Asura · All traditions · Pan-India

Vritra

Also called: Ahi

The dragon of the Rigveda who lies on the mountain and holds back the waters until Indra kills him with the thunderbolt (RV 1.32). Later texts make him a creature of Tvashtri made to avenge his son, a leader of the Danavas, and in the Bhagavata a devotee of Vishnu.

Sources: Hymns of the Rigveda, tr. R. T. H. Griffith (1896), hymns read for the Vedic layer; The Satapatha-Brahmana, tr. Julius Eggeling (Sacred Books of the East 12, 41); The Mahabharata, tr. K. M. Ganguli (1883-96), sections read for the Vedic layer · see Vritra's web

Relations 1

Vritra slain by

Indra (God) · Indra slays Vritra
Indra kills the dragon and frees the waters.

Stories 1

Indra slays Vritra
Legend · as the dragon who holds the waters · 3 tellings

Cited

Hymns of the Rigveda, tr. R. T. H. Griffith (1896), hymns read for the Vedic layer § 1.32 Primary text (translation)
The Satapatha-Brahmana, tr. Julius Eggeling (Sacred Books of the East 12, 41) § 1.6.3 Primary text (translation)
The Mahabharata, tr. K. M. Ganguli (1883-96), sections read for the Vedic layer § vana.100-101 Primary text (translation)