• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Mythology / Who Was Indra In Indian Mythology and How Did Indra Defeat Vritra the Dragon Created By Tvashtri?

Who Was Indra In Indian Mythology and How Did Indra Defeat Vritra the Dragon Created By Tvashtri?

June 24, 2020 by Karen Hill

The leader of the ancient Vedic gods, Indra rode across the sky in a golden chariot and threw thunderbolts with deadly accuracy.

A priest, Tvashtri, hated Indra, and he created a three headed son to seize Indra’s throne.

When Tvashtri’s son challenged Indra, Indra killed him with a thunderbolt and cut off his three heads. Enraged, Tvashtri created a giant dragon called Vritra to avenge his son’s death.

Vritra flew through the heavens and swallowed Indra in one gulp.

But Indra tickled the monster’s throat and was coughed out. Vritra and Indra clashed for several hours before Indra fled before the dragon’s superior strength.

Later, Indra and Vritra agreed to a truce, even though Indra continued to look for ways to kill Vritra.

Finally, in the darkness of twilight, he smashed a column onto Vritra’s head and killed him instantly.

With Vritra dead, the forces of chaos were banished from the universe.

Indra separated the water from land and created the sun.

Indra became the lord of all gods and creatures on earth.

In Puranic mythology, Indra is bestowed with a heroic and almost brash and amorous character at times, even as his reputation and role diminished in later Hinduism with the rise of the Trimurti.

Related Facts

  • Who Was Fafnir In Norse Mythology and Why Was Fafnir Transformed Into a Hideous Dragon?
  • How Did Indra Reward King Vrishadarbha For His Loyalty To a Pigeon According To Hindu Mythology?
  • How Did Indra Reward Gautama's Friendship With an Elephant According To Hindu Mythology?
  • How Did Thor Defeat Geirrod In Norse Mythology and Why Did Loki Promise To Bring Thor To Gerriod?
  • Who Was Marduk In Ancient Mesopotamian Mythology and How Did the Prince Defeat Tiamat's Army?
  • What Was the Trojan Horse In Greek Mythology and How Did Odysseus Use the Trojan Horse To Defeat Troy?
  • Who Was Ith In Celtic Mythology and How Did Milesius Defeat the Tuatha De Danann?
  • How Did Theseus Defeat the Minotaur In Ancient Greek Mythology?
  • What was Indian Territory and Where was Indian Territory located?
  • What does the term "Indian sign" mean and Where does the phrase Indian sign come from?
  • Where does the term "Indian giver" come from and What does Indian giver mean?
  • How did the word "dragon" originate and Where do dragons come from?

Filed Under: Mythology

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How Did Mythology In India Originate and Where Do the Myths of India Come From?
Next Post: How Will the World End According To Hindu Mythology and How Does Rudra Destroy the Earth? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy