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Indra Research Paper

Decent Essays

Indra was a god in the Vedas as a strong warrior/thunder god who was important at the time. He was an example of how leaders should lead their people to win successful battles (Davis 8-9). Because he was in the Vedas he was probably at least somewhat important before they were created. The Vedas contain different religious traditions, beliefs, and ceremonies, and of the people passed down verbally, the chants or rituals (traditionally) performed by the Brahmin caste. Originally they were separate, but then became combined between 1200-1000 BCE (Davis 8) Although some parts of the Vedas may have existed before Indra was known to all communities, I placed the Vedas after Indra. Varna- The original sacrifice in the Vedas was interpreted as the …show more content…

His purpose is to maintain dharma or order in the world (Blurton 111). Bhakti is loving devotion, a new way that Krishna talks about in the Bhagavad Gita to reach “liberation” (Davis 24). Also a small character of Veda, Shiva became more important after he was in the Puranas. In the Vedas, Shiva was the other half of a destructive deity, Rudra. Shiva is seen as opposites such as having a family but also being in seclusion. While Vishnu is worrying about dharma, Shiva is the one who shows people how to reach moksha” (Davis 25-26). Later, he and Vishnu become two very important gods in temple Hinduism. Although goddesses had been around, it was during the fifth to seventh centuries that they became more “important.” The goddesses are sometimes with the male deities, like Sita with Rama, and sometimes alone like the warrior Durga (Davis 27). Temple Hinduism is relatively newer in Hinduism (around 700 CE). Although it includes other deities, Shiva and Vishnu are the main two in focus. At this time, sacrifices are no longer as important as building temples (Davis

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