by Vic DiCara
This is why the moon-god is often referred to as “Soma” - a word that indicates the liquid essence of vitality and flavor in food. The moon-god produces a liquid of super-concentrated vitality and flavor called Soma, and also described as Rasa, and Amṛta.
Rasa refers to the deliciousness in food and the delight it produces. All food contains this soma-rasa, but not to the same extent or in the same variety. This is why there are so many varieties of tastes, and various intensities of flavor.
Amṛta refers to the nourishment in food, which vitalizes us and keeps us alive. The word literally indicates negation (a-) of death (mṛta). Again, all food contains soma-amṛta, but not to the same extent or in the same variety. This is why there are various types of nutrients in food, and various degrees of healthful properties in foods.
All forms of life constantly search for the rasa (pleasure) and amṛta (health) of soma - and this is more simply symbolized by a deer sniffing out herbs and roots in the forest (mṛgaśīrṣā). No food contains rasa and amṛta in as pure and concentrated a form as the “nectar” produced by soma, and given in copious supply to Indra. Drinking it incessantly, Indra magnifies his strength and becomes undefeatable, and also increasing his appetite for and capacity to enjoy thrills and pleasures.
Indra’s Embargo (Aśvinī)
Indra jealously guards his supply of soma, and shares it only with a select few. Knowing that much of his power comes from the miracle drug, soma, he is particularly paranoid about who else should be able to drink it.
As far as his enemies are concerned, he ferociously protects it from falling into their hands. The dragons, however, were once able to lick a few drops of it when Vinata’s son, the divine eagle Garuda, freed his family from slavery by giving them a pot of it, which Indra immediately snatched, leaving the dragons to split their tongues by licking up spilt drops of it from the razor-sharp kuśa grass.
Besides diligently keeping soma away from his enemies, Indra even embargoes who among the gods can drink it. This became a particularly pressing issue when Sūrya, the sun-god, unexpectedly had handsome, strong, and powerful twin sons: the Āśvini. Seeing these naturally qualified princes of Sūrya, who himself would have been a more natural candidate for Indra’s position as heaven’s king, Indra became paranoid and decided to safeguard his interests by forbidding them from ever drinking soma.
The Aśvini were born as, and often took the form of, horses; beautiful, strong, healthy animals who thrive on running fast and free out in the open. Having a horse-like nature, they naturally loved freedom and hated limitations and barriers. Indra’s ban only made the Aśvini desire soma all the more.
They came to know that Sage Dadhicī had figured out a way to create synthetic soma, and went to that sage, requesting him to teach them that science. “We are also experts in health and medicine,” they explained, “so we will make good students.”
“Surely you would made good students,” Dadhicī replied, “but I cannot teach you this science. Indra has forbidden it. He threatened to cut off my head if I teach it to anyone.”
“You are a sage,” they said. “You are not subject to the threats and laws of gods.”
“That may be true” Dadhicī said, “but I do not wish to set the example of disobeying the gods.”
After thinking for a while, the Aśvinī came up with a plan, “We have mastered surgery. We will remove your head and keep it viable on the body of a horse. Meanwhile we will give you the head of that horse. With that head you can teach us how to make soma, and when Indra cuts off your head, we will simply take your true head from the horse and put it on your body once again.”
Dadhicī agreed, and taught the Aśvinī the secrets of divine pharmacy.
As expected Indra showed up very soon thereafter, full of anger, and decapitated the sage forthwith.
And, as planned, the Aśvinī restored Dadhicī’s true head.
This circumvention infuriated Indra, but fear of the sage’s curse prevented him from taking action again. The Aśvini had gained ability to synthesize soma, but Indra vehemently continued to ban them from access to the real thing.
Sometime later, they happened to see an exquisitely beautiful young princess, Sukanyā, and learned that she was married to a very old sage, named Cyavana. The marriage had been the result of a strange twist of fate coupled with the maiden’s exalted feminine nobility. When the Aśvini met the decrepit old sage, he said, “You are experts in health, beauty, and medicine, so, for the sake of this beautiful and noble woman, bring me back the full vitality and beauty of my youth. If you do this, I promise you will drink real soma, without restriction.”
The Aśvinī twins restored Cyavana, who became as handsome and beautiful as they. At first the two twins and the newly youthful sage looked exactly identical, but by her love, Sukanyā could easily tell which of the three was her husband. Her father, King Śaryāti, came to visit, and Cyavana requested him to perform a soma ceremony. During that ceremony, Cyavana himself took the full pot of soma and set it before the Aśvini twins.
No sooner had he done so when Indra appeared on the scene, full of fury. Lifting his thunderbolt with intent to kill the sage, he scolded, “How dare you violate my ban against these two?”
But Cyavana merely moved his finger, and Indra found his arm paralyzed. The sage then rebuked the god, “These two benevolent twins are gods, sons of Sūrya. Why are you so suspicious of even your friends? Lift your ban on their partaking of soma with the rest of the gods, or I shall not free you from this paralysis.”49
The rest of the gods took the opportunity to talk sense to Indra, who finally obeyed the sage and accepted the Aśvini into the circle of gods who drink soma.
Paranoia and Passion
Indra’s Guide to Prosperity (Puṣya & Bṛhaspati)
With the help of Yama and the gifts from Agni and Soma, Indra was almost able to fill Varuṇa’s shoes as the lord of heaven. But there was still one more being who had to lend Indra essential aid: Bṛhaspati, the sage amongst the gods, the master (pati) of prosperity (bṛhas), the lord of abundance and growth (puṣya).
Wise Bṛhaspati became Indra’s chief advisor and high priest, advising him on which mystical rituals to perform for power, and then carrying out those rites impeccably.
However, Bṛhaspati cannot tolerate giving prosperity to the undeserving, and occasionally punishes even Indra for his flaws. His most significant punishment happened when Bṛhaspati entered Indra’s court but Indra was too absorbed in kingly merry-making to notice. Disgusted with Indra’s self-importance, Bṛhaspati turned and left abruptly.
The matter was immediately brought to Indra’s attention, who quickly rose from his throne and went out to search for his high priest.
Bṛhaspati had made himself invisible to the gods, so Indra could not find him anywhere.
Indra became distraught and morose. Day by day the fortune and power that had blossomed like a flower with Bṛhaspati’s blessing now withered and dried up, for without Bṛhaspati Indra could not perform the mystical Vedic rituals that gave him power.
Indra’s Magic Weapons
Hearing of Bṛhaspati’s absence, and knowing this would make Indra weak, the āsuras launched a successful attack on the gods and achieved their revenge, banishing them from paradise.
The scattered and defeated Gods rushed to Brahmā for help, who told the battered and broken Indra, “The whole problem is that you don’t have a competent priest, so you cannot perform the rituals that empower you. The solution is simple: find a new, competent priest.”
“But where will I find a priest as competent as Bṛhaspati?” Indra asked.
“Amongst āsura, Māyā, is exactly the priest you need.”
“But why would he become my priest?” Indra asked. “I am his enemy.”
“I am his grandfather,” Brahmā answered. “Ask him in my name and he will comply.”
Indra then snuck into paradise and soon found Māyā’s son, Viśvarūpa, perf
orming rituals. The boy had three heads, which he used to perform different types of sacrifices flawlessly.
“I am Indra,” the disguised god told him, “please become my priest.”
“You are the enemy of my people,” Viśvarūpa replied, “Why should perform rituals for you?”
“Brahmā sent me here,” Indra explained, “and assured me that you would do it.”
In deference to Brahmā, Viśvarūpa reluctantly acquiesced to Indra’s request.
With the power from Viśvarūpa’s rituals, Indra soon regained his strength and reclaimed paradise. One day, however, while spying on Viśvarūpa, Indra noticed that the boy set aside some portion of the ritual to benefit his kin, the āsura. Enraged, Indra egomaniacally declared the boy a traitor and cut off his three heads.
News of this soon reached the boy’s father, Māyā, whose rage knew no boundaries. “Nobly honoring our mutual grandfather, Brahmā, my son became the priest of his enemy and empowered him to defeat his own people. Yet this maniac calls him a traitor and executes him!? I will not merely banish that fool or let him flee, I will do away with him once and for all!”
Māyā performed a ritual to call forth a reincarnation of the original dragon, Vṛtra. “You know already know your enemy,” he declared, “it is Indra! Go destroy him, now!”
Immensely powerful Vṛtra immediately laid waste to the defenses of the gods and drove them once again out of paradise.
With broken bones, Indra fled to Viṣṇu. “You will need a special weapon to defeat Vṛtra this time,” Viṣṇu advised. “The ordinary thunderbolt will not do. You will need a sharper, harder one, made from the bones of Sage Dadhici, whose bones are a million times harder than diamond, thanks to a boon from Śiva.”
Indra winced, for Dadhici was the sage who Indra had decapitated for teaching the Aśvini how to synthesize soma! Once again he required help from someone he had previously made an enemy.
Viṣṇu gave a similar assurance as Brahmā had before. “Ask the sage for this in my name. When he hears my name, he will comply happily.”
Indra rushed to Earth, and asked Dadhici to sacrifice his life by donating his bones. Hearing that Viṣṇu had made this request, Dadhici indeed happily complied, in spite of his previously less-than-favorable run-in with Indra.
The Impartial Creator (Citrā & Tvaṣṭā)
“Once you have Daḍhicī’s bones,” Viṣṇu had advised, “bring them to Viśvakarma. He will know what to do.”
Viśvakarma is a manifestation of the god named Tvaṣṭa - the god of creative intellect, and the power behind all beautiful, amazing, and mesmerizing creations (citrā). As Viśvakarma, Tvaṣṭa designs and builds the incredibly sophisticated artwork and technology of paradise. When presented with Dadhicī’s bones, Viśvakarma turned them into a cadre of incredibly powerful weapons. In particular, he used the spinal column to create a thunderbolt for Indra that was sharper than razors and harder than diamond, with which Indra could finally defeat the newly risen Vṛtra and bring paradise back under the gods’ dominion.
Tvaṣṭa’s other manifestation is Viśvakarma’s parallel, Māyā, the āsura of creative intellect and design. What Viśvakarma does for the gods, Māyā does for the āsura. This reveals a very important aspect of Tvaṣṭa’s essential character. He is “citrā” - multifaceted. He is impartial because he can see many aspects and angles at the same time. He is an intellectual, creative designer, who will lend his talents to benefit anyone who asks.
To fathom the depths of Tvaṣṭa’s impartiality, consider this. As Māyā, Indra ruthlessly killed his child. Then, as Viśvakarma, he built the weapon that protected Indra from the full fury of Māyā’s vengeance.
Dependence of the King
Indra means “king,” and the god bearing this name represents our sovereignty and ability to acquire power and defeat opposition.
Indra’s ultimate enemy is Vṛtra, whose name signifies that he represents an eclipse of sovereignty. The earlier, more ritualistic portions of the Veda, like Ṛg, depict Indra as being unable to defeat Vṛtra without the help of three key figures: Varuṇa, Agni, and Soma. These three represent the most important aspects of a Vedic sacrifice. Varuṇa represents the gods. Agni represents the ceremonial fire. Soma represents the sacred offering. Indra’s dependence on Varuṇa, Agni, and Soma therefore illustrates our own dependence on the blessings obtained by adherence to the ceremonial and sacrificial culture prescribed in the Veda.
The later, more philosophical portions of the Veda, like Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, depict Indra as being unable to defeat Vṛtra without the bones of the sage Dadhicī. As an analogy, this illustrates that our prosperity is dependent upon what we can obtain only from the wise: wisdom.
Insatiable Appetite
The main flaw Indra is plagued with is that he often gets carried away with an inflated sense of his own power and importance. As such, he seldom respects boundaries, and considers himself entitled to take and enjoy whatever he sets his eyes upon.
Brahmā once personally created a woman named Ahalya, whose beauty humbled Ūrvaśī, the foremost heavenly beauty in Indra’s court, the leading courtesan of paradise. Indra, of course wanted to marry this girl, but instead a sage inadvertently won the contest she had declared for her marriage, and she selected that sage over Indra.
This infuriated and frustrated Indra to no end.
Considering himself king, and therefore above all law, Indra kept his lusty eyes upon her and waited for an opportunity to arise. One morning, just after her husband left home to engage in his daily rites and practices at the river, he changed his form and entered her home.
Ahalya thought her husband was returning home prematurely. “What happened?” she asked. “You just left, why are you back?”
“I cannot meditate, because there is an image I cannot get out of my mind,” Indra said, disguised as the sage. “That is the image of your thin waist balanced between your full breasts and wide hips. I don’t know why I have shown you so little physical affection till now? I want to rectify that and make love to you immediately.”
Confused by the sudden change in her husband’s character, Ahalya protested. “I am engaged in my morning spiritual practices right now,” she said, “It would be inauspicious to interrupt them, so please wait just a bit longer.”
Indra, however, was not the least bit willing to wait, especially since Ahalya’s real husband might return home soon. “My dear wife,” he said, “there is no flaw in interrupting your practices to serve the needs of your husband. In fact, the Vedas declare tending to the needs of her husband and family is an important part of a wife’s spiritual duty.”
Ahalya resisted.
Indra persisted.
Soon he won out and they began to make love.
Meanwhile, the sage’s sensitive yogic mind perceived a change in his wife’s emotional state. He suspected that Indra was up to no good, and hurried back home.
The sage, Gautama, stormed into his house while Indra and his wife were still in the midst of their union. Seeing the angry sage, Indra changed into a cat and leapt through the cottage window.
Gautama, delivered a resounding curse upon the fleeing god. “Bho Indra! Your penis and balls lead you into so much trouble! I will do you a favor and rid you of them. May they all fall off without delay! Another gift I will give you, since you are so infatuated with vaginas, is that you should never be without a plethora of them. May your entire body be covered with vaginas immediately!”
By the time Indra stopped running and returned to his normal form, Gautama’s curse had already come to pass; his penis and testicles were gone, and his body was covered with vaginas!
Horrified, Indra sought out Lakṣmī. “You are the origin of all women,” he pleaded, “you can forgive me for my crimes against womankind. Please reverse this curse!”
Lakṣmī was not interested in exonerating Indra from his misbehavior. “The will of a sage,” she told him, “cannot be countermanded by
a god or goddess.”
“Please!” Indra begged. “Please help me!”
Seeing Indra’s pathetic condition, Lakṣmī relented, “I truly cannot erase the curse of a sage, but I can modify the effects so that they are to your advantage,” she brilliantly suggested. “You have lost your manhood, but it can be replaced with an even more powerful manhood from a ram. You are covered in vagina… well, you have replaced Varuṇa as the king of heaven, but cannot see with the clarity that he had, for he was famous as Śatabhiṣaj, “hundred-eyed.” Let us therefore change these vaginas into eyes, so that you can compare with Varuṇa.”
Jealousy and Suspicion
Indra usurped Varuṇa’s position, so he constantly worries that someone will do the same to him. He carefully watches powerful people, and meddles with their progress. When yogis become powerful by sense control, he sends delights and damsels to ruin their discipline. When kings become powerful by performing rituals, he sends defilers to ruin the ceremonies. He himself personally ruined King Pṛthu’s sacrifice, performing the first recorded act of religious hypocrisy by impersonating a holy man so he could gain access to the ceremonial altars and spoil them.
Indra’s ego and jealousy got him into trouble with Krishna, twice.
The first incident occurred when Krishna was just a boy, and persuaded his villiage to give up Indra’s worship in favor of worshipping more practical and tangible sources of prosperity, like the teachers, cows, hills, and streams in the vicinity, especially the mountain named Govardhana. Insulted and infuriated, Indra retaliated by drowning the village in a devastating flood. Young Krishna, however, lifted the mountain like an umbrella, and kept everyone safe and dry under it.