Indra

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Indra ... God of rain and thunder
Indra 02 - 411-3.jpg


TitleIndra - (Batara) - All stories
Other namesEndra, Suradipa, Suranata, Surapati, Surendra
Size60 cm
Personal dataIndra is one of the sons of Batara Guru and Dewi Uma. He is the god of rain and thunder. Indra is the father/begetter of Arjuna by Dewi Kunti. He is also the father of Dewi Tara (Subali's wife) and Dewi Tari (Rahwana's wife).
AppearanceQuite short-tempered.
CollectionPrivate collection


Indra - (Batara) - All stories[edit | edit source]

Batara Indra has quite a lot of power, he is responsible for the order of heaven, leads the angels and takes care of various gifts/gifts from the gods for meritorious humans. His residence is Kahyangan Tenjamaya. Batara Indra is also called Batara Sakra. However, he got this because Batara Indra came down to the world and became king in Medanggana with the title Prabu Sakra.
Batara Indra had a riding elephant named Airawata. His famous weapon is the Bajra, which when pointed at an enemy turns into lightning. This incredibly powerful weapon is the incarnation of Maharsi Datica's bones.
In the wayang, Batara Indra married Dewi Wiyati and was blessed with five sons and three daughters. The five sons were respectively named Batara Citrarata, Batara Citragna, Batara Citrasena, Batara Jayantaka, Batara Jayantara and Batara Arjunawangsa.
Meanwhile, his three daughters were Dewi Tara who later married Subali and then Prabu Sugriwa; The Goddess of Dance who was married to Ravana, king of Alengka, and the Goddess Supraba who was married to Arjuna.
When Arjuna was meditating on Mount Indrakila and using the name Begawan Ciptaning, Batara Indra met him disguised as a brahmin named Resi Padya. In order to know Arjuna's tenacity in perfect knowledge, he challenged to a debate with Begawan Ciptaning, but in the end he lost. This debate is a test to ensure whether Arjuna is really a chosen human who deserves to be appointed as the champion of the goddesses to face Prabu Niwatakawaca who threatens the authority of heaven. When Arjuna was about to face King Niwatakawaca, Batara Indra gave him a gift of Pasopati heirloom arrows. King Niwatakawaca was killed with that arrow.

Actually, Batara Indra is Arjuna's real father. Because Pandu Dewanata had been cursed to not be able to have sexual intercourse with his wife. So, to obtain offspring, Goddess Kunti, with Pandu's permission, uttered the Aji Adityarhedaya spell, which is a spell to summon a god to give him offspring. Goddess Kunti called God Indra and Arjuna was born. Before Baratayudha, Batara Indra worried about the safety of his son, Arjuna. He knew that in the great war between the Kaurava and Pandava families, Arjuna would face Basukarna, the son of Batara Surya. Both are equally tough and equally powerful.

Batara Indra knew that Karna had several powerful heirlooms, including the Kerei Kaswargan clothes which made him invulnerable to all kinds of weapons and the Mustika Earrings which caused Karna to have a sharp feeling about all threatening dangers. These two magical heirlooms were gifts from Batara Surya when he was a baby. Therefore, in order to help Arjuna, Batara Indra tried to take the heirlooms that became Basukarna's mainstay. Batara Indra disguised himself as an old brahmin and begged Basukarna. Because he was known as a generous knight, he was willing to give anything to those in need. The Brahmin asked for Kerei Kaswargan's shirt and Mustika earrings that Karna was wearing. Actually Karna knew that it was Batara Indra in disguise and tried to deceive him. However, he pretended not to know and sincerely gave his inheritance to the Brahmin.


Source: Blog - Hadisukirno - Yogyakarta - 2012