I for Indra’s Sabha - Mahabharata Mashup

Namaste, 

As I mentioned in Day 2’s post (Brahma's Sabha), Mahamuni Narada described many celestial courtrooms (Sabha). Now, let’s see how he described Indra’s Sabha. Indra is the King of Heaven. 

Dimensions: (One yojana is ~8 kilometers) 

• Length: one hundred and fifty yojanas
• Breadth: one hundred yojanas
• Height: five yojanas 

The Sabha moves of its own will and has a soothing vibe. It removes pain, anguish, grief, decay, etc., and contains countless rooms with as many seats as required. 

Indra would sit on the throne with Sachi, his wife. He has a crown and bright bracelets on his arms. He wears a pure white dress and multicolored garlands. Fame, Glory, and Loveliness are found at his side.

Maruts, Siddhas, Sadhyas, celestial rishis, etc., are members of his court and often perform glorious yagnas. The Gandharvas, Yakshas, apsarasas, Viswakarmanm, and many other rishis (some of them are kings-turned-rishis) can be found in the Sabha. Famous kings and warriors who have passed away can also be seen attending Indra’s Sabha. 

Note: In Adi Parva, we see a detailed list of various celestial beings who took birth on the earth as humans during the Dwapara Yuga. 

The purshartas (Dharma, Artha, Kama), traits like faith, learning, intelligence, and valor, elements like lightning, rain, winds, and clouds, etc., are also found in this Sabha. Similarly, the stars, the sun, the moon, the planets (especially Brihaspati aka Jupiter and Sukra aka Venus), twenty-seven flames of Agni (fire), rishi Bhrugu and the sapta rishis (seven famous rishis) are also members of Indra’s Sabha. Dead noblemen with children who performed the last rites and rituals correctly are also said to gain entrance to this Sabha. 

The Sabha is also called the Hall of Lotus Garlands. 

Indra is also one of the Ashta Dikpalakas (Guardians of Directions) and guards the East side. The others are -

• Kubera on the North 
• Varuna on the West 
• Yama on the South 
• Agni on the Southeast (Agneyam - where the kitchen is built)
• Isana on the Northeast (Eisanyam)
• Vayu on the Northwest (Vayuvyam)
• Nirriti on the Southwest (Niaruti) 

You'll notice how the names align with the terms used in Vastu Sastra and weather reporting. 

Fun Fact: Do you know Indra is not a name but a title? Many gods have taken the position of Indra over the Yugas. I found out when reading Devi for Millennials by Bibek Debroy. 

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The AI images are made on Bing.