The Origins of Indra

[Luis Gonzalez-Reimann]

The following book should prove useful:

The Indian theogony: a comparative study of Indian mythology from the Vedas
to the Puranas, by Sukumari Bhattacharji.
There are different editions by different publishers.

Luis Gonzalez-Reimann
University of California, Berkeley


At 11:01 PM 09/25/1999 +0100, you wrote:
>It is my understanding that the devolopment of the gods Indra, Soma, and
>Agni precede that of Shiva and Vishnu. I have been unable to persuade a
>friend that this was how the religions of India evolved. Showing her a
>refence she discarded it as a "Western" source and quoted Sanskrit
>scripture. I have dropped the subject with her but suspect her
>understanding is derived froma devotional disposition, in contrast with my
>more philosophical approach. Since the mythology of India absorbed and
>adapted preceding aspects as it evolved, I am assuming that texts which
>refer to Shiva represent a religion which already absorbed Indra into its
>pantheon and placed him in a lower loka. Thus, whether older texts refer to
>Indra without Shiva would not convice a devotee of Shiva that Indra
>preceded Shiva. In any case, I need to get this clear in my own mind and if
>anyone has particular knowledge on the chronology of the evolution of the
>pantheon as it relates to Indra, I would much appreciate the information.
>