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Indra vs The Asuras

These two are set against one another in the texts, which is itself a claim worth attributing. King of the devas against the asuras — the polarity Iran reverses.

Deity · Vedic · c. 1400 BCE

Indra

also called Ahihán, Indran, Ahihan, Indiran, Meghavahana, Vritrahan, Sakra, Sakka, Vajrapani, Vasava, इन्द्र

The thunderbolt-wielding king of the gods, who slays the serpent Vritra and releases the pent waters. It is the Indo-European form of the same combat myth as Baal against Yam.

Alignment: Celestial
Rank: King of the Devas
First attested: Rigveda · c. 1500-1200 BCE
Named there as: Indra
Texts naming it: 4
Powers attributed: 3

100attestedVedic & Hindu

Deity · Vedic · c. 1400 BCE

The Asuras

also called Asura

In the earliest Rigveda a title of honour for the highest gods; by the later Vedic period, the demonic opponents of the devas. The same word, inverted within one tradition.

Alignment: Disputed
Rank: Class of Beings
First attested: Rigveda · c. 1500-1200 BCE
Named there as: Asura
Texts naming it: 3
Powers attributed: 3

90attestedZoroastrian Vedic & Hindu

Where do they actually overlap?

Texts naming both

Powers credited to both

Commands Legions

Common questions

Are Indra and The Asuras the same figure?

These two are set against one another in the texts, which is itself a claim worth attributing. King of the devas against the asuras — the polarity Iran reverses. ColossiansOne records the link rather than asserting the identity: where texts disagree about whether two names denote one figure, the disagreement is what gets shown.

Which is older, Indra or The Asuras?

Both are first attested in the same period, around c. 1400 BCE.

Do any texts name both Indra and The Asuras?

Yes — 2 texts name both. A single text naming both figures is the strongest evidence available here that its author treated them as distinct, whatever later writers did with the pair.

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