, with his spiritual mind, expressed: “May I become many! May I spread everywhere!” Then from this transcendental Personality, who was in tapas (asceticism), which had the nature of jnana (knowledge), and whose desires are always fulfilled, came three letters (A, U, M), three vyahritis (mystical names Bhuh, Bhuvah and Svaha), three-line Gayatri, three Vedas, three gods (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva), three varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas); three fires (garhapatya, asavaniya and dakshina). This Supreme God is endowed with everything in abundance. He pervades everything and resides in the hearts of all beings. He is the great Mayavi, playing with Maya. He is Brahma; He is Vishnu; He is Rudra; He is Indra; He is all gods and all beings. He is the east; He is the west; He is the north; He is the south; He's downstairs; He's at the top. He is everything!”
Accordion? What if we discard everything that was in the anime and focus only on the canon? First of all, there will be a tangible disappointment of two adults, with long-established views of people, both in themselves and in others, that they have done a lot of things during this time. Odin led Ninshuu and had to teach people how to use chakra to unite them and let them understand each other without words. And with his death, Ninshuu not only disappeared, but also the essence of the teaching was distorted, now considered the predecessor of ninjutsu. The second gave people ninjutsu so that they become stronger - so they use this power not only to kill each other, but also to organize some kind of world wars and support completely stupid systems of bastard elementary countries and hidden villages! The brothers “get” after apparently killing each other during their second battle - but with everything that has passed, the enmity that began to become the meaning of life, which was fought over the inheritance and Hagoromo’s chakra, suddenly became completely meaningless. Both are clearly not enthusiastic about becoming a shinobi (especially a kage): using chakra to kill people for money is the last thing. Yes, the very existence of shinobi is offensive to them! On the other hand, you have to eat, drink, and earn money, and there is a coercive apparatus in your native village. The plot will greatly depend on the moment of the “hit”. Will there be a Team number 7, what will be the relationship with the sensei: are such teachers as in the canon necessary for people who themselves were sensei and created techniques and, as I already said, have views on the world completely different from those of modern shinobi. Will Gamamaru's prophecies be fulfilled or will they have to wait for the next generation, and if they do, who will become their heroes? Since the appearance depends on the spiritual body, and the brothers have their own spiritual bodies and chakra, the appearance is close to them in the first life, in extreme cases with elements of appearance from Naruto and Sasuke themselves (well, the “mustache” will be in any case because Kurama’s influence before birth), Indra’s MS is spiral (he obviously has a MS).
By no means MC: each generation of shinobi is superior to the previous one and inferior to the next. Kurama will be so “glad” to meet his first jinchuriki, with whom he once collaborated, but he didn’t do anything particularly useful with such power that he won’t give a single gram of chakra (“it doesn’t matter what exactly you jinchuuriki say, the meaning is always the same well, you all want to control my power"), except under the threat of being sealed by Madara himself. I also remind you that Asura does not have a CG, he achieved all his strength on his own through training (and everything is new, just easier). Indra has no way to obtain the Eternal Mangekyo and will have to find another way to prevent damage. It is possible and even probable that both were sennin in their first life, but Sennin Modo depends on the body, so it needs to be trained again. How Kuro Zetsu will react to this (although he obviously won’t find out right away) - however, the brothers have enough strength to defend themselves from Akatsuki. I also remind you that “reincarnations” in the canon are (apparently) just people who have the same chakra as their predecessors (it is not specified where this chakra comes from). Any pairings within reason - after all, both brothers were married people in the past.
And evil gods are considered harmful; demons and not gods. But esoterically it is the opposite. For in the most ancient parts of the Rig Veda, this term is used in reference to the Supreme Spirit, therefore, the Asuras are spiritual and divine. Only in the last book of the Rig Veda, in its later part, and in the Atharva Veda and the Brahmanas, did this epithet given to Agni, the greatest Vedic Deity, Indra and Varuna, begin to mean the opposite of the gods. Asu means breath and with his breath Prajapati (Brahma) creates the Asuras. When ritualism and dogma took possession of the better part of the Wisdom religion, the first letter a was adopted as a negative prefix, and the final meaning of this term became "not a god", and Sura alone is a deity. But in the Vedas, the Suras were always associated with Surya, the Sun, and were considered lower deities, devas.
Source: Blavatskaya E.P. - Theosophical Dictionary
Yes, besides those Beings who, like Yaksha, Gandharva, Kinnara, etc., being considered as individuality, the Astral Plane inhabits, real Devas exist, it is to these categories that Aditya, Vairaja, Kumaras belong, Asuras and all those high heavenly Beings whom the Occult Teaching calls Manasvin, the Wise, the foremost among all, and who would make all people self-aware spiritually intelligent Beings, which they would become, if they were not "cursed" and condemned to fall into generation and be born as mortals for their neglect of duty.
The Suras who have won their mental independence fight with the Suras who lack it and who are therefore represented as spending their lives in the performance of useless rites and worship based on blind faith - an allusion that is now passed over in silence orthodox Brahmins - and, thanks to this, the first become A-Suras. The first and Mind-born Sons of the Divine refuse to create offspring and for this cursed Brahma and condemned be born human. They're falling to the ground, which later turns, according to theological dogma, into Hellish Regions.
The name "Asura" was first given indiscriminately by the Brahmins to those who opposed their rituals and sacrifices, as did the great Asura, called Asurendra. Probably, the idea of the Demon as an adversary and enemy should be attributed to these centuries.
Esoterically, Asuras, subsequently transformed into evil Spirits and lower Gods, eternally at war with Great The deities are the Gods of Secret Wisdom. In the oldest parts Rig-Vedas they are Spiritual and Divine Beings, for the term Asura was used to designate the Highest Spirit and was identical with the great Ahura of the Zoroastrians. There was a time when the Gods Indra, Agni and Varuna themselves belonged to the Asuras.
IN Taittiriya Brahmane, The Breath (Asu) of Brahma-Prajapati became animated, and from this Breath he created the Asuras. Later, after the War, Asuras are called enemies of the Gods, hence - “ A-su-ra", initial a, negative prefix - or " Not-Gods";
The "Gods" are referred to as Sura. Thus, this connects the Asuras and their Armies listed below with the “Fallen Angels” of the Christian churches, the Hierarchy of Spiritual Beings, found in all the Pantheons of ancient and even modern peoples - from the Zoroastrians to the Chinese Pantheon. They are the Sons of the primordial Creative Breath at the beginning of each new Maha-Kalpa or Manvantara, and belong to the same category as the Angels who remained “faithful”. They were allies Soma (the father of Esoteric Wisdom) versus Brihaspati (who represented the ritual or ceremonial cult). They were evidently reduced in Space and Time to the rank of opposing Forces or Demons by the ritualists, because of their indignation against hypocrisy, feigned worship, and against form attached to a dead letter.
