<Tr> <Th> Roman equivalent </Th> <Td> Jupiter </Td> </Tr> <P> Indra (/ ˈɪndrə /, Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is a Vedic deity in Hinduism, a guardian deity in Buddhism, and the king of first heaven called Saudharmakalpa in Jainism . His mythologies and powers are similar, though not identical to those of the Indo - European deities such as Zeus, Jupiter, Perun, Thor, and Odin (Wotan). </P> <P> In the Vedas, Indra is the king of Svarga (Heaven) and the Devas . He is the god of lightning, thunder, storms, rains and river flows . Indra is the most referred to deity in the Rigveda . He is celebrated for his powers, and the one who kills the great symbolic evil (Asura) named Vritra who obstructs human prosperity and happiness . Indra destroys Vritra and his "deceiving forces", and thereby brings rains and the sunshine as the friend of mankind . His importance diminishes in the post-Vedic Indian literature where he is depicted as a powerful hero but one who is getting in trouble with his drunken, hedonistic and adulterous ways, and the god who disturbs Hindu monks as they meditate because he fears self - realized human beings may become more powerful than him . </P> <P> In Buddhism, Indra has been a popular deity, referred by many names and particularly Shakra (Pali: Sakka). He is featured in Buddhism somewhat differently than Hinduism, such as being shown as less war oriented and one paying homage to the Buddha . Indra rules over the much sought Devas realm of rebirth within the Samsara doctrine of Buddhist traditions . However, like the Hindu texts, Indra also is a subject of ridicule and reduced to a figurehead status in Buddhist texts, shown as a god that suffers rebirth and redeath . In the Jainism traditions, like Buddhism and Hinduism, Indra is the king of gods and a part of Jain rebirth cosmology . He is also the god who appears with his wife Indrani to celebrate the auspicious moments in the life of a Jain Tirthankara, an iconography that suggests the king and queen of gods reverentially marking the spiritual journey of a Jina . </P>

In hindu mythology the rain god is known as