The Realm of Indra
The Realm of Indra
The Realm of Indra
becomes visible first in the latter Vedic texts, especially the brhmaa-s
brothers by the sage Nrada. On account of it being one of those pieces from
the great epic plainly retaining the ancient preeminence of Indra we present it
below in full (Mbh 2.7.1-26ab):
akrasya tu sabh divy bhsvar karmabhir jit |
svaya akrea kauravya nirmita+arka-samaprabh ||
Indeed, the divine and radiant assembly hall of akra was achieved by his own
deeds. O Kauravya, with splendor like that of the sun, it was built by akra
himself.
vistr yojana-ata atam adhyardham yat |
vaihyas kma-gam paca-yojanam ucchrit ||
It is laid out as a rectangle, 100 yojanas in breadth, 150 yojana-s in length and
5 yojana-s in height. It is suspended space and can go anywhere at will.
jar-oka-klampet nirtak iv ubh |
vemsanavat ramy divya-pdapa-obhit ||
Driving away weakness of age and anguish, free from affliction, benevolent and
auspicious is provided with chambers and seats and decorated with divine
trees.
tasy devevara prtha sabhy paramsane |
ste acy mahendry riy lakmy ca bhrata ||
O Prtha, in that assembly hall, on the foremost of thrones sits the lord of the
gods with ac, who, O Bhrata, is the the great Indr [also known as] r and
Lakm.
bibhrad vapur anirdeya kir lohita+agada |
virajombara citramlyo hr-krti-dyutibhi saha ||
Bearing an indescribable form, crowned, and with ruby-red bracelets, wearing
pure attire, with beautiful garlands, [he sits] accompanied by the goddesses of
modesty, fame, and majesty.
tasym upsate nitya mahtmna atakratum |
maruta sarvato rjan sarve ca ghamedhina
|
O king, in that hall, the with Marut-s all around, all of whom are the receivers
of the offerings in the ghamedha
ritual, the siddha-s, devari-s, sdhya-s,
hosts of gods, all accompanied by the Marut-s and shining forth with golden
garlands continually worship the mighty one, the god of a hundred acts.
ete snucar sarve divyarp svala kt
|
Then, O Prtha, all the devari-s, clean, rid of their evil, blazing like fires, full
of luster, united with soma, sinless, having overcome all weakness, worship
akra
parara parvata ca tath svariglavau |
ekata ca dvita caiva trita caiva mahmuni |
akha ca likhita caiva tath gaurair muni || [3-footed anuubh]
havim ca gaviha
ca haricandra ca prthiva |
hdya
codarai lya prarya k vala
||
king
Haricandra, Hdya,
Udara-i lya, K vala
the Prarya, Vtaskandha,
those not born from wombs and those born from wombs, those who feed off air
and those who feed of fire, together worship the wielder of the Vajra weapon,
the supreme lord of all the worlds.
sahadeva suntha ca vlmki ca mahtap |
samka satyav caiva pracet satyasa gara ||
medhtithir vmadeva pulastya pulaha kratu |
marutta ca marci ca sthu ctrir mahtap ||
kakvn gautamas trkyas tath vaivnaro muni |
muni klakavk
ya rvyo tha hirayada |
sa varto devahavya ca vivaksena ca vryavn |
kava ktyyano rjan grgya kauika eva tu || [double anuubh]
Pulaha, Kratu, Marutta, Marci, Sthu and Atri, all of great asceticism,
Kakvn, Gautama, Trkya, the fire sage, sage Klakavk
ya, rvya,
Hirayada, Sa varta, Devahavya, Vivaksena of great virility, Kava,
Ktyyana, Grgya and also Kauika [are all attending to Indra]
divy pas tathauadhya raddh medh sarasvat |
artho dharma ca kma ca vidyuta cpi pa va ||
jalavhs tath megh vyava stanayitnava |
prc dig yajavh ca pvak saptavi ati ||
agnomau tathendrgn mitro tha savitryam |
bhago vive ca sdhy ca ukro manth ca bhrata |
sarve marut mny guru ukras tathaiva ca |
vivvasu citrasena sumanas taruas tath || [double anuubh]
In addition to the above, all the brhmaa sages, the sage-kings and divine
sages, adorned with garlands, come and go in their diverse, flying machines
which blaze forth like celestial fires, praising the great one, the destroyer of
Vala and Vtra,
with auspicious praises, by rituals and acts of valor. Bhaspati
and the seven sages [go forth] upon recitation of mantra-s [to Indra] by means
of their moon-shaped flying machines, which are beautiful as moons. O King,
this assembly hall of Indra, the Pukaramlin was [thus] seen by me (i.e.
Nrada).
Notes
1) The motif of an assembly hall of the great Indra-like deity is likely an
ancestral Indo-European one. We encounter it in the Germanic world in the
form Valhalla of Odin or Bilskirnir of Thor; both are described as celestial halls
of enormous size. The meaning of the latter is lightning-streak, which relates it
directly to the hall of Indra. Just as Indras hall endowed with several chambers
(veman), the Bilskirnir is said to have 540 rooms (a number related to the
precession of earths axis), where he is said to hold court with his wife the
goddess Sif (parallel to Indr). Just like Indras realm, Odin vast hall the
Valhalla is said to welcome extraordinary individuals (not the common dead)
who proceed there due their valor in battle. Indeed memorial stones depicting
the ascent of fallen heroes to Valhalla of the Indra-realm, with beckoning
Valkyries or Aparas-es are seen respectively in the Nordic and Indic world. The
Valhalla, like Indras hall, is said have divine trees (Glasir and Lrar are
skamedha rite, the autumnal ritual in the yearly cturmsya cycle. Most other
Vedic deities are listed with the exception of Yama, Varua, Prajpati, Vi u,
and perhaps Rudra. These were perhaps consciously omitted by the composer
or the redactor of the text because: 1) the first three of these are described as
having their own celestial realms that are described later. 2) Vi u, and Rudra
were probably left out because with their rise in the late Vedic and Epic period
their votaries did not want to see them as being secondary to Indra. However,
it is uncertain if Sthu in the above list stands for Rudra or someone else.
Whatever the case, the above narrative is emphatic in placing Indra as the
supreme deity using terminology parallel to the Rathantara Sman of the Vedic
ritual: na sarvalokasya vajria samupsate.
4) The goddess Indr is identified with r and Lakm following an ancient
pattern. Indra is also said to be accompanied by other goddesses such as the
personified modesty, fame, and majesty, and raddh, Medh and Sarasvat,
who are like the Muses in Zeus court. There are also Gandharva-s and Apsara-s
who provide music, dance and comedy in the court. This music in the sabh
seems to have been an ancient feature for it is paralleled by comparable music
in the court of Zeus in the Olympian realm. For example we have Pindar
describe it thus:
Golden lyre, possession and advocate of Apollo
and the Muses with their violet hair,
the dance step which begins the festivity hear you,
and singers obey your signals
when you quiver and fashion the preludes
of the proems that begin the dance.
You quench even the pointed lightning [of Zeus]
with its ever-flowing fire. On his scepter
the eagle of Zeus sleeps. [Translation by K. A. Morgan]
5) A long list of sages and sage-kings, although anachronistic, stretching from
the ancient Vedic patriarchs to the authors of the Rmyaa are all provided as
a list. This is to illustrate the point that extraordinary individuals upon death
attain the Indra realm, where they engage in his direct worship as they had
done formerly in their earthly fire and soma rituals. This is further emphasized
by pointing out that the normally antipodal Bhaspati
and ukra are seen
together worshiping Indra in line with their Vedic persona, where both sages
are composers of mantra-s to Indra.
6) Several terms specifically refer to the Vedic rituals where Indra reigns
supreme. Some of these represent celestial entities and phenomena: The 27
fires represent the 27 Nakatra-s of the Vedic ecliptic: the deities
corresponding to these receive offerings in the ritual known as the Nakatrei.
Then there are the graha-s, which represent both the cups in which soma is
offered to the gods and the planets. Specifically the pair of cups used in the
great soma ritual are mentioned: ukra and Manthin. These two cups
commemorate a cunning trick by which the Deva-s overthrew anda and Marka,
two partisans of the Asura-s and Raka-s, who tried to steal the Soma. Also
mentioned are the stobha-s, which are magical vocalizations of the Sman
chants (au ho v, i etc).