Victory Over Vritra Research Paper

In the Victory over Vritra, the myths involved seem to have an overwhelming biased when the story telling begins. Vritra is obviously the unflavored, while Indra is clearly the opposite. Indra is described as a noble warrior, while Vritra is portrayed as a coward and fool to challenge such a god like Indra1. Indras powers are also depicted as all-powerful and swift. The way Indra deals his blows is described in such a way that Vritra is the god that is at a disadvantage. Indra deals a blow from his thunderbolt and this defeats Vritra in a sequence of what can only assumed to be a couple of minutes1. In the hymn, Who Is Indra, the writers take a much different approach to describing gods. In this hymn, the gods are portrayed in a much more
conservative and reserved2. The portrayal seems more human-like and moderate. They seem to respect the emotions and actions of the gods a bit less, but not to the point where their powers are underestimated2. The image put forth seems like a good and just god, slaying those who are wicked and evil, and sparing those who are moral. Indra resembles the God in the Old Testament, with the moral and just principles but unsparing of those who went against their word. In comparison to Indra in and Vritra in the hymn Victory over Vritra, Indra in Who Is Indra is much less violent and with a tendency to start warfare. Combat appears to be Indras go-to move in the hymn previous. Purusha as a myth seems to resemble the story of Jesus and his ministry. Purusha is both the sacrifice and scruffier at the same time.1 The Upanishads have a more parable-esque writing, the center being around humankind. There are references to the higher beings, but no official contact. The son leaves his home and his family and achieves his apprenticeship. He returns home very learned, however his father sees that his son cannot go through life with not only relying on intellectual knowledge alone, but also he must know the Truths. The Bhakti Sutra hymn is mainly about finding devotion to ones gods, but not much about the God’s escapades. Not only finding the truth in what the Gods may say, but the conflicts and fights between Gods does not seems apparent in any other hymn but the Rig Veda. Finding ones self control and dignity finds much fortune in the eyes of the Gods, however the Gods do play a bigger role in humankinds lives. Finally, the way the Gods interact with humankind does change over the time from Rig Veda, which was charged with conflict and violence. The The Upanishads seems to be more focused mankind and mans squabbles. Bhakti Sutra also focused on the dedication and consecration of the Gods. Indian hymn have most definitely changed over time, however, the basic theme seems to be less and less God fearing.