Asura in Hinduism
Vritra
(
Sanskrit
:
?????
,
lit.
'enveloper',
IAST
:
V?tra
,
Sanskrit pronunciation:
[?r?.?tr?]
) is a
danava
in
Hinduism
. He serves as the personification of
drought
, and is an adversary of the king of the
devas
,
Indra
. As a danava, he belongs to the race of the
asuras
. Vritra is also known in the
Vedas
as
Ahi
(
Sanskrit
:
???
,
lit.
'snake'
IAST
:
ahi
Sanskrit pronunciation:
[?.hi]
). He appears as a human-like serpent blocking the course of the Rigvedic
rivers
, and is slain by
Indra
with his newly-forged
vajra
.
[2]
Etymology
[
edit
]
Vritra
literally means "cover, obstacle", in reference of him holding back the waters. It stems from
Proto-Indo-Iranian
*wr?tras
, from the
Proto-Indo-European
root
*wer-
"to cover, to obstruct". The Indo-Iranian word is also found in
Avestan
as
v?r?θraγna
(Vedic
v?traghna
), literally "(one who) slays obstacles". Functionally, he is related to
Jormungandr
of Norse myth,
Typhon
of Greek myth, and
Veles
of Slavic myth.
Literature
[
edit
]
Vedas
[
edit
]
According to the
Rig Veda
, Vritra kept the
waters
of the world captive until he was killed by Indra, who destroyed all the 99 fortresses of Vritra (although the fortresses are sometimes attributed to
Sambara
) before liberating the imprisoned rivers. The combat began soon after
Indra
was born, and he consumed a large volume of
Soma
at
Tvashtri
's house to empower him before facing Vritra.
Tvashtri
fashioned the thunderbolt (
Vajrayudha
) for Indra, and Vishnu, when asked to do so by Indra, made space for the battle by taking the three great strides, for which Vishnu became famous, and was later adapted in his legend of
Vamana
.
[3]
Vritra broke Indra's two jaws during the battle, but was then thrown down by Indra and, in falling, crushed the fortresses that had already been shattered.
[4]
[5]
For this feat, Indra became known as "V?trahan" (lit. "Slayer of Vritra" and also as "slayer of the first-born of dragons"). Vritra's mother,
Danu
, who was also the mother of the
danava
race of
asuras
, was then attacked and defeated by Indra with his thunderbolt.
[4]
[5]
In one of the versions of the story, three devas ?
Varuna
,
Soma
, and
Agni
? were coaxed by Indra into aiding him in the fight against Vritra, whereas before they had been on the side of Vritra (whom they called "
Father
").
[6]
[7]
Hymn 18 of Mandala IV provides the most elaborate account of the Vedic version. The verses describe the events and circumstances leading up to the battle between Indra and Vritra, the battle itself, and the outcome of the battle.
[8]
Puranas
[
edit
]
As told in the narration given to King
Yudhishthira
in the
Mahabharata
, Vritra was an asura created by the artisan god
Tvashtri
to avenge the killing of his son by Indra, known as
Tri?iras or Vi?var?pa
. Vritra won the battle and swallowed Indra, but the other deities forced him to vomit Indra out. The battle continued and Indra was eventually forced to flee. Vishnu and the
rishis
(sages) brokered a truce, with Indra swearing that he would not attack Vritra with anything made of metal, wood or stone, nor anything that was dry or wet, or during the day or the night. Indra used the foam (which Vishnu had entered to ensure victory) from the waves of the ocean to kill him at twilight.
The
Srimad Bhagavatam
recognizes Vritra as a
bhakta
(devotee) of Vishnu
[9]
who was slain only due to his failure to live piously and without aggression.
[10]
This story runs thus:
SB 6.9.11: After Visvarupa was killed, his father, Tvashta, performed ritualistic ceremonies to kill Indra. He offered oblations in the sacrificial fire, saying, "O enemy of Indra, flourish to kill your enemy without delay."
SB 6.9.12: Thereafter, from the southern side of the sacrificial fire known as Anvaharya came a fearful personality who looked like the destroyer of the entire creation at the end of the millennium.
SB 6.9.13-17: Like arrows released in the four directions, the demon's body grew, day after day. Tall and blackish, he appeared like a burnt hill and was as lustrous as a bright array of clouds in the evening. The hair on the demon's body and his beard and moustache were the colour of melted copper, and his eyes were piercing like the midday sun. He appeared unconquerable as if holding the three worlds on the points of his blazing trident. Dancing and shouting with a loud voice, he made the entire surface of the earth tremble as if from an earthquake. As he yawned, again and again, he seemed to be trying to swallow the whole sky with his mouth, which was as deep as a cave. He seemed to be licking up all the stars in the sky with his tongue and eating the entire universe with his long, sharp teeth. Seeing this gigantic demon, everyone, in great fear, ran here and there in all directions.
SB 6.9.18: That very fearful demon, who was actually the son of Tvashta, covered all the planetary systems by dint of austerity. Therefore, he was named Vritra, or one who covers everything.
[11]
Vritra became the head of the asuras (portrayed as inherently malicious here, as opposed to the Vedic version, in which they may be benevolent or malevolent). He renounced his
dharma
? duty ? to do good unto others and turned to violence, battling with the devas. Eventually, he gained the upper hand, and the devas were frightened of his evil might. Led by Indra, they approached
Vishnu
for help. He told them that Vritra could not be destroyed by ordinary means, revealing that only a weapon made from the bones of a sage could slay him. When the deities revealed their doubts about the likelihood of any ascetic donating his body, Vishnu directed them to approach the rishi
Dadhichi
. When approached by the deities, Dadhichi gladly gave up his bones for the cause of the good, stating that it would be better for his bones to help them attain victory than to rot in the ground. The devas collected the bones and Indra crafted the
Vajrayudha
from them. When they engaged Vritra again, the battle lasted for 360 days before Vritra breathed his last.
In
Vaishnavism
, Vritra is depicted to be a devotee of Vishnu. In the Srimad Bhagavatam, when the vajra-armed Indra and the devas battle against Vritra and his asuras, the Vritra proclaims that were he to fall in battle, he would be blessed, since the vajra was imbued with the power of Vishnu and Dadhichi. During the single combat between Indra and Vritra, the former drops his vajra when he is struck on the cheek. Even as the devas gasp, Vritra merely advises him to pick up his weapon, since life and death are the same for him, as he believes that they are all instruments of Vishnu. Indra marvels at the asura's devotion to the preserver deity. When the king of the devas succeeds in slicing both of his opponent's arms, the latter swallows him whole, along with
Airavata
. Protected by Vishnu, Indra cuts open the belly of Vritra and escapes, finally beheading him with the vajra. Vritra ascends to
Vaikuntha
upon his death.
[12]
According to the Puranas, the terrible anthropomorphic personification of
Br?hmanahatya (Brahmanicide)
chased Indra and forced him into hiding for his sin,
[13]
[14]
and
Nahusha
was invited to take his place.
[15]
[16]
Buddhism
[
edit
]
In the
Pali Canon
, Vritra is alluded to when the Buddha addresses
?akra
with the title "Vatrabh?."
[17]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- Radhakrishna, B.P (1999).
Vedic Sarasvati and the Dawn of Indian Civilization
(42 ed.). Memoir Geological Society of India.
- Griffith, Ralph (1896).
Hymns of the Rigveda
. Lawrence Verry Incorporated.
ISBN
0-8426-0592-4
.
- Ganguli, Kisari (1883-96, reprinted 1975).
The Mahabharata
.
ISBN
0-89684-429-3
.
External links
[
edit
]