why Indra is not worshipped?

[Viraja]

"Indra is just one of the names of paramAtma. There is no reason why you can't worship indra. Vide sahasranAma. Indra means one with unlimited aishvarya or splendour - which is God himself. "

All the saints are believed to be devas (heavenly beings) who reincarnated on Earth to uplift the mankind and attain mukti. Indra, being the lord of all these heavenly and meritorious souls, must no doubt be a superior deity for worship.

[Sahasranama]

Indra is just one of the names of paramAtma. There is no reason why you can't worship indra. Vide sahasranAma. Indra means one with unlimited aishvarya or splendour - which is God himself.

The "clownish" Indra of the purANa-s is a personification of the human mind, and is subject to ups and downs. The legends of indra are infact, that of our own mind, that seeks to know the Almighty and has to face innumerable trials and tribulations and has to constantly fight the inner demons (with the help of other Godly powers).

This fits very well into a neo Vedantic paradigm, but traditionally we worship Indra, agni, vayu etc. as real heavenly entities who partake in sacrificial offerings during pujas, homas, yajnas, not merely as symbols of the mind and such.

[ShivaFan]

Namaste



Above is a procession of Lord Indra in Nepal. There is an Indra Festival in Tamil Nadu. It is also celebrated in Nepal. There are temples specific to Indra in Thailand. Indra and Varuna are given worship in Sandhya vandhana. There are recent Tamil sacred texts that give glory to Indra.

Indra exists, and is still given worship by Hindus. He is Great.

Om Namah Sivaya

[ShivaFan]

Namaste

By the way, I was just doing a study of art related to Indra, and this was coming from modern Hindu scholars, not ancient Vedic - modern Hindus who respect Lord Indra.

They were teaching that while Lord Shiva's Third Eye is depicted vertically, e.g. (), that Lord Indra's Third Eye is depicted horizontally, e.g. =

Lord Indra is Great

Om Namah Sivaya

[jignyAsu]

Above is a procession of Lord Indra in Nepal. There is an Indra Festival in Tamil Nadu. It is also celebrated in Nepal. There are temples specific to Indra in Thailand.

Wow! One learns something new everyday. I just googled an article which mentions that people believe that stopping this festival would result in a catastrophe - reminds one of the Govardhana incident.

Indra exists, and is still given worship by Hindus. He is Great.

I think many Hindus have taken Indra way too lightly. His being a deity means He is great for sure!

[Aum_425]

I seem to remember this described in the Puranas.

Indra was the chief of Gods, true, but he got egotistical and then the Gods started worshiping Shiva.

Can't remember if this is correct though.

[ShivaFan]

Namaste Aum_425

Indra is very real, actually. Personally, I like Him a lot. I suppose you can say He is egotistical, but I see Him as being quite a Dynamic Deva who, with His overpowering persona of Maharaja like charisma, He is like when a Great King walks into a room and His face is so nice with two Diamond jewels hanging from ears, and He smiles and talks loud and everyone wants to listen and be with Him. Indra is actually sometimes mistakenly envisioned or depicted as an older man, but in fact is refreshingly Young and is known as the Adorable. Yes, He can be loud, the very epitome of a popular guest to a grand event, charming and charismatic. He slew the Dragon-snake called Vritra and is famous for that. It is my opinion, that if you go to the Mountains, the spirit of Indra is there and Indra is a great friend of Shiva, and Indra has many associations with Mount Meru. He is adorable, extremely lively and even loud, but at the same time He is a protector of intellectuals or those who have buddhi. This is because Lord Shiva once convinced Indra of the need to see not just fame but also renunciation, since Indra with such dynamic personality naturally attracts fame which comes from Devi. He decides to take upon a mendicant life, but then the teacher Brihaspati taught that there is virtue in both the renounced as well as the active life. The World looks up to the fame and adorable open spirit of Indra, and so Indra carries on in both roles which project a deep fondness for being like the Ashen Lord but also being like the Charismatic Raja. His White Elephant is famous throughout history and all over the world, and for good reason. It is the symbol of both Royal Victory but also Mendicant Hero. Personally, I believe Indra is a wonderful Deva who is to be welcome in every home that yearns for happy and active family, friends as well as buddhi. He lives in the "loka" called "heaven".

Om Namah Sivaya

[Sudas Paijavana]

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[philosoraptor]

I too am in a similar dilemma. Out of all the RigVedic gods, Indra is the one with the most attributed hymns. Second comes Agni, the recipient of sacrifices and the messenger of the Vedic Gods.

I worship all the Rigvedic deities, but indra is my favorite, the one I bow down to completely with fear, awe, and divine respect.

Indra should be very much worshipped. I think the Puranas decreased his power for some reason unknown to me.

...

Concluding: Indra is the protector of the gods who by might became their leader and rakshidar (rig vedic indra i mean). Indra all the way

The Kena Upanishad very explicitly describes the subservience of Indra, Agni, and Vayu, on Brahman.

Also, the very first mantra of the Aitareya Brahmana describes Vishnu as the foremost of deities. Similar mantras can be found in the Shatapatha Brahman and elsewhere.

[Sudas Paijavana]

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