Vritra

“ But there were dark clouds also, clouds of night and clouds of storm, and within these lurked the monster-robber; into them he lured the herds, and withheld both light and rain from the children of men. To the sun-god, therefore, who smote the thief-dragon, Vritra, with his shaft, and set free the imprisoned cows, went up the shout of praise, the song of gratitude. This myth survives in many legends of the Aryan race, and their family likeness is unmistakable. ”

“ At evening, the beneficent heavenly time, dark rain-clouds appeared, promising drink to the thirsty earth, but they were again driven away by the evil Vritra, the dark demon; and the next day the burning rays of the sun returned to dry up and parch all vegetation. At last the mighty Indra, monarch of the heavens, rose up and prepared himself for the strife. ”

“ Vedic Mythology, p. 66.
In reading the Indra hymns in the Veda, and in trying to fit them to the explanation given in the passages quoted, a constant and very disagreeable strain is put on the imagination; it must, for instance, attempt to grasp and hold, at the same time, two very far apart opinions as to the nature of the demon Vritra. Vritra is to be thought of as a demon of darkness, and as a demon of drought; the cows are clouds, they are also ruddy beams of light!
Darkness and drought are not to be easily [115] bracketed together. ”

“ He cannot be deceived and beguiled; the most secret wickedness is not hidden from him; the swiftest criminal does not escape from him, and the strongest succumbs to his anger. God of purity and truth, he watches over purity and truth among men, punishes falsehood, rewards justice and fidelity; he blesses the nations and houses which worship him with goodly increase in men and flocks.
We saw what importance the Veda ascribed to the conquest over Vritra, the cloud serpent, the black demon. The Arians in Iran also are acquainted with the slaying of Vritra. ”

“ For the origin of this world-wide myth, therefore, we should not look to the tropical Indian Zone; but it is in Indian latitudes that we should look for an explanation of the physical phenomena hymned by Vedic bards in the distinctly Indian development of the Indra-Vritra myth. I believe that in thus tracing the course of the Indra story from temperate to tropical latitudes, we shall find a reason for the contradictory attributes assigned to the demon Vritra, namely those of darkness and drought.
In northern latitudes winter is distinctly the dark season ”

“ The myth of Indra conquering Vritra was one of the theorems of primitive Aryan science; it was a provisional explanation of the thunder-storm, satisfactory enough until extended observation and reflection supplied a better one. It also contained the germs of a theology; for the life-giving solar light furnished an important part of the primeval conception of deity. And finally, it became the fruitful parent of countless myths, whether embodied in the stately epics of Homer and the bards of the Nibelungenlied, or in the humbler legends of St. George and William Tell and the ubiquitous Boots. ”

“ Seldom are the tales of the gods indecent. The story of Praj [=a] pati's incest with his daughter is a remnant of nature worship which survives, in more or less anthropomorphic form, from the time of the Rig Veda (x. 61.) to that of mediaeval literature, [38] and is found in full in the epic, as in the Brahmanic period; but the story always ends with the horror of the gods at the act. [39]
Old legends are varied. The victory over Vritra is now expounded thus: Indra, who slays Vritra, is the sun. Vritra is the moon, who swims into the sun's mouth on the night of the new moon. ”

“ And then the Rishis, came up to Vritra and spoke to him in conciliatory terms, saying, “O thou unconquerable being, the whole of this universe hath been pervaded by thy energy. Thou art not able however to overpower Indra, O best of mighty beings. A long period hath now elapsed since you began to fight. All beings, with the gods and the Asuras and men, are suffering from the effects of the fight. Let there be eternal friendship between thee and Indra. Thou shalt be happy and shall dwell eternally in Indra’s regions.” ”

“ In India the Dragon story is repeated in one of its forms in the battles of Indra with Vritra. In the Vedas this Ahi-Vritra is referred to as the Demon of Drought, the [pg 402] terrible hot Wind. Indra is shown to be constantly at war with him; and with the help of his thunder and lightning the God compels Ahi-Vritra to pour down in rain on Earth, and then slays him. Hence, Indra is called the Vritra-han or the “Slayer of Vritra,” as Michael is called the Conqueror and “Slayer of the Dragon.” ”

“ They thus often become fortresses (pur) of the demons, which are ninety, ninety-nine, or a hundred in number, and are variously described as "moving," "autumnal," "made of iron or stone." One stanza (x. 89, 7) thus brings together the various features of the myth: "Indra slew Vṛitra, broke the castles, made a channel for the rivers, pierced the mountain, and delivered over the cows to his friends." Owing to the importance of the Vṛitra myth, the chief and specific epithet of Indra is Vṛitrahan, "slayer of Vṛitra." ”

“ According to Vedic myth, Indra achieved his first great victory immediately after birth. Vritra, “the encompasser”, the Demon of Drought, was holding captive in his mountain fortress the cloud-cattle which he had harried in the approved manner of the Aryan raiders. [43] Mankind entreated the aid of the gods, “the shining ones, the world guardians”:
Who will take pity? ”

“ But where are the cows which are said to be released along with the waters. The Niruktas interpret cows to mean Waters; but in that case the release of the waters and the release of the cows are not two distinct effects.
The struggle between Indra and Vritra is really a struggle between the powers of light and darkness. The passages where waters are said to be released by Indra after kilhng Vritra do not refer expressly to the rain- cloud. Vedic scholars have wrongly supposed that when the Rig-Veda speaks of the celestial waters (divyah apah) only the rain-waters are intended. ”

“ The prayer to Mithra represents Verethraghna as going before Mithra's victorious car (p. 110) . Verethraghna means slayer of Verethra, or Vritra, and is the same word as Vritrahan. Hence the attribute of Indra, which denotes the most important achievement among his actions, is among the Iranians an independent spirit. ”

“ In the Veda Sita (q.v.) is the personified furrow of the plowed field, the beautiful wife of Indra or Parjanya. Hence Rama has been identified with Indra (q.v.) , the slayer of demons, especially of the demon Vritra. In the epos Ravana is supposed to have taken the place of Vritra. According to another interpretation, the legend is a mixture of culture and nature myth, typifying the spread southward toward Ceylon of Brahmanical civilization. The demons who disturb the ascetics in their holy practices are the barbarous tribes who oppose Aryan culture. ”

“ The Vedas show us Indra, armed with a wooden club, seizing a stone with which to pierce Vritra, the genius of evil.1 Does not this call up a picture of the earliest days of man upon the earth? His first weapon was doubtless a knotty branch torn from a tree as be hurried past, or a stone picked up from amongst those lying at his feet. These were, however, but feeble means with which to contend with formidable feline and pachydermatous enemies. Man bad not their great physical strength ”

“ O chief of the celestials, I do not desire the prosperity of all the gods. Having left my brothers behind me in the forest, and without avenging myself on the foe, shall I incur the opprobrium for all ages of all the world.” Thus addressed, the slayer of Vritra, worshipped of the worlds, consoling him with gentle words, spare unto the son of Pandu, saying, ‘When thou art able to behold the three-eyed trident-bearing Siva, the lord of all creatures, it is then, O child, that I will give thee all the celestial weapons. Therefore, strive thou to obtain the sight of the highest of the gods ”

“ All the Aryan nations have among their legends, often exalted into epic themes, the story of a battle [Pg 49] between a hero and a monster. In each case the hero conquers, and releases treasures, or in some way renders succour to man, through his victory. In Hindu myth this battle is fought between Indra and Vritra.
Indra, one of the Vedic gods, comes, according to Professor Max Müller, from the same root as the Sanskrit indu, drop, sap, but the etymology is doubtful. ”

“ When the long duration of the Vedic dawn is once demonstrated, it astronomically follows that long days and long nights existed in those times. Let us, however, try to find independent evidence of their existence. There are many passages in the Rig- Veda that speak of long and ghastly darkness in one form or other. Thus in I, 32, 10 Vritra, the traditional enemy of Indra, is said to be engulfed in long darkness. In V, 32, 5, Indra is described as having placed Shushna, who was anxious to fight in "the darkness of the pit." The next verse speaks of Sunless (ghastly) darkness. ”

“ He is above all things a combative god. His strength is immense, and his worshipers implore him to give them victory and power. He slays the demon Vrittra, a myth symbolizing the dispersion of clouds by the sun. Above all, he loves the juice of the Soma plant (Asclepias acida) , which is poured out to him abundantly in sacrifice, which he consumes with avidity, and from which he derives renewed force and energy. These two stanzas, taken from the Sâma-Veda, express some of his attributes:—
"Thou, O Indra, art glorious, thou art victorious, thou art the lord of strength ”

“ Víravara ! What man is as devoted to his sovereign as thou, who, by the sacrifice of thy noble only son, hast bestowed on this king Śúdraka life and a kingdom?" Then that young girl Víravatí, the daughter of Víravara, came up, and embraced the head of her slain brother, and weeping, blinded with excessive grief, she broke her heart and so died. And the king saw and heard all this from his concealment.
Then Víravara's wife Dharmavatí said to him, " We have ensured the prosperity of the king, so now I have something to say to you. ”

“ He looked upon the world as a Rákshasa black with fresh clouds, having the lightning flashing from them by way of an eye, raining large drops of rain instead of stones. And king Śúdraka, seeing him starting alone on such a night, and being penetrated with pity and curiosity, came down from the top of the palace, and taking his sword, set out close behind him, alone and unobserv ed. And Víravara went on persistently in the direction of the weeping, and reached a tank outside the city, and saw there that woman in the middle of the water uttering this lament, " Hero ! ”

“ Again Víravara said, “I am here.” And while the king was lost in admiration at seeing his courage, he suddenly heard a woman weeping in the distance, distracted with despair, uttering only the piteous sound of wailing. When the king heard that, pity arose in his mind, and he said to himself, “There is no oppressed person in my kingdom, no poor or afflicted person; so who is this woman, that is thus weeping alone at night?” Then he gave this order to Víravara, who was alone below, “Listen, Víravara; there is some woman weeping in the distance ”

“ Virabhadra said: “I am not a god, nor an Aditya, nor am I come hither for enjoyment, nor curious to behold the chiefs of the divinities. Know that I am come to destroy the sacrifice of Daksha, and that I am called Virabhadra, the issue of the wrath of Rudra. Bhadrakali, also, who has sprung from the anger of Devi, is sent here, by the god of gods, to destroy this rite. Take refuge, king of kings, with him who is the lord of Uma. For better is the anger of Rudra than the blessings of other gods.” ”

“ From this mysterious personage, at once a sage and a hero, all the principal sections of the Vril-ya race pretend to trace a common origin.
The portraits are of the philosopher himself, of his grandfather, and great-grandfather. They are all at full length. The philosopher is attired in a long tunic which seems to form a loose suit of scaly armour, borrowed, perhaps, from some fish or reptile, but the feet and hands are exposed: the digits in both are wonderfully long, and webbed. He has little or no perceptible throat, and a low receding forehead, not at all the ideal of a sage's. ”

“ The exquisite politeness and refinement of manners among the Vril-ya, the generosity of their sentiments, the absolute leisure they enjoy for following out their own private pursuits, the amenities of their domestic intercourse, in which they seem as members of one noble order that can have no distrust of each other's word or deed, all combine to make the Vril-ya the most perfect nobility which a political disciple of Plato or Sidney could conceive for the ideal of an aristocratic republic. ”

“ Valhalla (J. C. Jones) .
Vara heard all oaths and punished perjurers, while she rewarded those who faithfully kept their word. Then there were also Vör (faith) , who knew all that was to occur throughout the world, and Snotra, goddess of virtue, who had mastered all knowledge.
With such a galaxy of attendants it is little wonder [51] that Frigga was considered a powerful deity; but in spite of the prominent place she occupied in Northern religion, she had no special temple nor shrine, and was but little worshipped except in company with Odin. ”

“ In India the cosmogonic myths are to be interpreted in the same way as those mentioned above. Soma and Indra, as slayers of the demon Vritya, represent order as against disorder, but Vritya never had cultic significance; he appears only as a bodily demonstration of the power of the great gods. The asuras are not essentially different from the harmful spirits of savages, though it is true that they come into conflict with the friendly gods. ”