Page 75 - BBC Knowledge - October 2017 IN

The final two are Prajapati, the father-god who embodies the sky,
and Prithvi, the mother-goddess who embodies the earth.
Indra’s abode is located atop Mount Meru, in the centre of
the world, and the sun and moon go around him. indra
In Buddhist and Jain stories, Indra salutes the Buddha and
the Jina. He sees them as the answer to all his problems. existed 3,500
For he is a materialistic god, who is insecure, fearing that every
king on earth wants to take away all that he possesses, and so is years ago,
constantly fighting asuras or disrupting the yagnas of other kings. maybe
Notice the shift from the chariot-riding warrior-god of the
Vedas to the later insecure king of paradise. This shift happens earlier. He
slowly over a thousand years. Though god, he is inferior to
the sage-teachers of the Buddhist and Jain traditions. exists now.
It reflects a change in society. People did not value kings and He will
merchants who had a lot of wealth and power, but were never
happy; they valued wise hermits who possessed nothing yet always exist
were always happy.
But, in any great civilisation, every thought has a counter- in every
thought. So it was in India. While some people believed that
happiness lay outside wealth, power and family, others argued person, boy
that happiness can be found within wealth, power and family, or girl, man
provided we discover the latent wisdom hidden within us.
New gods emerged to explain this idea. This marked the rise or woman
of the Puranic Age, roughly 2,000 years ago, which had its roots
in the Vedas, but which was very different in spirit, challenging
the monastic ways of Buddhism and Jainism.
Puranic stories introduce the Hindu trinity: Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiva. Brahma is the creator of all living creatures, including
devas and asuras, which is why Indra calls him, ‘Grandfather!’
But Brahma is not imagined as a wise god. Neither is Indra.
Wisdom is embodied in Shiva, but he is a hermit, sitting silently
in serene isolation, until the Goddess, Shakti, forces him to open
About his eyes, marry her, and start a family with her. In that household,
the Shiva reveals the wisdom of life through song, dance and stories.
Shiva is described as swayambhu, one who created himself.
author Since Indra has a father, Kashyapa, and a mother, Aditi, and

Devdutt Pattanaik is a grandfather, Brahma, he is seen as inferior, for one who is born
has to experience death. One who is not born does not experience
a writer, illustrator
and lecturer of death. Shiva is swayambhu. Shakti is swayambhu. What about
mythology, who Brahma? No, he is not. We are told he is born of a lotus that rises
draws attention from the navel of Vishnu, the wise one, who is eternal. When
to its relevance in Vishnu sleeps, the world ceases to exist. When Vishnu awakes,
modern times. the world comes into being. Like Shiva, Vishnu is swayambhu.
Based in Mumbai, Understandably, there was great rivalry between those who
he has over 30 worshipped Shiva and those who worshipped Vishnu,
books, and over 800
articles to his credit. just as those who followed the Buddha and the Jina often had
His latest children’s quarrels with those who preferred the Vedic rituals.
books include The These rivalries have shaped Indian thought over the last
Girl who Chose: 2,000 years. Sadly, these rivalries also overshadowed Indra,
Ramayana for the mighty god of the Rig Veda. Much of the stories were
Children (Puffin) metaphors for deeper philosophical concepts. Through stories,
and The Boys who they were made accessible to the common man. Indra was seen
Fought:
Mahabharata for as a metaphor for ‘indriya’, our sense organs that are enchanted
Children (Puffin). by the world of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.
To know more, visit Our senses make us crave things and so we end up constantly
www.devdutt.com battling deprivation and frustration. Thus, we are told,
Indra is within us. He is that part of us seeking conquest and
victory and the spoils of war, eternally insecure of competition.
He existed 3,500 years ago, maybe earlier. He exists now.
He will always exist in every person, boy or girl, man or woman.
He will seek the wisdom of sages, and the protection of greater
gods, until he becomes wise himself.