- Title
- Indra, Chief of the Gods
- Date Made
- 9th century
- Medium
- Volcanic stone
- Dimensions
- 33 3/4 x 14 1/2 x 11 3/4 in. (85.73 x 36.83 x 29.85 cm)
- Accession Number
- 60.52.2
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Like his Norse counterpart, Thor, the Vedic (proto-Hindu) deity Indra, was considered the god of lightning and thunder, and was intimately associated with the life-giving monsoonal rains. In this rare and possibly unique extant Central Javanese image of Indra (Brown 2008, 86-87), he can be identified by his primary attribute of the thunderbolt (vajra) that is positioned vertically on top of a lotus growing out of a vase beside his right foot, and by the horizontal eye on his forehead. His right hand holds the lotus stock and his left hand rests on his hip. He is nimbate, crowned, and wears profuse jewelry, including the Brahmanical sacred thread (yajnopavita) worn over his left shoulder. In addition to his religious role as the king of the gods, Indra also served an auxiliary function as a directional guardian (dikpala) in which he was the Divine Regent of the East (see M.2013.57a-b). In this context, the image may have been erected in a subsidiary shrine devoted to the directional guardians.
