Which deity got the place of Indra in the later Vedic period?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 2:

In the later Vedic period, there was a notable shift in the Vedic pantheon, where some of the prominent deities of the Rig Vedic period saw their importance diminish, while new deities rose to prominence. Indra, who was a powerful warrior god and king of the gods in the Rig Vedic period, gradually lost his supreme position. Prajapati emerged as a creator god, gaining significant importance and often being identified with Brahma, the creator god of the later Hindu trinity. His role as the creator and supreme lord of creation led to his elevated status, essentially taking over the conceptual space of supreme authority that Indra once occupied. This reflects a change in philosophical and religious thought, moving towards more abstract and cosmological concepts of creation and universal order.

The incorrect option is 1: Varun

Varun was an important deity in the Rig Vedic period, primarily associated with cosmic order (Rita), water, and moral laws. However, his significance also declined in the later Vedic period, and he did not assume the paramount position that Indra once held. Instead, his role became more limited, often associated with water deities.

The incorrect option is 3: Vishnu

While Vishnu is a major deity in later Hinduism, he was not the deity who replaced Indra in terms of supreme authority during the later Vedic period. In the Rig Veda, Vishnu was a relatively minor god associated with the sun and his three strides. His rise to prominence as a preserver god happened much later, in the Puranic period.

The incorrect option is 4: Mahesh

The name Mahesh is an epithet for Shiva, and while Shiva (Rudra in the Vedic period) was present, his supreme position as a member of the Hindu trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva) developed significantly after the Vedic period. Rudra, the precursor to Shiva, was a fearful deity but did not directly replace Indra as the chief deity in the later Vedic pantheon.