Indra

Salutations to you, Indra, chief of the Gods! In the beginning, the cosmic man called Purusha sacrificed the cosmic man Purusha to the cosmic man Purusha. Was he Ymir? Was he Pangu? Was he Cipactli? Who knows? What is known is that from his mouth emerged Agni, the divine fire, and Indra, king of the heavens. His thunderbolt wounded Prince Arjuna when Arjuna and Lord Krishna set Agni loose upon Indra’s Khandava Forest. Indra ended the monsters Vritra and Puloman, rescuing and marrying Puloman’s lovely daughter Shachi, Goddess of jealousy and wrath.

Indra, the proudest Devá, took control of the pantheon from Varuna in the beginning of time, and still has not technically handed the reins to Vishnu, regardless of what anyone says. The controller of horses, chariots, villagers, and cattle annoys the Theoi, whom he has decided he also rules by analogy with Zeus, an analogy that only he makes.

Indeed, his habit of acting like he and every other chief deity are old friends with much in common confuses Zeus and his peers, although Huangdi of the Shén is polite enough not to give him grief about it. But let them remain confused, for Indra’s elephant Cloudbinder has five heads, his dog Sarama is all dogs’ foremother, and his horse Long-ears has seven heads, whereas Odin’s steed Sleipnir has a paltry eight legs, so there.

In his infinite generosity, and certainly not because he wishes to show off his phenomenal cosmic strength, Indra serves also as a guardian God to the Buddha and the teaching-Gods of Jainism.

Indra’s Scions are his pride as well, for all things that belong to him must be known to be the best of the best. He frequently appears at their greatest battles and exploits to watch, applaud, and boast of how he had a hand in their genesis and also taught them everything they know, even if he did not.