Indra's Pride Humbled by Shiva and the Former Indras
Following a trail of golden lotuses born from tears, Indra finds a weeping goddess and arrogantly confronts a young man playing dice on a mountain peak. The man is Shiva, who paralyzes Indra with a glance and casts him into a cavern with four of his predecessors — all cursed to be reborn as humans.
At the sacrifice site, the gods saw a golden lotus floating in the Ganga. Indra, chief among them, followed the river to its source. There, he saw a lady as radiant as fire, immersed in the waters of the goddess Ganga. She was weeping, and as her teardrops fell into the water, they transformed into golden lotuses.
The wielder of the vajra (thunderbolt) approached her. “Who are you,” he asked, “and why are you crying? I want to know the truth.”
The woman replied, “O Shakra! I am unfortunate. You may know who I am and why I am weeping. I will lead the way. Come with me and you will yourself see why I am crying.”
Indra followed her. Soon, on the peak of the king of mountains (Mount Meru), he saw a handsome young man surrounded by young women, seated on a throne and deeply absorbed in a game of dice.
The king of the gods spoke to him. “Know that this universe and this world are under my sway. Know me to be the lord of everything.”
The person took no notice and continued playing. Indra became angry and repeated his declaration.
On seeing Shakra’s anger, the god — who was Shiva — cast a glance at him and smiled. At that glance, the king of the gods was paralyzed, standing motionless like a pillar.
When the game of dice was over, Shiva spoke to the weeping goddess (who was Shri, the goddess of fortune). “Bring him here. I will make sure that pride never enters his heart again.”
As soon as the woman touched him, Shakra’s limbs went limp and he fell to the ground. Then the god with fierce energy addressed him. “O Shakra! Never act like this again. Remove this great king of the mountains, because your strength and energy are beyond measurement. Enter the centre of the hole and wait with the others, who are like you and the sun in splendour.”
Indra rolled away the peak of the great mountain. Inside, he saw four others who shone with a radiance equal to his own. The sight filled him with dread. “Shall I also become like them?”
Then the god Girisha (Shiva) looked at the wielder of the vajra with eyes dilated in anger. “O Shatakratu! Enter this cavern, because in your folly, you have insulted me in front of my eyes.”
Addressed by the lord, the king of the gods shuddered and shook from the curse. His limbs went as limp as a fig leaf stirred by the wind on the mountain peak.
Trembling at the god’s sudden words, Indra joined his palms in supplication. “O Bhava! Show me a way out today.”
Smiling, the god with the terrible bow replied, “Those who act like this do not find an escape. These others were like you and will become again. Therefore, enter the cavern and lie down there. There is no doubt that all your fates will be the same. All of you will have to be born in human wombs. Having achieved great feats of violence there and having sent a large number towards their deaths, you will again attain the world of Indra through the merit of your actions.”
The four earlier Indras imprisoned in the cavern spoke. “We will go from the world of gods to that of men. Salvation is difficult to obtain there. Let the gods Dharma, Vayu, Maghavan (Indra), and the Ashvins beget us on our mother.”
Hearing this, the current Indra spoke again to Shiva. “With my semen, I will create a man who can accomplish this task. He will be my son and will be the fifth among these.”
In his good nature, the illustrious lord granted their wishes. He ordained that the woman who was none other than Shri herself, the most beautiful in the worlds, would be their common wife in the world of men. Thereafter, accompanied by them, Shiva went to the god Narayana (Vishnu), who is beyond measure. Narayana approved of everything, and thus it was ordained that they would be born on earth.