The Prayers of Indra - From Arrogance to Devotion

This article presents a thematic survey of Lord Indra's prayers, political strategies, and moments of spiritual realization. It organizes the profound teachings found in the Vaniquotes category Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Verses Spoken by Lord Indra.

Lord Indra is the King of the heavenly planets and the wielder of the thunderbolt. He is the chief administrative officer of the universe, responsible for rain and protection against demons. However, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam depicts Indra not only as a powerful god but also as a conditioned soul subject to pride, anger, and fear. His journey is one of repeated humiliation and restoration. Whether attacking the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana out of wounded pride or battling the great devotee-demon Vṛtrāsura, Indra's activities highlight the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead and the subtle nature of devotional service. His prayers after the Govardhana-līlā are an essential study for anyone wishing to understand the danger of false prestige.

The Govardhana Incident (From Pride to Surrender)

In the Tenth Canto, Indra becomes furious when the cowherd men of Vraja stop his sacrifice to worship Govardhana Hill. Blinded by arrogance, he attacks the village with devastating rain and wind. After Lord Kṛṣṇa lifts the hill to protect the inhabitants, Indra's pride is shattered, leading to his surrender.

The Offense of Pride

Indra initially dismisses Kṛṣṇa as a mere mortal and mocks the residents of Vraja for abandoning the demigods. His words reveal the depth of his ignorance regarding Kṛṣṇa's divinity.

  • "Just see how these cowherd men living in the forest have become so greatly intoxicated by their prosperity! They have surrendered to an ordinary human being, Kṛṣṇa, and thus they have offended the gods."
  • "Their taking shelter of Kṛṣṇa is just like the foolish attempt of men who abandon transcendental knowledge of the self and instead try to cross over the great ocean of material existence in the false boats of fruitive, ritual sacrifices."
  • "These cowherd men have acted inimically toward me by taking shelter of this ordinary human being, Kṛṣṇa, who thinks Himself very wise but who is simply a foolish, arrogant, overtalkative child."
  • "The prosperity of these people has made them mad with pride, and their arrogance is backed up by Kṛṣṇa. Now go and remove their pride and bring their animals to destruction."
  • "I will follow you to Vraja, riding on my elephant Airāvata and taking with me the swift and powerful wind-gods to decimate the cowherd village of Nanda Mahārāja."
  • "My dear Lord, when my sacrifice was disrupted I became fiercely angry because of false pride. Thus I tried to destroy Your cowherd community with severe rain and wind."

Indra's Realization of Kṛṣṇa's Position

After his defeat, Indra approaches Kṛṣṇa in a secluded place. He offers profound prayers acknowledging Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Person, devoid of material modes, whose punishment is actually mercy.

  • "King Indra said: Your transcendental form, a manifestation of pure goodness, is undisturbed by change, shining with knowledge and devoid of passion and ignorance. In You does not exist the mighty flow of the modes of material nature, which is based on illusion and ignorance."
  • "How, then, could there exist in You the symptoms of an ignorant person—such as greed, lust, anger and envy—which are produced by one's previous involvement in material existence and which cause one to become further entangled in material existence? And yet as the Supreme Lord You impose punishment to protect religious principles and curb down the wicked."
  • "You are the father and spiritual master of this entire universe, and also its supreme controller. You are insurmountable time, imposing punishment upon the sinful for their own benefit. Indeed, in Your various incarnations, selected by Your own free will, You act decisively to remove the false pride of those who presume themselves masters of this world."
  • "Even fools like me, who proudly think themselves universal lords, quickly give up their conceit and directly take to the path of the spiritually progressive when they see You are fearless even in the face of time. Thus You punish the mischievous only to instruct them."
  • "O Lord, You have shown mercy to me by shattering my false pride and defeating my attempt [to punish Vṛndāvana]. To You, the Supreme Lord, spiritual master and Supreme Soul, I have now come for shelter."

Indra's Apology and Obeisances to Kṛṣṇa

Indra explicitly apologizes to Lord Kṛṣṇa for his offensive behavior, attributing it to the bewilderment caused by his position.

  • "Engrossed in pride over my ruling power, ignorant of Your majesty, I offended You (Kṛṣṇa). O Lord, may You forgive me. My intelligence was bewildered, but let my consciousness never again be so impure."
  • "You descend into this world, O transcendent Lord, to destroy the warlords who burden the earth and create many terrible disturbances. O Lord, you simultaneously act for the welfare of those who faithfully serve Your lotus feet."
  • "Obeisances unto You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the great Soul, who are all-pervading and who reside in the hearts of all. My obeisances unto You, Kṛṣṇa, the chief of the Yadu dynasty."
  • "Unto Him who assumes transcendental bodies according to the desires of His devotees, unto Him whose form is itself pure consciousness, unto Him who is everything, who is the seed of everything and who is the Soul of all creatures, I offer my obeisances."

The Vṛtrāsura Saga (The Devotee Enemy)

In the Sixth Canto, Indra battles the demon Vṛtrāsura. To his astonishment, Indra realizes that his enemy is a great devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. This conflict highlights the paradox that a "demon" can be a saint, while a "demigod" can be overwhelmed by material attachment.

Astonishment at the Demon's Bhakti

Indra openly praises Vṛtrāsura, marveling at how a person in the mode of passion (a demon) could possess such fixed devotion to the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu.

  • "Indra said: O great demon, I see by your discrimination and endurance in devotional service, despite your dangerous position, that you are a perfect devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul and friend of everyone."
  • "Demons are generally conducted by the mode of passion. Therefore, what a great wonder it is that although you are a demon, you have adopted the mentality of a devotee and have fixed your mind on Vāsudeva, who is always situated in pure goodness."
  • "You (Vṛtrāsura) have surmounted the illusory energy of Lord Viṣṇu, and because of this liberation, you have given up the demoniac mentality and have attained the position of an exalted devotee."

The Battle and the Thunderbolt

Despite his admiration, Indra is duty-bound to fight. He expresses anxiety about killing a brāhmaṇa (since Vṛtrāsura was Viśvarūpa's brother) and relies on the thunderbolt made from Dadhīci's bones.

  • "Indra said: O rascal, as a cheater sometimes binds the eyes of a child and takes away his possessions, you are trying to defeat us by displaying some mystic power, although you know that we are the masters of all such mystic powers."
  • "Although you can produce so much jugglery through illusion, you are endowed with a poor fund of knowledge. Now, try to exist on this battlefield with your relatives and friends."
  • "Today, with my thunderbolt, which has hundreds of sharp edges, I, the same powerful person, shall sever your head from your body."
  • "Vṛtrāsura was the essence of the austerities undergone by Tvaṣṭā, yet the thunderbolt killed him. Not only he but also many other stalwart heroes, whose very skin could not be injured even by all kinds of weapons, were killed by the same thunderbolt."
  • "Indra thought: Formerly, when many mountains flying in the sky with wings would fall to the ground and kill people, I cut their wings with this same thunderbolt."
  • "But now, although the same thunderbolt has been released against a less important demon, it has been ineffectual. Therefore, although it was as good as a brahmāstra, it has now become useless like an ordinary rod. I shall therefore hold it no longer."
  • "If I (Indra) kill Vṛtrāsura, another brāhmaṇa, how shall I free myself from the sinful reactions?"
  • "King Indra replied: When I killed Viśvarūpa, I received extensive sinful reactions, but I was favored by the women, land, trees and water, and therefore I was able to divide the sin among them."

The Diti and Maruts Incident (Cruelty and Redemption)

Indra's fear of losing his throne leads him to commit a heinous act: entering the womb of Diti to kill her embryo, which was destined to kill him. However, when the embryo is saved by Diti's devotion, Indra displays genuine humility.

The Act of Cutting

Indra describes the surgical precision with which he attacked the unborn child, cutting it into seven pieces, and then further into forty-nine.

  • "After entering Diti's womb, Indra, with the help of his thunderbolt, cut into seven pieces her embryo, which appeared like glowing gold. In seven places, seven different living beings began crying. Indra told them, 'Do not cry,' and then he cut each of them into seven pieces again."
  • "First I cut the child in the womb into seven pieces, which became seven children. Then I cut each of the children into seven pieces again. By the grace of the Supreme Lord, however, none of them died."
  • "When I understood that you were observing a great vow in spiritual life, I wanted to find some fault in you. When I found such a fault, I entered your womb and cut the embryo to pieces."

Confession and Brotherhood

Upon seeing the forty-nine Maruts alive and devoted to him, Indra apologizes to Diti, admitting his selfishness. This is a rare admission for a political leader.

  • "My dear mother, when I saw that all forty-nine sons were alive, I was certainly struck with wonder. I decided that this was a secondary result of your having regularly executed devotional service in worship of Lord Viṣṇu."
  • "Indra replied: My dear mother, because I was grossly blinded by selfish interests, I lost sight of religion."
  • "O my mother, I'm a fool. Kindly excuse me for whatever offenses I've committed. Your forty-nine sons have been born unhurt because of your devotional service. As an enemy, I cut them to pieces, but because of your great devotional service they didn't die."
  • "When Indra saw that actually they were his devoted followers, he said to them: If you are all my brothers, you have nothing more to fear from me."

Anxiety Over Bali Mahārāja

When Bali Mahārāja conquers the universe, Indra approaches his spiritual master, Bṛhaspati, and later the Supreme Lord. He is bewildered by the sudden rise in the demon's power.

Investigating the Enemy's Power

Indra recognizes that Bali's strength is not ordinary and suspects a spiritual cause.

  • "Kindly inform me. What is the cause for Bali Mahārāja's strength, endeavor, influence and victory? How has he become so enthusiastic?"
  • "My lord, our old enemy Bali Mahārāja now has new enthusiasm, and he has obtained such astonishing power that we think that perhaps we cannot resist his prowess."
  • "No one anywhere can counteract this military arrangement of Bali's. It now appears that Bali is trying to drink up the entire universe with his mouth, lick up the ten directions with his tongue, and raise fire in every direction with his eyes."
  • "O master of the entire world, when Indra could find no faults, he thought, 'How will there be good fortune for me?' Thus he was full of deep anxiety."

Prayers to Incarnations and Protection

As the administrator of the universe, Indra frequently offers prayers to the Supreme Lord in His various forms (like Nṛsiṁha and Vāmana) for the protection of the cosmos.

Protection from Demons

Indra acknowledges that the demigods' power is actually the Lord's power and that He is the only shelter.

  • "Our hearts, which are Your permanent abode, were all overtaken by him because the demoniac king Hiraṇyakaśipu was most fearsome. Now, by Your presence, the gloom and darkness in our hearts have been dissipated."
  • "King Indra said: My dear Lord, Your transcendental form with eight hands and weapons in each of them appears for the welfare of the entire universe, and it is very pleasing to the mind and eyes."
  • "In such a form, Your Lordship is always prepared to punish the demons, who are envious of Your devotees."
  • "King Indra said: O Supreme Lord, You are our deliverer and protector. Our shares of sacrifices, which are actually Yours, have been recovered from the demon by You."

Custody of Hiraṇyakaśipu's Wife

In the Seventh Canto, Indra attempts to arrest Hiraṇyakaśipu's pregnant wife, fearing another demon, until Nārada Muni intervenes.

  • "King Indra said: In the womb of this woman, the wife of the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu, is the seed of that great demon. Therefore, let her remain in our custody until her child is delivered, and then we shall release her."

Philosophy of Devotion

Despite his material attachments, Indra possesses a deep realization of the superiority of pure devotional service. He occasionally expresses a longing for the nectar of devotion over his own opulent position.

Nectar vs. Ditches

Indra compares the happiness of the heavenly planets to water in small ditches, contrasting it with the ocean of devotional service.

  • "A person fixed in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord, Hari, the Lord of the highest auspiciousness, swims in the ocean of nectar. For him what is the use of the water in small ditches?"
  • "O Lord, for those who always engage in Your service, which is more exalted than liberation, all material opulence is insignificant. They do not even care for liberation, not to speak of the benefits of kāma, artha and dharma."
  • "The ultimate goal of all ambitions is to become a servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If an intelligent man serves the most dear Lord, who gives Himself to His devotees, how can he desire material happiness, which is available even in hell?"

The Lord's Reciprocation

He notes that the Lord fulfills the desires of His devotees, even if they do not ask.

  • "Although those who are interested only in worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead do not desire anything material from the Lord and do not even want liberation, Lord Kṛṣṇa fulfills all their desires."
  • "Those fools and rascals who want to ascend to the upper planetary system by mystic power or mechanical means or who endeavor to cross even the upper planets and achieve the spiritual world or liberation I cause to be sent to the lowest region of the universe."

Attachment to Urvaśī

A glimpse of Indra's material attachment is seen when the apsarā Urvaśī is missing.

  • "Not seeing Urvaśī in his assembly, the King of heaven, Lord Indra, said, 'Without Urvaśī my assembly is no longer beautiful.' Considering this, he requested the Gandharvas to bring her back to his heavenly planet."

Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani

This article is a thematic compilation of the teachings presented in the Vaniquotes category Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by Lord Indra. We invite you to visit the link to read the complete collection of verses presented in alphabetical order.

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