Vritra is the great serpent-demon of drought in Hindu myth — the cosmic dragon or serpent who imprisoned the world's waters, coiling around the mountains to hold back the rivers and rains, and was slain by Indra with his thunderbolt to release the waters and bring the rains, the central enemy of the Vedic myth. The drought-serpent, Vritra is the cosmic dragon who imprisoned the waters until Indra slew him to free the rains.
The Serpent of Drought
Vritra (Sanskrit Vṛtra, “the enveloper, the obstructer”) is a great serpent or dragon demon of the Vedas, the personification of drought and the cosmic enemy who obstructs and imprisons the waters. He is a colossal serpent (or dragon), the obstructer who holds back the life-giving waters and rains, coiling around the mountains and the cosmic waters to imprison them, so that the rivers cannot flow and the rains cannot fall, and the world languishes in terrible drought. He is the great adversary, the embodiment of the forces that withhold the waters and threaten life with drought, the chief enemy of the Vedic god Indra.
The Imprisonment of the Waters
Vritra's great and terrible deed is the imprisonment of the world's waters. The serpent-demon coiled around the mountains and the cosmic waters, holding back the rivers and the rains, so that the waters could not flow and the world was struck with drought — the rivers dried, the rains failed, and life languished and withered without the life-giving waters. By imprisoning the waters, Vritra threatened the world with the catastrophe of drought, withholding the very source of life and fertility. This imprisonment of the waters by the drought-serpent is the central crisis of the great Vedic myth.
The Slaying by Indra
The slayer of Vritra is Indra, the king of the gods and the god of storms and rain — and this slaying is the central and most celebrated deed of the Vedas. Strengthened by the sacred drink soma, wielding his mighty thunderbolt (the Vajra) forged for the purpose, Indra did battle with the great serpent Vritra. In a tremendous combat, Indra struck and slew Vritra with his thunderbolt, shattering the drought-serpent and releasing the imprisoned waters — so that the rivers flowed once more, the life-giving rains fell upon the earth, and the world was freed from drought and restored to life and fertility. This victory — the storm-king slaying the drought-serpent to release the waters and bring the rains — is the great cosmic triumph celebrated again and again in the hymns of the Rigveda, the bringing of fertility and life to the world, the triumph of the rains over drought.
The Drought-Dragon of the Vedas
Vritra endures as the great serpent-demon of drought in Hindu myth — the cosmic dragon who imprisoned the world's waters and was slain by Indra's thunderbolt to release the rains, the central enemy of the great Vedic myth. He embodies the cosmic force of drought, the withholding of the life-giving waters, and the great adversary whose defeat brings fertility and life; and he stands as the drought-serpent — the colossal dragon who coiled around the mountains to imprison the waters, whose slaying by the storm-king Indra released the rivers and the rains and brought life to the world, the central cosmic enemy of the Vedas.
The colossal drought-serpent who coiled around the mountains to imprison the world's waters — until Indra, wielding his thunderbolt, slew the dragon and released the rivers and the life-giving rains.