Stories 4
All kinds
Origin
Legend
Local story
Folk tale
From the epics
Festival story
Temple legend
In stone and bronze
How a tradition frames it
Everywhere
Pan-India 240
South India 81
West India 37
East India 37
North India 28
The Himalaya 17
Northeast India 8
Southeast Asia 6
Central India 5
Sri Lanka 1
✕ guilt
cursesacrificedevotionpridebooncreationdisguisemarriagetestbirthsupremacybargaindeathfirehealingpenancerescuepilgrimagerivercraftfestivaldancegiftrivalryearthemanationfriendshipnightdesirefear
Legend · 4 tellings · contested
Indra shares out the guilt of killing Vishvarupa
Indra beheads the three-headed priest Vishvarupa, carries the guilt for a year and divides it among earth, trees and women (and, later, water), each for a boon.
Legend · 4 tellings · contested
Indra, Namuchi and the foam
Bound by an oath not to kill Namuchi by day or night, with anything dry or wet, Indra kills him at daybreak with the foam of the waters.
Legend · 3 tellings · contested
Saraswati and the Ashvins heal Indra
Indra's strength runs out of him after he drinks Tvashtri's Soma; Namuchi takes the rest; the Ashvins and Sarasvati restore him for a fee.
Legend · 2 tellings · contested
Trita, the three-headed one and the blame
Trita kills the three-headed son of Tvashtri; evil dreams and guilt are sent off to him; the Brahmana explains why.