Indra: a Case Study in Comparative Mythology

If the ancients’ identification of Nergal with the planet Mars has a rational basis, it will provide us with an invaluable foundation upon which to launch a comparative analysis of ancient mythology. Nearly every ancient culture of which we have sufficient record has preserved traditions of a great war-god whose primary functions included leading the battle-charge and defending the kingdom against invasion and evil influences. The names of several of these gods, such as the Greek Ares and Latin Mars, are well-known. Other war-gods, if less familiar, were equally prominent in olden times. In this chapter we will focus our attention on the Vedic god Indra. Indra bears all the earmarks of great heroes elsewhere—dragon-slayer, champion of the gods, invincible warrior, glutton, great sinner, etc.1 Indeed, with the possible exception of the cycle of myths associated with Heracles, Indra’s cult offers the most complete body of materials we have for reconstructing the archetype of the warrior hero. It is well-known that the cult of Indra, prominent at the time of the composition of the Rig Veda, waned considerably under the influence of post-Vedic religious reform. This diminution in Indra’s celebrity coincided with the rise of cults associated with Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva, each of whom usurped some of the Vedic functions of Indra.2 A similar demotion is apparent in Iran, where Indra became relegated to the status of a low-grade demon.3 Given the degeneration in Indra’s status in post-Vedic times, it stands to reason that the Rig Veda offers the best guide in reconstructing the god’s original cult. This is not to say that the traditions found in the Atharva Veda, Mahabharata, and numerous other texts are irrelevant to a discussion of Indra’s mythus—far from it; only that one must beware of revisionist tendencies in these later texts. Puhvel’s commentary on this state of affairs is most pertinent: