Editing Indra (section)

==Iconography==
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| image2 = 12th-century Vedic Indra and Indrani at Shaivism Hindu temple Hoysaleswara arts Halebidu Karnataka India (crop).jpg
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| footer = Indra's iconography shows him holding a [[thunderbolt]] or [[Vajra]] and a sword. In addition he is shown on top of his elephant [[Airavata]], which reinforces his characteristic of [[King of the Gods]]. Sometimes he is accompanied by his wife, [[Shachi]]. Left: From [[Tiruchchirappalli]], [[Tamil Nadu]], 1820-1825. Right: From [[Hoysaleswara temple]], 12th century CE.
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In ''Rigveda'', Indra is described as strong willed, armed with a thunderbolt, riding a chariot:

{{blockquote|5. Let bullish heaven strengthen you, the bull; as bull you travel with your two bullish fallow bays.
As bull with a bullish chariot, well-lipped one, as bull with bullish will, you of the mace, set us up in loot.|Rigveda, Book 5, Hymn 37: Jamison<ref name="The Rigveda">{{cite book |last1 = Jamison |first1 = Stephanie |last2 = Brereton |first2 = Joel |date = 23 February 2020 |title = The Rigveda |publisher = Oxford University Press |isbn = 978-0-19-063339-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LTRDwAAQBAJ}}</ref>}}

Indra's weapon, which he used to kill the evil Vritra, is the [[Vajra]] or thunderbolt. Other alternate iconographic symbolism for him includes a [[bow (weapon)|bow]] (sometimes as a colorful rainbow), a sword, a [[Indra's net|net]], a noose, a hook, or a conch.<ref name="Daniélou1991p110">{{cite book |author=Daniélou, Alain |year=1991 |title=The Myths and Gods of India: The classic work on Hindu polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series |publisher=Inner Traditions |isbn=978-0-89281-354-4 |pages=110–111 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1HMXN9h6WX0C&pg=PA110}}</ref> The thunderbolt of Indra is called Bhaudhara.<ref name="Madan">{{cite book |last=Gopal |first=Madan |year=1990 |title=India through the Ages |editor=Gautam, K.S. |publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India |page=[https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/75 75] |url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada}}</ref>

In the post-Vedic period, he rides a large, four-tusked white elephant called [[Airavata]].<ref name="Daniélou1991p108"/> In sculpture and relief artworks in temples, he typically sits on an elephant or is near one. When he is shown to have two, he holds the Vajra and a bow.{{sfn|Masson-Oursel|Morin|1976|p=326}}

In the ''[[Shatapatha Brahmana]]'' and in Shaktism traditions, Indra is stated to be the same as the goddess [[Shodashi]] (Tripura Sundari), and her iconography is described similarly to that of Indra.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alain Daniélou|title=The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1HMXN9h6WX0C |year=1991|publisher=Inner Traditions|isbn=978-0-89281-354-4|page=278}}</ref>

The [[rainbow]] is called Indra's [[bow and arrow|Bow]] ({{langx|sa|इन्द्रधनुस्}} {{IAST|indradhanus}}).<ref name="Daniélou1991p110"/>