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Indra
King of the Gods God of Weather and War
Devanagari	इन्द्र or इंद्र
Sanskrit Transliteration	Indra
Tamil script	வஞ்சிஇறை, வேந்தன் (Old Tamil), இந்திரன்
Tamil Transliteration	Wanji-irai, Wendan, Intiran
Affiliation	Deva
Abode	Amarāvati in Svarga
Weapon	Vajra
Consort	Sachi (Indrani)
Mount	Airavata

Indra (Devanagari: इन्द्र) or Śakra is the King of the gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall and is associated with Vajrapani - the Chief Dharmapala or Defender and Protector of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha who embodies the power of all primordial or Dhyani Buddhas.

Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda. He is celebrated as a demiurge who pushes up the sky, releases dawn (Ushas) from the Vala cave, and slays Vṛtra; both latter actions are central to the Soma sacrifice. On the other hand, he also commits many kinds of mischief (kilbiṣa) for which he is sometimes punished. He has many epithets, notably vṛṣan the bull, and vṛtrahan, slayer of Vṛtra and maghavan "the bountiful'. Indra appears as the name of an arch-demon in the Zoroastrian religion, while his epithet Verethragna appears as a god of victory.

In Puranic mythology, Indra is bestowed with a heroic and almost brash and amorous character at times, even as his reputation and role diminished in later Hinduism with the rise of the Trimurti. Indra is also called Śakra frequently in the Vedas and in Buddhism (Pali: Sakka). He is known in Burmese as သိကြားမင်း, pronounced: [ðadʑá mɪ́ɴ]; in Thai as พระอินทร์ Phra Inn, in Malay as Indera, in Tamil as Intiran, in Chinese as 帝释天 Dìshìtiān, and in Japanese as 帝釈天 Taishakuten.^[1]

Origins[link]

Aspects of Indra as a deity are cognate to other Indo-European gods; they are either thunder gods such as Thor, Perun, and Zeus, or gods of intoxicating drinks such as Dionysos. The name of Indra (Indara) is also mentioned among the gods of the Mitanni, a Hurrian speaking people who ruled northern Syria from ca.1500BC-1300BC^[2] .

Janda (1998:221) suggests that the Proto-Indo-European (or Graeco-Aryan) predecessor of Indra had the epithet *trigw-welumos "smasher of the enclosure" (of Vritra, Vala) and diye-snūtyos "impeller of streams" (the liberated rivers, corresponding to Vedic apam ajas "agitator of the waters"), which resulted in the Greek gods Triptolemos and Dionysos.

Vedic Indra corresponds to Verethragna of the Zoroastrian Avesta as the noun verethragna- corresponds to Vedic vrtrahan-, which is predominantly an epithet of Indra. The word vrtra-/verethra- means "obstacle". Thus, vrtrahan-/verethragna- is the "smiter of resistance". Vritra as such does not appear in either the Avesta or in 9th-12th century books of Zoroastrian tradition. Since the name 'Indra' appears in Zoroastrian texts as that of a demon opposing Truth (Vd. 10.9; Dk. 9.3; Gbd. 27.6, 34.27)!> Zoroastrian tradition has separated both aspects of Indra.

In the Rig Veda[link]

The Rig-Veda states,

He under whose supreme control are horses, all chariots, the villages, and cattle;
He who gave being to the Sun and Morning, who leads the waters, He, O men, is Indra. (2.12.7, trans. Griffith)

It further states,

Indra, you lifted up the outcast who was oppressed, you glorified the blind and the lame. (Rg-Veda 2:13:12)^[3]

Indra is, with Varuna and Mitra, one of the Ādityas, the chief gods of the Rigveda (besides Agni and the others such as the Ashvins). He delights in drinking Soma, and the central Vedic myth is his heroic defeat of Vṛtrá, liberating the rivers, or alternatively, his smashing of the Vala cave, a stone enclosure where the Panis had imprisoned the cows that are habitually identified with Ushas, the dawn(s). He is the god of war, smashing the stone fortresses of the Dasyu, but he is also is invoked by combatants on both sides in the Battle of the Ten Kings.

The Rig-Veda frequently refers to him as Śakra: the mighty-one. In the Vedic period, the number of gods was assumed to be thirty-three and Indra was their lord. (Some early post Rigvedic texts such as the Khilas and the late Vedic Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad enumerates the gods as the eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras, the twelve Adityas, Indra, and Prajapati). As lord of the Vasus, Indra was also referred to as Vāsava.

By the age of the Vedanta, Indra became the prototype for all lords and thus a king could be called Mānavendra (Indra or lord of men) and Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, was referred to as Rāghavendra (Indra of the clan of Raghu). Hence the original Indra was also referred to as Devendra (Indra of the Devas). However, Sakra and Vasava were used exclusively for the original Indra. Though modern texts usually adhere to the name Indra, the traditional Hindu texts (the Vedas, epics and Puranas) use Indra, Sakra and Vasava interchangeably and with the same frequency.

"Of the Vedas I am the Sama Veda; of the demigods I am Indra, the king of heaven; of the senses I am the mind; and in living beings I am the living force [consciousness]." (Bhagavad Gita 10.22) [1]

Status and function[link]

In the Rig Veda, Indra is the king of the gods and ruler of the heavens. Indra is the god of thunder and rain and a great warrior, a symbol of courage and strength. He leads the Deva (the gods who form and maintain Heaven) and the elements, such as Agni (Fire), Varuna (Water) and Surya (Sun), and constantly wages war against the opponents of the gods, the demon-like Asuras. As the god of war, he is also regarded as one of the Guardians of the directions, representing the east. As the favourite 'national' god of the Vedic Indians, Indra has about 250 hymns dedicated to him in the Rigveda.

Characteristics[link]

Appearance[link]

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Detail of the Phra Prang, the central tower of the Wat Arun ("Temple of Dawn") in Bangkok, Thailand - showing Indra on his three-headed elephant Erawan (Airavata).

In Rig Veda, Indra the solar god is sometimes described as golden-bodied ("Gora" that means golden-yellowish) with golden jaw, nails, hair, beard.

One Atharva Vedic verse reads, "In Indra are set fast all forms of golden hue."^[4]

In the RV 1.65 reads, "SAKRA, who is the purifier (of his worshipers), and well-skilled in horses, who is wonderful and golden-bodied."^[5] Rig Veda also reads that Indra "is the dancing god who, clothed in perfumed garments, golden-cheeked rides his golden cart."^[6] One passage calls him both brown and yellow.^[7] "Him with the fleece they purify, brown, golden-hued, beloved of all, Who with exhilarating juice goes forth to all the deities"

Indra is described in the Rig Veda of dying his hair a yellow colour from yellow Soma juice.^[8] One part of the Rig Veda says, "At the swift draught the Soma-drinker waxed in might, the Iron One with yellow beard and yellow hair." The Rig Veda/Mandala 10/Hymn 96

Other characteristics[link]

Like violent gusts of wind the droughts that I have drunk have lifted me Have I not drunk of Soma juice?^[9]

Fair cheeks hath Indra, Maghavan, the Victor, Lord of a great host, Stormer, strong in action. What once thou didst in might when mortals vexed thee, where now, O Bull, are those thy hero exploits?

—RigVeda, Book 3, Hymn XXX: Griffith^[10]

May the strong Heaven make thee the Strong wax stronger: Strong, for thou art borne by thy two strong Bay Horses. So, fair of cheek, with mighty chariot, mighty, uphold us, strong-willed, thunder armed, in battle.

—RigVeda, Book 5, Hymn XXXVI: Grffith^[11]

Indra's weapon, which he used to kill Vritra, is the (Vajra), though he also uses a bow, a net, and a hook. In the post-Vedic period, he rides a large, four-tusked white elephant called Airavata. When portrayed having four arms, he has lances in two of his hands which resemble elephant goads. When he is shown to have two, he holds the Vajra and a bow.^[12] He lives in Svarga in the clouds around Mt. Meru. Deceased warriors go to his hall after death, where they live without sadness, pain or fear. They watch the Apsaras and the Gandharvas dance, and play games. The gods of the elements, celestial sages, great kings, and warriors enrich his court.

Indra's Bow[link]

In Hindu mythology, the rainbow is called Indra's Bow (Sanskrit: indradhanushya इंद्रधनुष).

Relations with other gods[link]

In Hindu myth, he is married to Shachi or Indrani (whose father, Puloman, Indra killed), and is the father of Arjuna (by Kunti), Jayanta, Midhusa, Nilambara, Khamla, Rbhus, Rsabha. Indra is a brother to Surya. He is attended to by the Maruts (and the Vasus), children of Diti (mother of demons), and Rudra. Indra had slain Diti's previous wicked children, so she hoped her son would be more powerful than him and kept herself pregnant for a century, practicing magic to aid her fetal son. When Indra discovered this, he threw a thunderbolt at her and shattered the fetus into 7 or 49 parts; each part regenerated into a complete individual, and the parts grew into the Maruts, a group of storm gods, who are less powerful than Indra.

Indra and Vṛtrá[link]

In post-Vedic myth, Vṛtrá, an asura, stole all the water in the world and Indra drank much Soma to prepare himself for the battle with the huge serpent. He passed through Vṛtrá's ninety-nine fortresses, slew the monster and brought water back to Earth.

In another version of the story,^{[citation needed]} Vṛtrá was created by Tvashtri to get revenge for Indra's murder of his son, Trisiras, a pious Brahmin whose increase of power worried Indra. Vṛtrá won the battle and swallowed Indra, but the other gods forced him to vomit Indra out. The battle continued and Indra fled. Vishnu and the Rishis brokered a truce, and Indra swore he would not attack Vṛtrá with anything made of metal, wood, or stone, nor anything that was dry or wet, or during the day or the night. Indra used the foam from the waves of the ocean to kill him at twilight.

In yet another version, recounted in the Mahabharata, Vṛtrá was a Brahmin who got hold of supernatural powers, went rogue and became a danger to the gods. Indra had to intervene, and slew him after a hard fight. A horrible goddess named Brāhmanahatya (the personified sin of Brahmin murder) came from the corpse of Vṛtrá and pursued Indra, who hid inside a lotus flower. Indra went to Brahma and begged forgiveness for having killed a Brahmin. "Vajrayudha", which Indra possessed, is believed to be prepared from backbone of a sage Dadhichi to kill Asuras.

In the Puranas[link]

Status and function[link]

Krishna holding Govardhan hill from Smithsonian Institution’s collections

In post-Vedic texts, Indra is described with more human characteristics and vices than any other Vedic deity. Modern Hindus, also tend to see Indra as minor deity in comparison to others in the Hindu pantheon, such as Shiva, Vishnu, or Devi. A Puranic story illustrating the subjugation of Indra's pride is illustrated in the story of Govardhan hill where Krishna, Avatar or incarnation of Vishnu carried the hill and protected his devotees when Indra, angered by non-worship of him, launched rains over the village. In another Mahabharata story, Karna tries to earn merit and fame by becoming the lord of charity, a ‘daan-veer’. Krishna takes advantage of this charitable nature and gets Indra, king of the gods, to ask as charity Karna’s natural armor 'Kavach and Kundal'. Karna donates this leaving himself vulnerable. Impressed by Karna’s unwavering commitment to charity, Indra gifts Karna a spear that never misses its mark but can be used only once.^[13]

Gautama's curse[link]

Indra never tricked Ahalya,the wife of Gautama Maharishi as most moden versions of the myths claim.The affair between Ahalya and Indra was mutual as Ahalya already knew that it was Indra who was in the guise of the sage.Gautama punished Indra with a curse of losing his manliness and Ahalya too was cursed of being invisible to the eyes of everyone.

Indra and the Ants[link]

In this story from the Brahmavaivarta Purana,^[14][15] Indra defeats Vṛtrá and releases the waters. Elevated to the rank of King of the gods, Indra orders the heavenly craftsman, Vishvakarma, to build him a grand palace. Full of pride, Indra continues to demand more and more improvements for the palace. At last, exhausted, Vishvakarma asks Brahma the Creator for help. Brahma in turn appeals to Vishnu, the Supreme Being.

Vishnu visits Indra's palace in the form of a Brahmin boy; Indra welcomes him in. Vishnu praises Indra's palace, casually adding that no former Indra had succeeded in building such a palace. At first, Indra is amused by the Brahmin boy's claim to know of former Indras. But the amusement turns to horror as the boy tells about Indra's ancestors, about the great cycles of creation and destruction, and even about the infinite number of worlds scattered through the void, each with its own Indra. The boy claims to have seen them all. During the boy's speech, a procession of ants had entered the hall. The boy saw the ants and laughed. Finally humbled, Indra asks the boy why he laughed. The boy reveals that the ants are all former Indras.

Another visitor enters the hall. He is Shiva, in the form of a hermit. On his chest lies a circular cluster of hairs, intact at the circumference but with a gap in the middle. Shiva reveals that each of these chest hairs corresponds to the life of one Indra. Each time a hair falls, one Indra dies and another replaces him.

No longer interested in wealth and honor, Indra rewards Vishvakarma and releases him from any further work on the palace. Indra himself decides to leave his life of luxury to become a hermit and seek wisdom. Horrified, Indra's wife Shuchi asks the priest Brihaspati to change her husband's mind. He teaches Indra to see the virtues of both the spiritual life and the worldly life. Thus, at the end of the story, Indra learns how to pursue wisdom while still fulfilling his kingly duties.

The 14 Indras[link]

Each Manu rules during an eon called a Manvantara. 14 Manvantaras make up a Kalpa, a period corresponding to a day in the life of Brahma. Every Manvantara has 1 Indra that means with every Kalpa 14 Indras changes. Thae Markandye Rishi is said to have a complete age of one Kalpa and in a Puran on his name called "Markandey Puran" the exact age corresponding to the human age or solar year is described in details. The following list is according to Vishnu Purana 3.1–2):^[16]

In Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism and Bali[link]

Indra as Sakka and Sachi Riding the Divine Elephant Airavata, Folio from a Jain text, Panchakalyanaka (Five Auspicious Events in the Life of Jina Rishabha), circa 1670-1680, Painting in LACMA museum, originally from Amer, Rajasthan

A Burmese statue of Thagyamin, the Burmese representation of Sakka-Indra.

In Buddhism and Jainism, Indra is commonly called by his other name, Śakra or Sakka, ruler of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven. However, Śakra is sometimes given the title Indra, or, more commonly, Devānām Indra, "Lord of the Devas". The ceremonial name of Bangkok claims that the city was "given by Indra and built by Vishvakarman." The provincial seal of Surin Province, Thailand is an image of Indra atop Airavata.

In Jainism, Indra is also known as Saudharmendra, and always serves the Tirthankaras. Indra most commonly appears in stories related to Mahavira, in which Indra himself manages and celebrates the five auspicious events in that Tirthankara's life, such as Chavan kalyanak, Janma kalyanak, Diksha kalyanak, Kevalgyan kalyanak, and Nirvan kalyanak.

In China, Korea, and Japan, he is known by the characters 帝释天 (Chinese: 釋提桓因, pinyin: shì dī huán yīn, Korean: "Je-seok-cheon" or 桓因 Hwan-in, Japanese: "Tai-shaku-ten", kanji: 帝釈天). In Japan, Indra always appears opposite Brahma (梵天, Japanese: "Bonten") in Buddhist art. Brahma and Indra are revered together as protectors of the historical Buddha (释迦, Japanese: "Shaka", kanji: 釈迦), and are frequently shown giving Shaka his first bath. Although Indra is often depicted like a bodhisattva in the Far East, typically in Tang dynasty costume, his iconography also includes a martial aspect, wielding a thunderbolt from atop his elephant mount.

Some Buddhists regard the Daoist Jade Emperor as another interpretation of Indra.

In the Huayan school of Buddhism and elsewhere, the image of Indra's net is a metaphor for the emptiness of all things.

In Bali, the legend of Tirtha Empul Temple origin is related to Indra. The sacred spring was created by the Indra, whose soldiers were poisoned at one time by Mayadanawa. Indra pierced the earth to create a fountain of immortality to revive them.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Indra

• Rigvedic deities
• Hindu deities
• Skanda
• Vāc
• Indra (comics)

References[link]

• Masson-Oursel, P.; Morin, Louise (1976). "Indian Mythology." In New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, pp. 325–359. New York: The Hamlyn Publishing Group.
• Janda, M., Eleusis, das indogermanische Erbe der Mysterien (1998).
• http://www.magellanexperiences.com/tirta_empul_temple.htm

External links[link]

• Indra, the Storm-god - by Benjamin Slade
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, Indra

v t e Hindu deities and texts Gods Deva Ganesha Brahma Vishnu Shiva Rama Krishna Murugan Hanuman Indra Surya more Goddesses Adi parashakti Devi Saraswati Lakshmi Sati Parvati Durga Shakti Kali Sita Radha Mahavidya Navadurga Matrikas more Texts Vedas Upanishads Puranas Ramayana Mahabharata Bhagavad Gita more Hinduism Hindu mythology

David Hoffman is one of America’s veteran documentary filmmakers. During his 40-year career, Hoffman has made five feature-length documentaries including King, Murray,^[1] an experimental feature film about a Long Island salesman who goes to Las Vegas on a junket to gamble with other high rollers. King, Murray was the winner of the Critics Award at The Cannes Film Festival. Other feature films include: Earl Scruggs: His Family and Friends, starring Scruggs with Bob Dylan, Doc Watson, and The Byrds; Sing Sing Thanksgiving, a concert feature film at Sing Sing Prison in New York with B.B. King, Joan Baez and others; and It’s All Good, a film chronicling the lives of two aggressive rollerblade teams in New York City and Los Angeles that are competing for a national prize.

Biography[link]

David Hoffman was born in New York, New York and raised in Levittown, Long Island by parents H. Lawrence and Eve Hoffman. Hoffman's father was an illustrator and teacher at Cooper Union and his mother was a public speaker. Although his initial career path was as a professional musician, when offered the chance to play for the Minneapolis Symphony (today known as the Minnesota Orchestra), Hoffman decided to venture into storytelling as a filmmaker. At the time the handheld 16 mm camera had just come into prominence in documentary filmmaking, largely as a result of the Maysles Brothers,^[2] and Hoffman picked up a used one and began to make movies. Because of his background it was no coincidence that his first films were about musical themes, and at age 24 he was recognized by the United States Information Agency (USIA) as one of the ten best young filmmakers in America.

Hoffman’s next venture as a filmmaker was into television. He opened his own production company, and produced programs for Public Television (including The American Dream Machine series) as well as low budget features. It was during this time his feature film, King, Murray, won the top Semaine de la Critique award at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival.

In the mid 1970s, Hoffman moved into corporate communications and learned the craft from Herb Schmertz, the well-known head of public relations and advertising at Mobil.^[3] From 1975 to 1981, Hoffman was part of a core team responsible for repositioning Mobil's public image. He produced many of the innovative projects that successfully attached Mobil’s corporate messages to public, social and artistic issues; these projects included Moon for the Misbegotten, The Magic Show and other television specials and series.

It was during this time that he learned the techniques developed by Schmertz including positioning and key messaging. This led to work involved with the use of the op-ed page in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, the staging of special events like MOMA’s Summer Garden, the production of corporate books and catalogues, the development of television series like Ten Who Dared and PBS’ Upstairs Downstairs, as well as some of the most unusual television commercials ever produced. Hoffman's 1977 series of television commercials was actually reviewed in the New York Times. Beyond Mobil, Hoffman was responsible for the development of similar communications programs for UTC, Aetna, Motorola, TRW, Merck and others.

Hoffman made more than 100 primetime documentary television specials and series mostly for PBS, Turner, A&E and Discovery. Among his most notable are Ten Who Dared with Anthony Quinn, the landmark PBS series Making Sense Of The Sixties, and Turner Broadcasting’s Moon Shot, winner of the Peabody Award^[4] for best TV series and nominated for two Emmys.^[5] Most of Hoffman's documentary films have been independently sponsored and not produced by a television network.

Hoffman is a traditional documentary filmmaker who often writes, shoots, directs, edits, and even narrates his films. To support his status and role in American cinematography, Hoffman has received numerous awards from national and international film festivals and competitions.

Hoffman spent much of his career producing films in Camden, Maine. Today he lives and works in Bonny Doon, California.

He lost almost everything he owned, including his house and long prized possessions, in a fire in 2008.^[6]

References[link]

External links[link]

• David Hoffman at the Internet Movie Database

• Moon Shot IMDB page
• How Hitler Lost the War IMDB page

• Washington Post article Liberal Documentarians that quotes David Hoffman
• TED Talks: David Hoffman shares his Sputnik mania at TED in 2008
• TED Talks: David Hoffman on losing everything at TED in 2008