God of Thunder and War of Vedic Hinduism, King of the Gods
In Hindu tradition, Indra was one of the highest deities of the Vedic period, wielding the thunderbolt (vajra), lord of thunder and war, leading the gods of heaven against the asuras. As the Hindu system evolved and the standing of Shiva, Vishnu, and others rose, Indra’s central place declined in later Hinduism, but he remains a common guardian-deity figure in the Buddhist and Jain traditions of South Asia (called "Shakra" in Buddhism).
The Vedic scriptures record that the demon-serpent Vritra imprisoned the world’s waters, and Indra slew him with the thunderbolt, releasing the captive rivers and restoring life to the earth — a myth held to symbolize the coming of the thunderstorm and the breaking of drought.
Indra was one of the highest deities in the Vedic period, but as the Hindu system evolved and the standing of Shiva, Vishnu, and others rose, Indra’s central place declined in later Hinduism — this "shift in a deity’s standing" is a normal phenomenon of Hinduism’s historical development, reflecting a faith system evolving with the times rather than doctrinal right or wrong.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
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