The Storm Deities – INDRA

As was noticed previously , Indra, together with Agni and Surya ,by means of scarifies obtained supremacy over the other gods and if we may judge from the number hymns addressed to him in the Vedas , he was the most popular deity. He is the god of the firmament, in whose hands are the thunder and lighting , at whose command the refreshing showers fall to render the earth fruitful. When it is borne in mind that in India for months together the earth, exposed to the scorching rays of sun, becomes so hard that is impossible for the fields to be ploughed or the seed to we shown, it will not  be regarded as wonderful that the god who is supposed to bestow rain should frequently be appealed to, and that the most laudatory songs addressed to him. To the poetic minds of the Vedic age, the clouds that the winds brought from the ocean were enemies who held there treasures in their fast embrace until conquered by Indra ,they were forced to pour them upon the parched soil. And very naturally when, in answer to the cry of worshippers, the genial rains descended, and the earth was thereby changed from a desert to a garden, songs of thanks giving and praise, couched in the strongest term, were addressed to him. The heaven of Indra must not be passed over without notice, as it is there the good on earth hope to go for a time as a reward of their holy lives. To go to heaven , is not the highest happiness a man can obtain, because he cannot remain there forever. The home of Indra is situated on mount meru it has beautiful houses for its inhabitants, and the splendors of its capital is unequalled in the universe. Its gardens are stocked with trees that afford a grateful shade, yield the most luscious.