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 Indra
is the king of the gods and ruler of the heavens. Indra is
the god of thunder and rain and a great warrior, a symbol
of courage and strength. Vayu is his friend and servant and
the Vasus are his advisers. Indra's mount is the elephant
Airavata and he also has a golden chariot drawn by ten thousand
horses.
Indra is as quick as the wind and carries a
hook, sword, conch, noose, a rainbow and the much feared magic
weapon Vaijra. His kingdom is situated near Mt. Meru and Indra's
love for Amrita (Soma) is legendary.
 At
many times, Indra lost controll over the heavens to the demons.
So Indra became always watchful to destroy any man or demon
that became too powerful. In the Life
of Ganga epic, Indra saw King Sagar triumph over all kings
of the Earth. When King Sagar decided to organize an Ashwamedh
Yagya (horse sacrifice) that would make him emperor of earth,
Indra stole the horse and hid it with Sage Kapila, who later
burned Sagar's army to ashes.
When hungry young Hanuman
sought to devour the Sun,
Indra hit him with his Vaijra. This angered the father of
Hanuman, until Indra agreed to make Hanuman immortal.
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