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CONFLUENCE OF OPPOSITES
Indra is the lord of the thunderbolt, and the leader of the heavenly hosts. His is a unique figure in Hindu mythology. The seducer of his own spiritual preceptor's wife, he was made more handsome by Brahmâ who transformed the thousand ugly spots resulting in consequence of the adulterous intercourse into so many eyes.
The enemy of the god is Vritra,
"Whose demon hosts from age to age With Indra war unceasing wage; Who, times unnumbered crushed and slain,
Is ever newly born again,
And evermore renews the strife
In which again he forfeits life."
Dr. Muir.
Indra is a powerful god, and directly after his birth demands,
"Where, mother, dwell those warriors fierce
Whose haughty hearts these bolts must pierce ?
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At last a battle is fought between the god and the demon, resulting in the victory of the former.
The third of these most prominent of the Vedic deities is Agni. He is the priest of gods at whose invocation they appear. He is also their mouth, so that the gods are directly nourished and strengthened by the sacrifices offered to him. Agni is represented in pictures as having three legs and seven hands. As a priest, Agni is regarded as 'the divinest among the sages, immediately acquainted with all the forms of worship; the wise director, the successful accomplisher, and the
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