GoldenxChild1
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INDRA http://www.racerealist.com/ved_rel.htm
The connection, or identity, between Zeus and Dyaus seems to be chiefly a philological one. There is a greater resemblance between Indra and Zeus than between Zeus and Dyaus. Indra, as the hurler of the thunderbolts, and as a "cloud compeller," coincides with Zeus and Thor.
The myth of Indra -- the favorite Vedic god -- is a further instance of that transition from the physical to spiritual meaning to which we have referred; though Indra is by no means so spiritual a being as Varuna. It is also a good instance of the fact that, as the comparative mythologists express it, the further back the myths are traced the more "atmospheric" do the gods become. First, of the merely physical Indra. His name is derived from indu, drop-sap. He is thus the god of rain. The name parjanya means rain-bringer. Indra shatters the cloud with his bolt, and releases the imprisoned waters. His purely physical origin is further indicated by the mythical expression that the clouds moved in Indra as the winds in Dyaus -- an expression implying that Indra was a name for the sky.
Also, the stories told of him correspond closely with some in classical mythology. Like Hermes and Herakles, he was endowed with precocious strength; like Hermes he goes in search of the cattle, the clouds which the evil powers have driven away ; and like Hermes he is assisted by the breezes -- though in the Hindoo myth by the storms rather--the Maruts, or the crushers. His beard of lightning is the red beard of Thor. In a land with the climatic conditions of India, and among an agricultural people, it was but natural that the god whose fertilizing showers brought the corn and wine to maturity should be regarded as the greatest of all.
He who as soon as born is the first of the deities, who has done honor to the gods by his exploits; he at whose might heaven and earth are alarmed, and who is known by the greatness of his strength: he, men, is Indra.
He who fixed firm the moving earth; who tranquillized the incensed mountains; who spread the spacious firmament; who consolidated the heavens: he, men, is Indra.
He who, having destroyed Abi, set free the seven rivers: who recovered the cows detained by Bale; who generated fire in the clouds; who is invincible in battle: he, men, is Indra.
He under whose control are horses and cattle, and villages, and all chariots; who gave birth to the sun and to the dawn; and who is the leader of the waters: he, men, is Indra.
He to whom heaven and earth bow down,; he at whose might the mountains are appalled; he who is the drinker of the Soma juice, the firm of frame, the adamant armed, the wielder of the thunderbolt; he, men, is Indra.
May we envelop thee with acceptable praises as husbands are embraced by their wives!
The first verse in the preceding hymn from the "Rigveda" perhaps refers to Indra as a sun-god, and to the rapidity with which, in tropical climates, the newly-born sun grows in heat-giving powers. The Abi, or throttling snakes, of the third verse, is the same as the Greek Echidna, or the Hindoo Vritra; and is multiplied in the Rakhshasas -- or powers of darkness -- against which the sky-god Indra wages deadly war. He is likewise spoken of in the same hymn in much the same kind of language that would naturally be applied to the creator and sustainer of the world. But so is almost every Hindoo deity. Absolute supremacy was attributed to each and every god whenever it came to his turn to be praised or propitiated.
The connection, or identity, between Zeus and Dyaus seems to be chiefly a philological one. There is a greater resemblance between Indra and Zeus than between Zeus and Dyaus. Indra, as the hurler of the thunderbolts, and as a "cloud compeller," coincides with Zeus and Thor.
The myth of Indra -- the favorite Vedic god -- is a further instance of that transition from the physical to spiritual meaning to which we have referred; though Indra is by no means so spiritual a being as Varuna. It is also a good instance of the fact that, as the comparative mythologists express it, the further back the myths are traced the more "atmospheric" do the gods become. First, of the merely physical Indra. His name is derived from indu, drop-sap. He is thus the god of rain. The name parjanya means rain-bringer. Indra shatters the cloud with his bolt, and releases the imprisoned waters. His purely physical origin is further indicated by the mythical expression that the clouds moved in Indra as the winds in Dyaus -- an expression implying that Indra was a name for the sky.
Also, the stories told of him correspond closely with some in classical mythology. Like Hermes and Herakles, he was endowed with precocious strength; like Hermes he goes in search of the cattle, the clouds which the evil powers have driven away ; and like Hermes he is assisted by the breezes -- though in the Hindoo myth by the storms rather--the Maruts, or the crushers. His beard of lightning is the red beard of Thor. In a land with the climatic conditions of India, and among an agricultural people, it was but natural that the god whose fertilizing showers brought the corn and wine to maturity should be regarded as the greatest of all.
He who as soon as born is the first of the deities, who has done honor to the gods by his exploits; he at whose might heaven and earth are alarmed, and who is known by the greatness of his strength: he, men, is Indra.
He who fixed firm the moving earth; who tranquillized the incensed mountains; who spread the spacious firmament; who consolidated the heavens: he, men, is Indra.
He who, having destroyed Abi, set free the seven rivers: who recovered the cows detained by Bale; who generated fire in the clouds; who is invincible in battle: he, men, is Indra.
He under whose control are horses and cattle, and villages, and all chariots; who gave birth to the sun and to the dawn; and who is the leader of the waters: he, men, is Indra.
He to whom heaven and earth bow down,; he at whose might the mountains are appalled; he who is the drinker of the Soma juice, the firm of frame, the adamant armed, the wielder of the thunderbolt; he, men, is Indra.
May we envelop thee with acceptable praises as husbands are embraced by their wives!
The first verse in the preceding hymn from the "Rigveda" perhaps refers to Indra as a sun-god, and to the rapidity with which, in tropical climates, the newly-born sun grows in heat-giving powers. The Abi, or throttling snakes, of the third verse, is the same as the Greek Echidna, or the Hindoo Vritra; and is multiplied in the Rakhshasas -- or powers of darkness -- against which the sky-god Indra wages deadly war. He is likewise spoken of in the same hymn in much the same kind of language that would naturally be applied to the creator and sustainer of the world. But so is almost every Hindoo deity. Absolute supremacy was attributed to each and every god whenever it came to his turn to be praised or propitiated.
