What do Indra and Verethragna have in common?

They share no domain in this atlas: Indra is associated with thunder, rain, storms, heaven, and war, and Verethragna with victory, strength, and protection in battle.

Which traditions do they belong to?

Indra belongs to the Hindu Pantheon, and Verethragna to the Persian (Iranian) Tradition.

Side by sideParallel across traditions

Indra vs Verethragna

Verethragna's name is cognate with Vrtrahan, 'slayer of Vrtra', the chief epithet of the Vedic Indra; in Iran the word became a god of victory in his own right rather than an epithet of a storm god.

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At a glance

Indra and Verethragna compared
	Indra	Verethragna
Tradition	Hindu Pantheon	Persian (Iranian) Tradition
Domains	thunder, rain, storms, heaven, war	victory, strength, protection in battle
Symbols	thunderbolt, elephant, rainbow	the boar, the raven-like bird Varaghna, ten incarnations
Also called	Shakra, Purandara	Bahram, Wahram, Vahagn (Armenian)

Where they meet

The atlas records no domain or symbol that Indra and Verethragna share.

They are compared for the part each plays in their own tradition rather than for any attribute in common.

Where they part

Only Indra

Associated with thunder, rain, storms, heaven, and war.

Only Verethragna

Associated with victory, strength, and protection in battle.

How each was worshipped

Indra

Cult sites: Few living Hindu temples; Indra Jatra at Kathmandu; Vedic fire-altars rather than a house of his own
Festivals: Indra Jatra in Nepal; Vedic soma rites in the older layer

King of the Rigveda, then crowded out by the Trimurti. Nepal still raises his pole. In India the honest note is decline: weather and war moved to other names.

Verethragna

Cult sites: Atash Behram fire temples, the highest grade of Zoroastrian fire, whose name means the fire of Bahram (Verethragna): among them the fires at Yazd in Iran and at Udvada and Mumbai in India.

Invoked for victory and protection; the Bahram Yasht is recited for protection, and the twentieth day of each Zoroastrian month is dedicated to him.

The two figures

Hindu Pantheon

Indra

King of the gods (Devas) and lord of heaven (Svarga). God of thunder, rain, and war. Slayer of the dragon Vritra. Rides the white elephant Airavata.

Indra was born to the sky god Dyaus and earth goddess Prithvi. He became king of the gods by defeating the dragon Vritra. His weapon is the thunderbolt (Vajra).

Indra is the king of the **Devas** (gods) and ruler of **Svarga** (heaven). God of **thunder**, **rain**, and **war**, he was the most important deity in the Vedic period. He wields the thunderbolt **Vajra** and rides the white elephant **Airavata**.

Read the full Indra entry

Persian (Iranian) Tradition

Verethragna

The yazata of victory, 'best-armed of the heavenly gods', who comes to Zarathushtra in ten shapes, from a strong wind and a golden-horned bull to a boar and a raven-like bird, and who gives his name to the highest grade of sacred fire.

A being 'made by Ahura' (Yasht 14.1); no birth narrative is told.

Yasht 14 answers Zarathushtra's question, 'Who is the best-armed of the heavenly gods?', with Verethragna, and describes him coming in ten successive forms: a strong, beautiful wind; a bull with yellow ears and golden horns; a white horse with a golden caparison; a burden-bearing camel; a sharp-toothed boar; a youth of fifteen; the swift bird Varaghna; a wild ram; a fighting buck; and a man holding a golden sword. Each bears the Glory made by Mazda. His feather, the hymn says, protects the one who carries it, a motif that recurs in the Shahnameh with the Simurgh's feather.

Read the full Verethragna entry

About this comparison

Comparisons pair figures that play a similar role across traditions, or that the myths connect within one. A shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.