Why is Lord Indra not worshipped:
In Hindu mythology Indra is considered the leader of devas. He preside over them in Indraloka. And yet he is never worshipped, while even trees, cows, snakes are worshipped by Hindus, among hundreds of other gods. Ever wondered why?
It is said that Indra is not the name of a person, but a position, an arrangement, a chair. Indra is also the name of a distinctive rain cloud. It is also a unit of time. In a Manvantara, there are different Indra, Saptarishi, Anshavtaara, Manu. 14 Manvantaras have 14 Indras, who are called Yajna, Vipaschit, Sheebi, Vidhu, Manojava, Purandara, Bali, Adbhut, Shanti, Vish, Ritudham, Devaspati and Suchi. This should be noted that Bali is the king of demons or Asuras. Which means that even Bali has once become Indra! As well as Meghanada, the son of Ravana. One of the Indra is said to be like an ox (Vrishabha) too.
Like all Hindu gods, Indra also has many names. He is called Suresh, Surendra, Devendra, Devesh, Shachipati, Vaasava, Surpati, Shakra, Purandara, Devraaj and so on. The etimology of words like Indra-dhanusha (rainbow), Indra-jaal (an elusive trap), Indriya (senses) owe their advent to Indra. He is the god of rains, clouds, thunder-storms, lightenings and rainbows. His wife is called Indrani. the supreme leader of all gods and yet he is portrayed as someone who is full of vices. He is always upto some mischief, sending Apsaras to lure ascetics out of their reclusion or stealing horses from the Ashwamedha Yajnas.
Samudra Manthan
Of 14 gems found in Samudra Manthan, one was Airavata, the magnificent white elephant with four large ivory teeth. Indra rides this Airavata, who is also called Indra-hasti or Indra-kunjar. Indra’s armament is called Vajra, a lethal weapon. Rig Veda’s third Mandala describes the supreme powers of Indra. His warfare craft is unmatchable and even the Aryans of earth had deemed him as their strategic leader for this. He has got more than 100 special powers. More than 40 names of Indra describe his powers. While Varuna is god of peace, Indra is god of war.
And yet, Hindus don’t worship him! But well, this had not been so always. There used to be a festival by his name in North India called “Indrotasava” once. But after the advent of Krishna as supreme God, all Indra adulations ceased to exist. Gopotsava, Holi and Ranga Panchami became more prominent festivals instead of “Indrotasava”. Sri Krishna had said that Govardhan Parvat gives us more life and vitality than a god (Indra) who threatens us. Hence instead of “Indrotasava” it would be more appropriate if we celebrate “Gopotasava”, a festival for GovardhanParvat. The legend has it that this infuriated Indra so much that he unleashed a catastrophic rain strom over Braj. Which prompted Krishna to come to the fore and rescue the Brajvasis from Indra’s ire. That was it for the Indra adulations. He was never worshipped after that.
Indra was worshipped as God in Egypt, Sumer and Greece:
Indra referred to a title is confirmed by Mahabharata (Santi Parva, Chapter 224) and Vayu Purana (64-6-9). While Vayu Purana allocated 14 Indras for 14 Manvanataras, Mahabharata said that there were thousands of Indras in the past.
Indra in wooden sculpture, Nepal
Foreign ‘scholars’ who did not study Tamil Tolkappiam or Mahabaharta made wrong statements that one Indra killed more than 30 demons in the Rig Veda. In fact they were not demons. Indra ‘s most celebrated episode is about killing a Brahmin !!!
We know for sure from the oldest Tamil book Tolkappaiam that Tamils worshiped the Vedic deity Indra. We know that Vedic Hindus gave top place to Indra in their worship. He is praised more than anyone else in the Vedas. But Indra worship did not stop there. Even Iranians, Sumerians, Egyptians and Greeks worshipped Indra! According to their languages Indra meant The God!
In Egypt:
Amongst Egypt “ntr” meant God. The hieroglyph ‘ntr’ meaning god is derived from a staff bound with cloth. This is Indra Dwaja (Flag of Indra) found in Ramayana and Tamil literature. Tamil epic Silappadikaram describes the Indra festival and Indra flag in great detail. Many of the ancient languages never write vowels. We have to insert vowels before reading it. “Ntr” will become Intra, if we introduce vowels into them.
3000 Gods in Sumeria
More than 3000 deities’ names have been recovered from Mesopotamia alone. These were organised by the Mesopotamians into groups resembling households, extended families or states.
In Avesta, Andira meant Indra and in Tamil Andiran meant Indra. We explain them below; Indra is mentioned in a two places in Zend Avesta.
In Sumeria Andara is Indra ( See page 147 of the ‘India We have Lost’)
Laos has issued stamps for Indra and Mongolia has issued stamps for Vajrayudha! Indra’s name is found all over the world in names like Andrew etc.
ANTARES = INDRA
Of the 27 stars, Jyeshta is one. Greeks named the star Antares, i.eIndra. In Hindu scriptures the Devata/deity for Anatres is Indra! Hindus called this red star as Jyeshta meaning ‘the eldest’. This is another proof to show that Greek name Anatres and Indra are one and the same. (Among the goddesses also there is one Jyeshta). Scholars who did not know linked Antares with Ares (Mars) without any rhyme or reason!
There is another proof from ancient Sangam Tamil literature. Oldest book Tolkappiam called Indra with the name “Vendhan” meaning The King. But Sangam Tamil literature and later books like Tirukkural used Sanskrit word Indra. But not many people know that Andiran in Sanagam Tamil literature is also Indra.
There are two verses (240 and 241) in Purananuru sung by a Brahmin woman Uraiyur Enicheri Mudamosi. She composed many poems in praise of Ay Andiran, a Tamil chieftain. Only three poets used this word Andiran — all meaning chieftain Ay Andiran.
Indra in the Indus Valley Civilization
The Rig-Veda identifies Indra with the bull which is the predominant seal in Indus valley civilisation. So we can conclude that Indra worship prevailed in the Indus Valley.
Indra’s vehicle is an elephant known as Airavata which is a predominant animal in Indus valley civilization. No other ancient civilization has elephant figure or association of an elephant with any ancient god. This is a very clear proof to show that Indra is an Indus God and not a foreigner from central Asia or Siberia. I have already explained the elephant and the standing figure with a wheel above, on an Indus tablet is Indra.
He is the god of the direction “East” which shows that he belongs to India and not a foreign god from the “West”.
Indrani
His wife Indrani is the daughter of Asura Puloman which shows that Asuras belonged to one and the same race, belying Aryan – Dravidian racist theory. She is also known as Paulomi and Aindri. Andiran is Indra and Aindri is Indrani.
The English name Andrew and Andreas all came from Indra. Later new explanations were added by struggling foreign “Scholars”!!!
Afghans worship Indra!
Indra and Imra are worshipped as Kafir gods in Afghanistan. The place where he was worshiped was called Kafiristan. He is worshiped in Waigal, Prasun areas of Hindukush and in Nuristan.
Indra is identified with Zeus of Greece, Thor of Norse Jupiter of Romans and Taranis of Celts.
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