Indra plays several characters in the two epics. He appears as Indra himself several times, and as distinct characters/avatars.
The most famous avatar of Indra of course is Arjuna in the Mahabharata. And we all know Arjuna was 'good'. But are there darker shades to Indra, the head of the devas? There are many!
The puranas and the epics build an image of Indra that is playboy-ish. While he does lead the devas, is a key member of the pantheon of Gods, etc., he still has dark shades to his character that no other God has.
The first story where Indra is clearly a villain is that of Ahalya from the Ramayana. Very interesting story, with a lot of takeaways for us in the modern world.
(image courtesy columbia.edu -
Raja Ravi Verma)
Ahalya is described in the puranas as being created specially by Brahma. He creates her to best Urvashi in Indra's court in beauty. She is sent to rishi Gautama's ashrama to be raised, and when she is presented back to Brahma, he is pleased with Gautama's restraint. An open competition is held for all to contest for her hand. Indra, having taken a fancy to Ahalya (and by some accounts, she to him) contests. The first to complete a circle of the world is to be considered the winner.
Gautama does a 'Ganesha' and quickly circles his cow that is giving birth. According to the shastras, a cow that is giving birth is considered equivalent to the entire world, and hence Gautama is declared winner.
After marriage, when Gautama is away from his ashrama, Indra appears in the form of Gautama and seduces Ahalya, leading her to be cursed by Gautama. She would remain unseen to the outside world, as a rock, until Rama brushes his feet on the rock, 60000 years later, to redeem her. Some accounts in the puranas lay part of the blame on Ahalya, but Indra ia accepted universally as having seduced her. And don't worry that he wasn't punished for his act. Gautama curses him that half the blame for any 'rape' of anybody in the world in the future would belong to Indra. Quite a reputation indeed, gained during Satya Yuga (when the influence of Kali is nil). There's more to the curses heaped on him, but the different puranic versions are too many to recount.
The story of Ahalya is a very sensitive issue even today, with women's movements picking it up as a key example of how women are targeted for the faults of others, etc. Some others blame Ahalya for being easy prey. I'll leave Ahalya alone, I'm content to pick on Indra!
(image courtesy gangesindia.com)
During the Ramayana itself, Indra incarnates as Vali, Sugriva's brother. Vali abducts his brother's wife, and Sugriva seeks Rama's help in return for his vaanara forces' help in invading Lanka.
Rama shoots Vali down without facing him in battle, something critics of Rama say he should not have done. Where did yuddha dharma go, whoever the opponent might be?
I however would say that yuddha dharma does not apply in all cases. Just like speaking the truth all the time isn't a virtue (there are cases when speaking a lie can be the dharma).
Given that Vali has abducted his brother's wife, he is not entitled to a fair battle. He deserved to be shot down by whatever means. It does not reflect on Rama's character in any way, just on Vali's (Indra) action.
Here again, a clearly bad character, keeping Indra's reputation up.
(image courtesy wikipedia)
Even in the Mahabharata, where Indra plays a mostly clean Arjuna and some other characters, there are dark shades to be seen.
Indra does play some bit roles, including that of an ascetic who goes to Karna during his surya pooja. Knowing that Karna would give away anything that was asked after surya pooja, he asks for his kavacha (the armour he was born with). Karna realizes that this must be Indra incognito (to help Arjuna his archrival), but goes ahead and cuts his armour off. Nothing much bad about Indra's role here, but it does appear to be trickery at first glance, even if it were to Karna, a not so good character inspite of his virtues.
(image courtesy augadha.com)
As Arjuna, while Indra does not commit too many mistakes, there are many episodes that indicate doubt on his abilities or character.
First, Dronacharya protects him in the face of challengers, to keep him the best archer of his times. Ekalavya's thumb is taken, making him incapable of rivaling Arjuna's prowess. Karna is insulted because he isn't a kshatriya, and while he may have displayed skills better than Arjuna, he is insulted by many, including Drona. Even Draupadi, when it seems like Karna might win the swayamvara, tells him that he is ineligible to participate because he was not kshatriya. All these make Arjuna look less grand, almost as if he had godfathers everywhere who would do anything to protect him.
The episode of Abhimanyu dying inside the chakravyuha is heartbreaking. Nonetheless, Arjuna's reaction leaves a lot to be desired. First, Arjuna, in one episode in the Mahabharata is seeing advising a man not to cry at his son's funeral because the son was merely departing his present body, etc. Second, Arjuna hears the whole geeta upadesha from Krishna at the start of the war. He even confirms that he has understood the impermanence of life, and the need for dharma. Within 18 days of hearing the geeta, he cries when Abhimanyu is dead. Krishna then tells Arjuna that he might have as well done geeta upadesha to more deserving people like Bhima. More on Bhima later!
So, there. Indra's good, bad, and the ugly.
The most famous avatar of Indra of course is Arjuna in the Mahabharata. And we all know Arjuna was 'good'. But are there darker shades to Indra, the head of the devas? There are many!
The puranas and the epics build an image of Indra that is playboy-ish. While he does lead the devas, is a key member of the pantheon of Gods, etc., he still has dark shades to his character that no other God has.
The first story where Indra is clearly a villain is that of Ahalya from the Ramayana. Very interesting story, with a lot of takeaways for us in the modern world.
(image courtesy columbia.edu -
Raja Ravi Verma)
Gautama does a 'Ganesha' and quickly circles his cow that is giving birth. According to the shastras, a cow that is giving birth is considered equivalent to the entire world, and hence Gautama is declared winner.
After marriage, when Gautama is away from his ashrama, Indra appears in the form of Gautama and seduces Ahalya, leading her to be cursed by Gautama. She would remain unseen to the outside world, as a rock, until Rama brushes his feet on the rock, 60000 years later, to redeem her. Some accounts in the puranas lay part of the blame on Ahalya, but Indra ia accepted universally as having seduced her. And don't worry that he wasn't punished for his act. Gautama curses him that half the blame for any 'rape' of anybody in the world in the future would belong to Indra. Quite a reputation indeed, gained during Satya Yuga (when the influence of Kali is nil). There's more to the curses heaped on him, but the different puranic versions are too many to recount.
The story of Ahalya is a very sensitive issue even today, with women's movements picking it up as a key example of how women are targeted for the faults of others, etc. Some others blame Ahalya for being easy prey. I'll leave Ahalya alone, I'm content to pick on Indra!
(image courtesy gangesindia.com)
Rama shoots Vali down without facing him in battle, something critics of Rama say he should not have done. Where did yuddha dharma go, whoever the opponent might be?
I however would say that yuddha dharma does not apply in all cases. Just like speaking the truth all the time isn't a virtue (there are cases when speaking a lie can be the dharma).
Given that Vali has abducted his brother's wife, he is not entitled to a fair battle. He deserved to be shot down by whatever means. It does not reflect on Rama's character in any way, just on Vali's (Indra) action.
Here again, a clearly bad character, keeping Indra's reputation up.
(image courtesy wikipedia)
Indra does play some bit roles, including that of an ascetic who goes to Karna during his surya pooja. Knowing that Karna would give away anything that was asked after surya pooja, he asks for his kavacha (the armour he was born with). Karna realizes that this must be Indra incognito (to help Arjuna his archrival), but goes ahead and cuts his armour off. Nothing much bad about Indra's role here, but it does appear to be trickery at first glance, even if it were to Karna, a not so good character inspite of his virtues.
(image courtesy augadha.com)
First, Dronacharya protects him in the face of challengers, to keep him the best archer of his times. Ekalavya's thumb is taken, making him incapable of rivaling Arjuna's prowess. Karna is insulted because he isn't a kshatriya, and while he may have displayed skills better than Arjuna, he is insulted by many, including Drona. Even Draupadi, when it seems like Karna might win the swayamvara, tells him that he is ineligible to participate because he was not kshatriya. All these make Arjuna look less grand, almost as if he had godfathers everywhere who would do anything to protect him.
The episode of Abhimanyu dying inside the chakravyuha is heartbreaking. Nonetheless, Arjuna's reaction leaves a lot to be desired. First, Arjuna, in one episode in the Mahabharata is seeing advising a man not to cry at his son's funeral because the son was merely departing his present body, etc. Second, Arjuna hears the whole geeta upadesha from Krishna at the start of the war. He even confirms that he has understood the impermanence of life, and the need for dharma. Within 18 days of hearing the geeta, he cries when Abhimanyu is dead. Krishna then tells Arjuna that he might have as well done geeta upadesha to more deserving people like Bhima. More on Bhima later!
So, there. Indra's good, bad, and the ugly.
awesome dude...I wasnt aware that Arjuna was Indra's avatar..no wonder he had an unfair advantage
ReplyDeleteLiterally every character in the Mahabharata was the avatar of some God!
DeleteArjun was Indra's son, not his own avataar !
ReplyDeleteArjuna's was an earthly incarnation, not as a deva. Kunti is able to beget 3 sons for Pandu, not via 3 different husbands, but via a boon from Durvasa that allows her to request the incarnation of 3 Gods - Yama, Indra, and Vayu. Kunti's 3 sons are without doubt Pandu's sons, nobody else's.
ReplyDeleteMy references include works such as the Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya that analyze the mahabharata in detail..
I agree it becomes confusing when there are episodes such as Arjuna meeting Indra in person. He spends 5 years in swargaloka, gets cursed by Urvashi, and learns to sing and dance, and in Indra's world. However, that does not indicate that Arjuna and Indra are two different entities.
The Parashurama-Rama meetings are also similar..
I agree with your mentioned in the blog, but i want to add more clarity on the Rama Vali episode. Again not many movies/serials don't show exactly what had happened in "Valmiki Ramayana" which opens the debate if Sri Rama was correct in killing Vali by aiming arrow from his back... Before any one of us started criticizing Sri Rama, Vali himself criticized Sri Rama for his act, when he fell on the ground helplessly and just before his death. He asked many "Whys" to Sri Rama. And Sri Rama, who never deviated from Dharma, answered all the questions posed by Vali not just convincingly but authoritatively, and just before death, Vali himself accepted what Sri Rama did was correct. For any criticism against Sri Rama, the answer was in Sri Ramayana itself. On this forum, I just want to tell everyone who reads this blog that if someone questions why Sri Rama did this/that, suggest them to read/undertsand "Sri Ramayana" to get best answer.
ReplyDelete