It was thundering all night

इन्द्रः [इन्द्-रन्; इन्दतीति इन्द्रः; इदि ऐश्वर्ये Malli.]

1 The lord of gods.

-2 The god of rain, rain; cloud; इन्द्रो वरुणः सोमो रुद्रः । शं न इन्द्रो बृहस्पतिः Tait. Vp.1.1.1. Bṛi. Up.1.4.11.

-3 A lord or ruler (as of men &c.). इन्द्रो- मायाभिः पुरुरूप ईयते Bṛi. Up.2.5.19. first or best (of any class of objects), always as the last member of comp.; नरेन्द्रः a lord of men i. e. a king; so मृगेन्द्रः a lion; गजेन्द्रः the lord or chief of elephants; so योगीन्द्रः, कपीन्द्रः.

-4 A prince, king.

-5 The pupil of the right eye.

-6 N. of the plant कुटज.

-7 Night.

-8 One of the divisions of भारतवर्ष.

-9 N. of the 26th Yoga.

-1 The human or animal soul.

-11 A vegetable poison.

-12 The Yoga star in the 26th Nakṣatra.

-13 Greatness.

-14 The five objects of senses.

-द्रा 1 The wife of Indra, Indrāṇī.

-2 N. of a plant (मरुबक Mar. मरवा) [Indra, the god of the firmament, is the Jupiter Pluvius of the Indian Āryans. In the Vedas he is placed in the first rank among the gods; yet he is not regarded as an uncreated being, being distinctly spoken of in various passages of the Vedas as being born, and as having a father and a mother. He is sometimes represented as having been produced by the gods as a destroyer of enemies, as the son of Ekāṣṭakā, and in Rv.1.9.13 he is said to have sprung from the mouth of Puruṣa. He is of a ruddy or golden colour, and can assume any form at will. He rides in a bright golden chariot drawn by two tawny horses. His most famous weapon is the thunderbolt which he uses with deadly effect in his warfare with the demons of darkness, drought and inclement weather, variously called Ahi, Vṛitra, Śambar, Namu- chi &c. He storms and breaks through their castles, and sends down fertilizing showers of rain to the great delight of his worshippers. He is thus the lord of the atmosphere, the dispenser of rain, and governor of the weather. He is represented as being assisted by the Maruts or storm-gods in his warfare. Besides the thunderbolt he uses arrows, a large hook, and a net. The Soma juice is his most favourite food, and under its exhilarating influence he performs great achieve- ments (cf. Rv.1.119), and pleases his devout worshippers, who are said to invite the god to drink the juice. He is their friend and even their brother; a father, and the most fatherly of fathers; the helper of the poor, and the deliverer and comforter of his ser- vants. He is a wall of defence; his friend is never slain or defeated. He richly rewards his adorers, particularly those who bring him libations of Soma, and he is supplicated for all sorts of temporal blessings as cows, horses, chariots, health, intelligence, pros- perous days, long life, and victory in war. In the Vedas Indra's wife is Indrānī, who is invoked among the goddesses.

*****Such is the Vedic conception of Indra. But in later mythology he falls in the second rank. He is said to be one of the sons of Kaśyapa and Dākṣāyaṇī or Aditi. He is inferior to the triad Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśa (though in some places Viṣṇu is regard- ed as his younger brother, cf. R.14.59,15.4), but he is the chief of all the other gods, and is com- monly styled Sureśa, Devendra &c. As in the Vedas so in later mythology, he is the regent of the atmosphere, and of the east quarter, and his world is called Svarga. He sends the lightning, uses the thunderbolt and sends down rain. He is frequently at war with Asuras, whom he constantly dreads, and by whom he is sometimes defeated. The Indra of mythology is famous for his incontinence and adultery, one prominent instance of which is his seduction of Ahalyā, the wife of Gautama (see Ahalyā), and for which he is often spoken of as Ahalyā-jāra. The curse of the sage im- pressed upon him a 1 marks resembling the female organ, and he was therefore called Sayoni; but these marks were afterwards changed into eyes, and he is hence called Netra-yoni and Sahasrākṣa. In the Rāmāyana Indra is represented as having been defeated and carried off to Laṅkā by Ravaṇa's son called Meghanāda, who for this exploit received the title of 'Indrajit'. It was only at the intercession of Brahmā and the gods that Indra was released, and this humiliation was regarded as a punishment for his seduction of Ahalyā. He is also represented as being in constant dread of sages practising potent penances, and as sending down nymphs to beguile their minds (see Apsaras). In the Purāṇas he is said to have destroyed the offspring of Diti in her womb, and to have cut off the wings of mountains when they grew troublesome. Other stories are also told in which Indra was once worsted by Raja, gran- dson of Purūravas, owing to the curse of Durvāsas, and other accounts show that he and Kṛiṣna were at war with each other for the Pārijāta tree which the latter wanted to remove from Svarga, and which he succeeded in doing in spite of Indra's resistance. His wife is Indrāṇī, the daughter of the demon Pulo- man, and his son is named Jayanta. He is also said to be father of Arjuna. His epithets are numerous; mostly descriptive of his achievements, e. g. वृत्रहन्, बलभिद्, पाकशासन, गोत्रभिद्, पुरंदर, शतक्रतु, जिष्णु, नमुचिसूदन &c. (see Ak.I.1.44.47). The Heaven of Indra is Svarga; its capital, Amarāvatī; his garden, Nandana; his elephant, Airāvata; his horse, Uchchaiśravas; his bow, the rain-bow, and his sword, Paranja.].

-Comp. -अग्निः the fire produced from the contact of clouds; ˚धूमः frost, snow; ˚देवता the 16th lunar mansion.

-अनुजः, -अवरजः an epithet of Viṣṇu and of Nārāyaṇa (उपेन्द्र); तस्थौ भ्रातृसमीपस्थः शक्रस्येन्द्रानुजो यथा Rām.6.91.4.

-अरिः an Asura or demon.

-अवसानः a desert.

-अशनः 1 hemp (dried and chewed).

-2 the shrub which bears the seed used in jeweller's weight, (गुंजावृक्ष).

-आयुधम् Indra's weapon, the rainbow; इन्द्रा- युधद्योतिततोरणाङ्कम् R.7.4,12.79; K.127.

(-ध) 1 N. of the horse in Kādambarī (i. e. Kapiñjala changed into a horse).

-2 a horse marked with black about the eyes.

-3 a diamond. (

-धा) a kind of leech.

-आसनम् 1 the throne of Indra.

-2 a throne in general.

-3 a foot of five short syllables.

-इज्यः N. of बृहस्पति the preceptor of gods.

-ईश्वरः one of the forms of Śiva-liṅga.

-उत्सवः a festival honouring Indra.

- ऋषभ a. having Indra as a bull, or impregnated by Indra, an epithet of the earth. इन्द्रऋषभा द्रविणे नो दधातु Av.12.1.6.

-कर्मन् m. an epithet of Viṣṇu (performing Indra's deeds).

-कान्तः A class of the four-storeyed buildings. (Mānasāra 21.6-68).

-कीलः 1 N. of the mountain मन्दर.

-2 a rock.

(-लम्) 1 the banner of Indra.

-2 A pin, nail, bolt फालका भाजनोर्ध्वे तु तदूर्ध्वे चेन्द्रकीलकम् (Mānasāra 12.126). cf. also Kau. A.2.3.

-कुञ्जरः Indra's elephant, Airāvata.

-कूटः N. of a mountain

-कृष्ट a. 'ploughed by Indra', growing exuberantly or in a wild state. (

-ष्टः) a kind of corn produced by rain-water.

-केतुः Indra's banner.

-कोशः, -षः, -षकः, -ष्ठः 1 a couch, sofa, which is generally made up of covering pieces of perforated wooden planks; cf. अट्टालक- प्रतोलीमध्ये त्रिधानुष्काधिष्ठानं-इन्द्रकोशं कारयेत् Kau. A.2.3.

-2 a platform.

-3 a projection of the roof of a house.

-4 A pin or bracket projecting from the wall (नागदन्त). A projection of the roof of a house forming a kind of balcony; Kau. A.24.

-गिरिः the महेन्द्र mountain.

-गुरुः, -आचार्यः the teacher of Indra; i. e. बृहस्पति.

-गोपः, -गोपकः [इन्द्रो गोपो रक्षको$स्य, वर्षाभवत्वात्तस्य] a kind of insect of red or white colour; Śukra.4.157; K.1.

-चन्दनम् the white sandal wood.

-चापम्, -धनुस् n.

1 a rainbow; विद्युत्वन्तं ललितवनिताः सेन्द्रचापं सचित्राः Me.64; Śi.7.4.

-2 the bow of Indra

-चिर्भटा A mild variety of Colocynth. The leaf is tripartite, rough and wrinkled. (Mar. कंवडळ, applied often as इन्द्रावण in the sense of vile, malignant, dark and hateful.)

-च्छदः A neck- lace of pearls having 18 strings.

-च्छन्दस् n. [इन्द्र इव सहस्रनेत्रेण सहस्रगुच्छेन च्छाद्यते] a necklace consisting of 1 strings.

-जः N. of Vālī.

-जतु n. Bitumen (Mar. शिलाजित).

-जननम् Indra's birth.

-जननीय a. treating of Indra's birth (as a work).

-जा a. Ved. born or arising from Indra. Av.4.3.7.

-जालम् [इन्द्रस्य परमेश्वरस्य जालं मायेव]

1 the net of Indra. तेनाह- मिन्द्रजालेनामूंस्तमसाभि दधामि सर्वान् Av.8.8.8.

-2 a weapon used by Arjuna; a stratagem or trick in war.

-3 deception, cheating.

-4 conjuring, jugglery, magical tricks; इन्द्रजालं च मायां वै कुहका वा$पि भीषणा Mb.5.16.55. स्वप्नेन्द्रजालसदृशः खलु जीवलोकः Śānti.2.2; K.15.

-जालिक a. [इन्द्रजाल-ठन्] deceptive, unreal, delusive. (

-कः) a juggler, conjurer.

-जित् m. 'conqueror of Indra', N. of a son of Rāvaṇa who was killed by Lakṣmaṇa. [Indrajit is another name of Meghanāda a son of Rāvaṇa. When Rāvaṇa warred against Indra in his own heaven, his son Meghanāda was with him, and fought most valiantly. During the combat, Meghanāda, by virtue of the magical power of becoming invisible which he had obtained from Śiva, bound Indra, and bore him off in triumph to Laṅkā. Brahmā and the other gods hurried thither to obtain his release, and gave to Meghanāda the title of Indrajit, 'conqueror of Indra'; but the victor refused to release his prisoners unless he were promised immortality. Brahmā refused to grant this extravagant demand, but he strenuously persisted, and achieved his object. In the Rāmāyaṇa he is repre- sented to have been decapitated by Lakṣmaṇa while he was engaged in a sacrifice]. ˚हन्तृ or विजयिन् m. N. of Lakṣmaṇa.

-ज्येष्ठ a. Ved. led by Indra.

-तापनः the thundering of clouds.

-तूलम्, -तूलकम् a flock of cotton.

-दमनः the son of Bāṇāsura.

-दारुः the tree Pinus Devadāru.

-द्युति Sandal

-द्रुः, -द्रुमः 1 the plant Termi- nalia Arjuna (अर्जुन).

-2 The plant कुटज.

-द्वीपः, -पम् one of the 9 Dvīpas or Divisions of the continent (of India).

-धनुः N. of Indra's bow, the rainbow; स एकव्रा- त्यो$भवत्स धनुरादत्त तदेवेन्द्रधनुः Av.15.1.6.

-ध्वजः 1 a flag raised on the 12th day of the bright half of Bhādra.

-2 Indra's weapon; विस्रस्ताकल्पकेशस्रगिन्द्रध्वज इवापतत् Bhāg.1.44.22.

-नक्षत्रम् Indra's lunar mansion फल्गुनी.

-नेत्रम् 1 the eye of Indra.

-2 the number one thousand.

-नीलः [इन्द्र इव नीलः श्यामः] a sapphire; परीक्षाप्रत्ययैर्यैश्च पद्मरागः परीक्ष्यते । त एव प्रत्यया दृष्टा इन्द्रनीलमणेरपि ॥ Garuḍa. P.; R.13.54;16.69; Me.48,79.

-नीलकः an emerald.

-पत्नी 1 Indra's wife, शची.

-पर्णी, -पुष्पा N. of a medicinal plant (Mar. कळलावी).

-पर्वतः 1 the महेन्द्र mountain.

-2 a blue mountain.

-पुत्रा N. of अदिति.

-पुरोगम, -पुरःसर, -श्रेष्ठ a. led or preceded by Indra, having Indra at the head.

-पुरोहितः N. of बृहस्पति. (

-ता) the asterism Puṣya.

-प्रमतिः N. of the pupil of Paila and the author of some ṛiks of the Rv.

-प्रस्थम् N. of a city on the Yamunā, the residence of the Paṇḍavas (identified with the modern Delhi); इन्द्रप्रस्थगमस्तावत्कारि मा सन्तु चेदयः Śi.2.63.

-प्रहरणम् Indra's weapon, the thunderbolt.

-भगिनी N. of Pārvatī.

-भेषजम् dried ginger.

-मखः a sacrifice in honour of Indra.

-महः 1 a festival in honour of Indra.

-2 the rainy season; ˚कामुकः a dog.

-मादन a. animating or delighting Indra; ये वायव इन्द्रमादनासः Rv.7.92.4.

-मेदिन् a. Ved. whose friend or ally is Indra; इन्द्रमेदी सत्वनो नि ह्वयस्व Av.5.2-.8.

-यज्ञः (See इन्द्रमह and इन्द्रमख) श्वो$स्माकं घोषस्योचित इन्द्रयज्ञो नामोत्सवः भविष्यति Bālacharita I.

-यवः, -वम् seed of the Kutaja tree.

-लुप्तः, -प्तम्, -लुप्तकम् 1 excessive bald- ness of the head.

-2 loss of beard.

-लोकः Indra's world, Svarga or Paradise.

-लोकेशः 1 lord of Indra's world, i. e. Indra.

-2 a guest (who, if hospitably received, confers paradise on his host).

-वंशा, -वज्रा N. of two metres, see Appendix.

-वल्लरी, -वल्ली N. of a plant (पारिजात) or of इन्द्रवारुणी.

-वस्तिः [इन्द्रस्य आत्मनः वस्तिरिव] the calf (of the leg).

-वाततम a. Ved. desired by Indra. अस्मे ऊतीरिन्द्रवाततमाः Rv.1.6.6.

-वानकम् A variety of diamonds. Kau. A.2.11.

-वायू (du.) Indra and Vāyu. इन्द्रवायू उभाविह सुहवेह हवामहे Av.3.2.6.

-वारुणी, -वारुणिका Colocynth, a wild bitter gourd cucumis colocynthis. (Mar. मोठी कंवडळ) किमिन्द्रवारुणी राम सितया कटुकीयते Laghu Yoga- vāsiṣṭha-sāra X. सौवर्चलं हरिद्रा च पिप्पली चेन्द्रवारुणिः । मूत्र- कृच्छ्रे प्रशंसन्ति पिण्डो$यं वाजिनां हितः ॥ शालिहोत्र of भोज 33.

-वाह् a. carrying Indra.

-वृक्षः the Devadāru tree.

-वृद्धा a kind of abscess.

-वैडूर्यम् a kind of precious stone.

-व्रतम् Indra's rule of conduct; one of the duties of a king (who is said to follow इन्द्रव्रत when he distri- butes benefits as Indra pours down rain); वार्षिकांश्चतुरो मासान् यथेन्द्रो$प्यभिवर्षति । तथाभिवर्षेत्स्वं राष्ट्रं कामैरिन्द्रव्रतं चरन् ॥ Ms.9.34.

-शक्तिः f. Indrāṇī, the wife of Indra, or his energy personified.

-शत्रुः 1 an enemy or destroyer of Indra (when the accent is on the last syllable), an epithet of प्रह्लाद; इन्द्रशत्रो विवर्धस्व मा चिरं जहि विद्विषम् Bhāg.6.9.12. बलिप्रदिष्टां श्रियमाददानं त्रैविक्रमं पादमिवेन्द्रशत्रुः R.7.35.

-2 [इन्द्रः शत्रुः यस्य] one whose enemy is Indra, an epithet of वृत्र (when the accent is on the first syllable). (This refers to a legend in the Śat. Br., where it is said that Vṛitra's father intended his son to become the destroyer of Indra, and asked him to say इन्द्रशत्रुर्वधस्व &c. but who, through mistake, accented the word on the first syllable, and was killed by Indra; cf. Śik.52; मन्त्रो हीनः स्वरतो वर्णतो वा मिथ्याप्रयुक्तो न तमर्थमाह । स वाग्वज्रो यजमानं हिनस्ति यथेन्द्रशत्रुः स्वरतो$पराधात् ॥

-शलभः a kind of insect (इन्द्रगोप).

-संजयम् N. of a sāman. Arṣeya Br.

-संधा connection or alliance with Indra. तयाहमिन्द्रसंधया सर्वान् देवानिह हुव Av.11.1.9.

-सारथिः 1 N. of Mātali.

-2 an epi- thet of Vāyu, driving in the same carriage with Indra; Rv.4.46.2.

-सावर्णिः N. of the fourteenth Manu.

-सुतः, -सूनुः 1 N. of (a) Jayanta; (b) Arjuna; (c) Vāli, the king of monkeys.

-2 N. of the अर्जुन tree.

-सुरसः, -सुरा a shrub the leaves of which are used in discutient applications (निर्गुंडी).

-सेनः N. of several men; of Bali; of a mountain; Bhāg.8.2.23.

-सेना 1 Indra's missile or host.

-2 Indra's army; Rv.1.12.2.

-सेनानीः the leader of Indra's armies, epithet of Kārtikeya.

-स्तुत् m.

-स्तोमः 1 praise of Indra; N. of a particular hymn addressed to Indra in certain ceremonies.

-2 a sacrifice in honour of Indra.

-हवः invocation of Indra; भद्रान् कृण्वन्निन्द्रहवान्त्सखिभ्य Rv.9.96.1.

-हस्तः a kind of medicament.