In his seminal cosmogonic role in the creation of the universe, the Vedic (proto-Hindu) deity Indra splits open the world mountain, the axis mundi. This releases the primal elements of water and fire, which are personified respectively by the Vedic deities Varuna, the God of Waters (see M.72.4.2), and Agni, the God of Fire (see M.79.189.8). In later Hinduism, Indra was considered the god of lightning and thunder, analogous to his Norse counterpart, Thor, and was intimately associated with the life-giving monsoonal rains. Indra can be identified by his primary attribute of the thunderbolt (vajra) that rests atop the lotus by his left shoulder, and by the horizontal third eye on his forehead that refers to his one thousand eyes (sahasranayana) symbolic of his cosmic nature. He has an ascetic’s piled hair topped with a jewel (?) and wears a tall crown similar to a mitre, which is an idiosyncratic Nepalese attribute. He wears profuse jewelry, including the Brahmanical sacred thread (yajnopavita) worn over his left shoulder. He is seated in the kingly posture of royal ease (maharajalila) befitting his role as king of the gods. His right hand is held in the gesture of discourse (vitarka mudra).
Indra served an auxiliary function as a directional guardian (dikpala) in which he was the Divine Regent of the East (see M.2013.57a-b).
A comparable Nepalese image of Indra, complete with its original lotus base that has a dedicatory inscription dated 1589, is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (69.947).
