Lord Indra is the King of the Gods (Devas) and ruler of Swarg-lok (Heaven). His capital city, Amaravati is called the immortal city and he resides on Mount Meru. He is the God of thunder, lightning, rains, storms and weather. He is Lord Agni’s (God of fire) brother. In India, there are no temples to worship Lord Indra. Lord Indra is fond of the Somras and considered that as his refreshing brew. His vehicle is the majestic white elephant called Airavat. His weapon is very powerful and is called Vajra which was made from Sage Dadichi’s bones so that they act like a strong rock.

Lord Indra is married to Sachi who is also called Indrani. Legends say that the beautiful and elegant Sachi was emperor Pauloma’s daughter. One of his commanders-in- chief, Vrut was in deeply in love with Sachi Devi but she rejected his proposal as he was not a king. A dejected Vrut did penance of Lord Shiva who was pleased with his devotion and granted him a wish. Vrut asked for the immortality boon and said that he should not be killed with any weapons. When the boon was granted, he marched to Pauloma’s kingdom and conquered it. He became a demon Vritrasura and started even causing havoc among all Gods and defeating them and swallowing their weapons so that he could not be killed by any human or any God. He stole all the water from the Universe and also threw the Gods out of heaven. When Indra came to fight the demon, the fight continued for many days and many nights. Eventually, Vritrasura swallowed Lord Indra. Vritrasura could not be killed by normal methods and hence the Vajra weapon was specifically designed from Sage Dadhichi’s bones. Using the Vajra weapon, Lord Indra tore open Vritrasura’s stomach and released all the water and peace back to the Universe. The Gods then safely returned to heaven. Indra, who had fallen in love with Sachi, asked for her hand and then married her.