Lord Indra with His Entourage

Lord Indra with His Entourage

Ajanta Caves, Gupta Period,5th Century CE

           As Buddhism spread it enveloped the Vedic Gods in its pantheon. But the mighty Vedic Gods were reduced to the status of guardians and door keepers. The Buddha and the Bodhisattvas held an exhaulted position than the Hindu Gods. From the 2nd century BCE to 6th Century CE Hinduism waned in India. 

           Here we see Lord Indra flying with his entourage of Apsaras ( divine dancers) and Gandharvas ( divine musicians ). The rippling effect in blue colors are the monsoon clouds. When the monsoon finally arrives, after the hot summer, it comes with cool breeze, like soothing music, and with dancing clouds. It just  not only brings the rains, but  more importantly ushers in joy and celebrations.  The monsoon season is the season of love and fun, of celebration and bliss. Lord Indra, as the God of rain, could not be ignored even by the Buddhist.  He is a god of Nature. 

           The monsoon has attracted the imagination of the Indian artists. Kalidas, the most  famous Indian writer in Sanskrit literature, composed Meghadoot  ( the Cloud Messenger), and celebrated the beauty of monsoon. Other poets, like Keshavdas,  have written about the monsoon in their poems on Barahmasa  ( the Twelve months ). To the Kangra painters the dark bulbous clouds were a symbol of the force of love and passion which brooks no bound. 

           Today we speak about the different kinds of clouds, but now the clouds are dry and drifting. The romantic notion, the idea about resurrection of life has been drained out. Caged in glass and concrete we are losing touch with the beauty of Nature. The great Vedic Gods are a forgotten lot in Post - modern society.