Fwd: INDRA'S THEFT OF THE SUN-GOD'S WHEEL

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INDRA'S THEFT OF THE SUN-GOD'S WHEELEv Cochranep1Countless hymns in

the Rig Veda allude to Indra's intimate relations withSurya, the

ancient sun-god. Among the Vedic war-god s most celebrated featsare

his role in conquering the Sun; delivering it from darkness; preparing

aspace within which it could rise; propping it up with a pillar; etc.1

Thefollowing hymn may be taken as typical: Ye found the Sun, ye found

the lightof heaven;Ye stayed the heaven with a supporting pillar. 2

It was on accountof such traditions, no doubt, that many investigators

have sought tounderstand Indra s mythus in terms of some sort of

nature allegory.3A recurring theme speaks of a violent confrontation

of some sort between Indraand Surya. Several passages, for example,

suggest that Indra s assault of theancient sun-god produced an

eclipse. Consider the following passage: ForSurya in his own abode

thou, Hero, formedst in fights even a Dasa's nature. 4In his

commentary upon this passage Griffith

remarks:The second half of the stanza refers to an eclipse of the

sun. Indra is saidto have formed for Surya in his own abode, that is,

in the eastern heaven, thenature of a Dasa, i.e., made him a slave or

dark.5Another hymn possibly alluding to some type of disturbance of

the Sun is thefollowing:Not even all the gathered gods conquered thee,

Indra, in the war, When thoudidst lengthen days by night. When for

the sake of those oppressed, and Kutsaas he battled, Thou stolest away

the Sun s car-wheel.6This passage, if one accepts the plain meaning of

the words, would appear torecount Indra s participation in a great

theomachy of some sort, during whichthe Sun was obscured or prevented

from appearing at its scheduled time.In addition to these hymns,

Griffith cites a handful of others which appear toassociate Indra with

some sort of disturbance of the Sun. Included is thefollowing

passage, discussed briefly in our previous article: What time

thousettest near the Sun thy body, thy

form, Immortal One, is seen expanding. 7How does all of this relate

to our hypothesis that Indra represents the planetMars?8 The fact of

the matter is, as we have documented elsewhere, that theplanet Mars

was associated with eclipse-like phenomena by other ancientpeoples as

well.9 Ancient texts from Ugarit, for example, associate the

godReseph with a disturbance of the Sun.10 That Reseph is to be

identified withthe planet Mars makes this tradition of direct

relevance to the present study.11 Thus Ugaritic scribes identified

Reseph with the Akkadian Nergal, thelatter god being commonly

identified with the red planet in ancient times.12 Modern scholars

have likewise identified Reseph with Mars, although they haveyet to

appreciate the incongruity of Reseph/Mars involvement in an eclipseof

the Sun.In conformance with this report from Ugarit, the planet Mars

was alsoassociated with disturbances of the Sun in some of the

earliest astronomicaltexts. Astrological omens from ancient

Babylon, for example, specificallymention Mars in association with

eclipses of the Sun.13 Consider thefollowing passage: If the Sun goes

down (by a Darkness/Eclipse) and Marsstands in its place, there will

be an Usurpator.14 As a result of suchpassages, Gossman concluded

that Mars [was] the star of the Darkness/Eclipse.15Notice here that

the placement of Nergal/Mars within the immediate vicinity ofthe Sun

offers a remarkable parallel to the Vedic tradition of Indra

settingnear the Sun: What time thou settest near the Sun thy body, thy

form,Immortal One, is seen expanding. And, if Mars association with

disturbancesof the Sun is surprising in these early astronomical

texts, it is no moresurprising than it is to find that Babylonian

scribes expressly identified theSun in these omen texts with the

planet Saturn!16These anomalous traditions of a disturbance of the Sun

associated with theplanet Mars demand an explanation. It is our

contention, of course, that suchtraditions preserve

an actual historical reminiscence albeit one that istypically couched

in mythical language of a profound disturbance of theancient sun-god

(Saturn) occasioned by the behavior of the planet Mars. Thisevent,

associated with the tumultuous birth and youthful exploits of

theMartian hero, contributed greatly to the planetary hero being cast

in the roleof a great sinner. For the hero s rambunctious behavior

portended nothingless than the end of the world, the customary

mythical interpretation ofeclipses the world over: The end of cosmos

is seen in an eclipse of the sun,when the very existence of the god of

order is threatened and the world isabandoned to the powers of

darkness. 17The Wheel of SuryaA fascinating episode alluded to in

several passages of the Rig Veda tells ofthe primeval occasion during

which Indra absconded with the wheel of theancient sun-god and flung

it across heaven as a quoit-like weapon: Empoweredby thine own might,

O Sage, thou stolest Surya's chariot wheel.18

The sameevent seems to be the subject of the following hymn:Waxed

strong in might at dawn he tore the Sun's wheel off. Bright red,

hesteals away their speech.19The word translated as wheel here is

cakra cognate with English wheel andGreek kuklos.20 The same term,

however, can also connote a discus or quoitemployed as a weapon.21

Elsewhere in the Veda, for example, Indra hurls thecakra in order to

scatter the Asura-demons.22 Of Surya's wheel Griffithobserves: Indra

is said to have taken the wheel of the chariot of the Sun andto have

cast it like a quoit against the demon of drought.23As is the case

with most archetypal symbols, the imagery associated withSurya s wheel

ultimately became attached to the wheels of more mundanevehicles:Just

as in the above instances the authors of the hymns seem to

haveassociated the image of the sun's wheel with the cakra as a

mythical weaponof Indra, so do they appear to have connected in their

imagination the latterwith the wheel of the

war-chariot.24What could be signified by the image of Indra throwing

or otherwise dislodgingthe wheel of the Sun is a long-standing

problem.25 Equally difficult todecipher are other passages alluding

to Indra s role in setting the wheel ofthe Sun in motion.26

Confronted with these recurring traditions, Vedicscholars offer vague

allusions to some type of nature allegory, if they offerany opinion at

all. The most common interpretation of these hymns wouldregard the

tossing of the wheel as a figurative reference to the dailymovement of

the Sun across heaven. Such an interpretation, however, is

hardlysatisfactory, as it disregards entirely the identity of Indra

and the natureof the cakra's function in ancient myth (i.e., its role

in the dragon combat).If we are to get to the bottom of these peculiar

traditions we must start atthe beginning and ask what it was that the

ancients had in mind when theyspoke of the wheel of the Sun?The Wheel

of the Sun in Ancient PictographsThroughout

the ancient world there can be found prehistoric pictographs which,in

the opinion of leading scholars, depict the ancient sun-god. Figure

oneprovides a typical example of these pictographs. The resemblance

of the imageto a wheel is striking and has not escaped the notice of

scholars.27 In afurther elaboration of the imagery, the solar wheel

may be set atop apillar-like appendage (see figure two). And yet, if

we are to take this imageas an objective representation of the Sun,

what are we to make of the strangespoke-like forms emanating from its

hub, typically four or eight in number? The simplest answer, of

course, would be to assume that the terrestrial symbol(the wheel) has

influenced the artistic rendering of the celestial object (theSun).

This explanation, however, would appear to be ruled out by the

factthat many of these pictographs predate the appearance of wheels.

Whatevertheir explanation, it seems clear that if we are to discover

the originalsignificance of Surya s

wheel these pictographs offer a promising lead.Given the fact that

such pictographs are difficult to reconcile with theappearance of the

current Sun, the possibility presents itself that some othercelestial

phenomenon served as their point of reference. Indeed, uponanalysis

of these prehistoric images we arrived at the conclusion that

theirsubject the ancient sun-god was actually the planet Saturn.28

The spoke-likebody set upon the face of the sun-god we identified with

the planet Venus, thelatter body being depicted as an eight-pointed

star throughout the ancientworld (see figure three).29 Such findings,

needless to say, raise seriousquestions about the recent history of

the solar system, but suffice it to sayhere that it is our opinion

that such history can be reconstructed in greatdetail upon analysis of

these ancient pictographs.During the period in question, as we have

outlined at length on otheroccasions, the planet Venus, from the

vantage point of the Earth, appeared tobe

positioned squarely in the center of Saturn. In accordance with

thisperception, Venus was envisaged as the great god's eye, indeed, as

the greatgod's wheel-like eye.30 (The word Cyclops, as a name for the

one-eyedmonster or god, stems from the aforementioned root kuklos,

signifying wheel-like.) Thus it is that the early images of the

planet Venus from around theworld frequently depict the planet upon

the face of the Sun (Shamash), instriking contradiction to

reality!31In addition to Saturn and Venus, the planet Mars also played

a prominent rolein ancient iconography. One of the most common images

finds Mars locatedimmediately within the center of the Venusian orb, a

clear indication, itwould appear, that during one period of its orbit

Mars was sufficientlydistant from the Earth as to appear to enter into

the larger Venus. Thiscelestial scenario, reconstructed by Talbott

and myself upon analysis ofancient mythology, would appear to be

represented in figure four, a

pictographwhich can be found upon all inhabited continents.32Granted

that this interpretation of ancient iconography has some merit,

howmight it be reflected in the cult of the Vedic war-god? If indeed

Venus wasenvisaged as a wheel-like eye of the ancient sun-god, the

planet Mars,according to the same mythical logic, would appear as the

pupil of theVenusian eye. It is in this sense, perhaps, that we are

to understand Indra sepithet Kumaraka, signifying pupil of the eye as

well as youth.33 Thistradition finds a close parallel in Egyptian

myth, where the god Shu is saidto sit in the middle of the eye of his

father Ra, the ancient sun-god.34 Andyet the Eye of Ra, according to

leading scholars, is to be identified with theplanet Venus!35And if

Venus was envisaged as the wheel-like eye of the ancient sun-god, it

isobvious that the red planet might easily be viewed as a miniature

being ofsome sort, riding the larger wheel-like orb. Thus it may be

significant thatan exclusive epithet

of Indra throughout the Rig Veda is rathastha, car-rider, the root

rath being the same as that in the German rad, wheel.36The Norse Thor,

similarly, was famous for his wagon.37 So too was the SlavicPerkunas,

an acknowledged parallel to Indra and Thor.38 The only chariot fitfor

the Celtic boy-hero Cuchulainn was known as Iubar.39 The latter

word,however, appears as a name for the planet Venus in Latin and

medieval sourcesalike.40 A similar situation, perhaps, is to be found

in ancient Akkadiantradition, where the great war-god Nergal is

invoked together with his wagon,the latter called margidda su.41 In

Babylonian astrologolical lore, however,the planet Venus was called

margidda, wagon, or van.42Although during its phase as the pupil of

the eye Mars appeared in relativeclose proximity to Venus, it

periodically descended along the polar axis,assuming a position

ominously close to the planet Earth. It was during thislatter phase

that Mars presented the appearance of a giant

upholding heaven,or of an immense polar column spanning the skies.

It is to this latter phase,apparently, that traditions identifying

Indra as a giant figure upholdingheaven properly relate.43 Here again

it is the Egyptian Shu who offers theclosest parallel to the Indian

war-god, the former god likewise being depictedupholding the divine

realm of Ra.44Now it so happens that the World Pillar plays a very

specific role in thesymbolism associated with the wheel of Surya.

Thus numerous scholars havedocumented that the axle of the wheel is to

be identified with the WorldPillar or Cosmic Axis (the terms axle and

axis are cognate).45 Inasmuch asIndra is identified with the World

Pillar in Vedic and post-Vedic sourcesalike, the question arises as to

his possible association with the axle?Here the Vedic sources leave

little room for doubt upon the matter. Indrahimself is directly

associated with the axle of the wheel: Thou movest BoldOne, the axle

of the car. Satakratu [indra], thou

stirrest the axle with thystrength.46 Of this hymn Griffith writes

that, the lines in this and thefollowing stanza referring to the axle

and the chariot or wain are somewhatobscure and have been variously

interpreted.47While the foregoing passage was a source of befuddlement

to Griffith, theassociation follows directly from our thesis, whereby

Indra is identified withthe planet Mars, the latter planet being

intimately associated with ancientconceptions of the Cosmic Axis/World

Pillar.Granted that we are on the right track in our analysis of Surya

s wheel, howthen are we to understand the tradition of Indra s casting

it across theheavens? It is our opinion that this episode refers to a

spectacular seriesof events during which Venus became dislodged from

its pivotal position alongthe axis, after which it appeared to fall

from heaven, assuming a comet-likeappearance prior to resuming a

stable orbit.48 Support for this conclusioncan be found upon

examination of the many bizarre

traditions surrounding thevarious weapons of warrior-heroes

throughout the ancient world. A review ofthe evidence leads to the

following conclusion: In whatever form the planetVenus was envisaged

by the ancients, whether as goddess, star, wheel, eye,thunderbolt,

dragon, torch, heart-soul, etc., in that form was it said to havebeen

hurled from heaven.We begin with a brief analysis of Indra s

heaven-hurled missile, the vajra.It is our opinion that a satisfactory

explanation of this weapon would go along way towards clarifying the

original nature of the Vedic war-god. Thisexercise, moreover, will

offer further support for our interpretation ofSurya's wheel.The

VAJRAAs is well-known, Indra s usual weapon of choice was the vajra.

Countlesspassages in the Rig Veda have reference to its awesome power.

With its aidIndra subdued the dragon: Thou, Maghavan, rentest with

thy bolt the Dragonwho lay against the water floods of heaven.49 A

similar passage is thefollowing: Loud roared the

mighty Hero's bolt of thunder, when he, the Friend of man, burnt up

the monster.50Like the wheel of Surya, Indra s weapon early on became

identified with many aterrestrial wheel. Indeed such symbolism played

a prominent role in earlyIndian ritual. Here Sparreboom observes:The

chariot was used during Indra s vrtrahatya (cf. RV VI.18.9), his

killingVrtra by means of his vajra. In the explanatory system of the

brahmanas, theterm vajra is popular in any identification which is

made for explaining anact of aggression, but it seems to be

particularly suitable for identificationwith the chariot. In the

Vajapeya, at the moment when the chariot is takenfrom its stand before

the ritual chariot race, the chariot is addressed withthe following

verse (TX I.7.7.b): You are the Vrtra-killing vajra of Indra;with you

may he slay Vrtra. 51In addition to the wheel, Indra s vajra is

identified with various otherweapons, including a club, rock, and

thunderbolt.52 Of the latter weapon ORahilly

observed:The general idea concerning the lightning stroke or

thunderbolt was that itwas a surpassingly powerful missile or other

weapon. Thus it was variouslyregarded as a (fiery) spear, a sword, an

arrow, a stone, a hammer, or an ironbar or club.53It is in the form of

the thunderbolt that scholars have typically envisagedIndra's vajra,

comparing it to the thunderbolt of Zeus, Thor's hammer, andThraetona's

gurz among others.54 Thus Gonda can state with regard to

Indra'sweapon: It is a matter of common knowledge that the vajra the

weapon which inthe mythological sphere of the Veda represents the

lightening stroke is almost exclusively appropriate to Indra.55It is

easy to demonstrate, however, that Indra's vajra has little to do

withthe meteorological phenomenon currently designated by the names

lightning orthunder, the opinions of the experts notwithstanding. One

of the firstscholars to sound this warning, interestingly enough, was

Hertha von Dechend.56 If not by reference to

commonplace thunder or lightning, how then are weto understand the

vajra?If we turn to the Vedic evidence on the matter, the nature of

Indra s weaponwill become apparent. There the vajra is described as

an object cast acrossthe heavens. Consider, for example, the

following hymn: Thou hurlest forthfrom heaven the iron missile.57 One

could hardly ask for a more specificstatement, nor for a more positive

affirmation of Indra s original celestialnature.As this passage

indicates, Indra s vajra is generally depicted as beingmetallic in

nature. Elsewhere, however, it is said to be composed of stone. Here

Gonda observes: Although Indra's weapon is usually explicitly

designatedby the term vajra, and vajra is generally described as

metallic (ayasa), it isincidentally spoken of as a rock (parvata) or

�stone of, or: from, theheavens (divo asmanam).58Although Gonda

glosses over the incongruity of a thunderbolt being describedas a

stone-like object hurled from heaven, other commentators

haveacknowledged the seeming contradictory nature of the Vedic

imagery. Stutley,for example, remarked:The vajra, usually rendered by

nineteenth-century translators as " thunderbolt " , i.e., lightning, is

described in the RV. (X. 27, 21) as " whirling down fromthe misty realm

of the sun (Surya) " . Whilst this is a poetically adequatedescription

of a transient electrical discharge breaking up the rain-clouds

or " misty realm " , it conflicts with the general description of the

vajra as avery hard, sharp weapon.59As Gonda points out, the word

vajra is frequently paired with the epithetadrivant, literally

" possessing stones (rocks) or a stone (rock). " 60 Herescholars have

traditionally assumed that this was an allusion to Indra shurling

rocks, as with a sling.61Whether we regard Indra's sky-thrown missile

as being composed of iron orstone, it is obvious that by vajra no

ordinary " lightning-stroke " is meant, as the fall of stones does not

ordinarily accompany the latter phenomenon. How then

are we to interpret Indra's heaven-hurled " stone " ?If we approach the

matter from the standpoint of comparative mythology, wefind that other

peoples likewise described the " thunderbolt " as a stone thrownfrom

heaven. In his landmark study of the thunderweapon in

comparativereligion, Blinkenberg summarized the ancient conception of

lightning asfollows: " The lightning, then, is produced by a stone

which shoots down fromheaven to earth. " 62 Meteors, in accordance with

this belief, were identifiedwith thunderstones throughout the ancient

world.63If the original reference for Indra s weapon was to a

meteor-like object, bothdesignations of the vajra " rock and metallic

rock " would be equally appropriate, many meteorites being composed of

iron.64Other traditions associated with the thunderbolt confirm this

interpretation. The most obvious parallel to Indra's vajra is provided

by Thor's hammer. Ittoo originally connoted a stone (or mountain).65

Thor s hammer, moreover,like the weapons of

Indra and Heracles, is expressly called a club.66 And, aswas the

case with Indra's vajra, there is also an explicit celestial

referencefor Thor's weapon: Thus it is said that when Thor cast forth

his hammermeteors were launched across the sky.67Consider also the

fiery weapon wielded by Huitzilopochtli, an Aztec war-godwho offers a

New World analogue to the Indian Indra. Like Indra,Huitzilopochtli

fought a great battle at the dawn of time only shortly afterhis birth.

His success in this struggle saved the world and represented afocal

point in Aztec mythical history. Brundage summarizes the Aztec

ritualcommemorating these events as follows:Upon the Runner's

[Huitzilopochtli s] return the xiuhcoatl, the turquoisedragon made up

as a great fire-breathing mask followed by an undulating papertail,

was brought down the temple steps to represent the

weaponHuitzilopochtli hurled upon the Southerners from the top of the

worldmountain. At the foot of the pyramid had been placed a

sacrificial bowlcontaining bits of paper taken from the victims to

be, each piece representinga particular captive or slave. As the

dragon reached the foot of the pyramidit was set on fire and flung

down upon the bowl of papers they were allconsumed, just as in the

myth Huitzilopochtli hurled his thunderbolt down toreduce his enemy to

ashes.68The representation of Huitzilopochtli s weapon as a fiery

dragon with anundulating tail must conjur up the image of a

fire-spewing meteor or comet. Nor can it help but remind us of the

archaic conception of lightning as adragon-like projectile cast by the

ancient storm-god, attested in the OldWorld as well as the

New.69Huitzilopocthli s ophidian weapon might be compared with that of

the Tamilwar-god Murukan, whose resemblance to Indra is commonly

acknowledged byscholars of ancient Indian lore.70 In the Tamil myth

of Creation, Murukanthrows his fiery spear known as the vel against

the demon Cur, therebydelivering the sun from its prison of

darkness. The word vel, however,originally designated a serpent or

dragon.71It is our contention, of course, that the ultimate basis for

these particulartraditions of a heaven-hurled weapon traces to the

fiery flight of a comet-like Venus, flung across the heavens at the

dawn of time.72 This much wasrevealed in our essay on Athena, where

we had occasion to remark upon theintimate relationship, amounting to

an identification, between the warrior-goddess and the heaven-hurled

thunderbolt of Zeus.73 In the Iliad, it will beremembered, Athena was

described as a comet-like body (aster).74 The latterterm,

significantly, is cognate with asterope, one of several terms

employedby Homer of Zeus' heaven-hurled bolt.75 Other Greek writers,

however,preserve the tradition that lightning originated from the eye

of the god: " The jealous eye of God hurls the lightning down. " 76A

close parallel to the Eye of Zeus can be found in Hindu tradition,

wherebylightning is said to emanate from the eye of

Shiva, the latter expresslyassociated with the great mother goddess.

And, as was the case with regardsto Zeus' eye, Shiva's eye is said to

have been thrown (pel), calling to mindboth the Greek palladia and

thunderbolts, both alike regarded as palta: " things hurled or cast

down " from heaven.77The thunderbolt-hurling eyes of Zeus and Shiva

call to mind the fiery Eye ofRa, sent forth from heaven as a

dragon-like body to wage war on the sun-god'senemies. Consider the

following passage from Destruction of Mankind:Let go forth thine Eye,

let it destroy for thee those who blaspheme withwickedness, not an eye

can precede it in resistance when it goeth down in theform of Hathor.

Went forth then this goddess, she slew mankind on themountain.78What

is implicit in the Greek sources is here made explicit:

Theidentification of the warring eye with the warrior-goddess.

Numerous passagesin the Pyramid Texts allude to this primeval event,

recalled as an occasion ofgreat terror and tumult: " I am

the fiery Eye of Horus, who went forthterrible, Lady of slaughter, I

am indeed she who shoots. " 79 And as we havedocumented at great length

elsewhere, the Eye of Ra is described in termsotherwise consistent

with a comet-like phenomenon: " I raised up the hair fromthe Sacred Eye

at the time of its wrath. " 80As was the case with the Greek Athena, the

Egyptian eye-goddess was identifiedwith a star: As Hathor, the Queen

of Heaven, the Eye of Ra is to be identifiedwith the planet Venus.81An

intriguing parallel to the warring Eye of Ra is offered by Murukan

sserpentine-formed spear the vel. Thus scholars have noted that

Murukan sfiery spear is analogous to Shiva s eye, the latter being

directly associatedwith the mother goddess.82 If in fact the Eye of

Shiva represents a Indiananalogue to the Eye of Ra, one would expect a

relationship between the vel andthe planet Venus, hitherto

unrecognized. Support for this hypothesis,perhaps, stems from the

apparent relationship between the words vel

and Velli,the latter being the name of a leading Tamil goddess,

frequently linked toMurukan. The name Velli, however, is elsewhere

applied to the planet Venus.83Indeed, with regard to the etymology of

the words vel and Velli, it appearslikely that here there has been an

alteration of the consonant n to l. Thatthese two consonants are

frequently substituted for each other is well-known. Witness the

following example of this phenomenon within the Tamil languageitself,

where Tamil ven, " to desire, love, " has been modified to vel, " to

desire,love. " 84 That these words are cognate with Latin Venus itself

related to theIndo-European root ven, desire, love is obvious.Other

cultures have also preserved memory that the war-god's fiery weapon

wasidentifiable with the great mother goddess. A case in point is

Apollo'sweapon the hekatebolos. According to Homer, the hurling of

Apollo's missilesproduced a blight upon the Greek host, and they were

elsewhere compared tometeors falling from the

sky. Regarding this mysterious weapon classicalscholars have had

little constructive to say. Burkert, for example,acknowledges that

the nature of the god s weapon remains unknown: " The puzzleis that the

names hekatebolos and hekatos cannot be divorced from the name ofthe

goddess Hecate. " 85The goddess Hekate, however, as we have documented,

is to be identified withthe planet Venus.86 Thus, in addition to

sharing numerous mythical featuresin common with other goddesses,

themselves identified with the planet Venus(Inanna, Ishtar, Aphrodite,

etc.), Hekate shares the epithet Phosphorus withVenus.87 We are thus

in a position to resolve the puzzle posed by Burkert:There is no need

to divorce the name of Apollo s fiery bolide from that of thegoddess

Hekate as the weapon and goddess are one and the same,

identifiablewith the planet Venus.Here it is possible that Norse

tradition has preserved a curious reminiscenceof the same motive.

Thus we have seen that the Norse made a flaming wheel

thesymbol of Thor's thunderbolt. Elsewhere, however, Thor is said to

have castthe toe (or eye) of a giant to heaven, whereupon it became

the planet Venus.88If the flaming, wheel-like thunderbolt of Thor was

originally nothing but theplanet Venus the latter envisaged as the

wheel-like eye of the ancient sun-god such traditions can be seen as

variations upon a single theme.The VAJRA in Ancient IconographyIf we

have established that Indra's vajra was originally a comet-like

objectcast across the heavens, the question arises as to its

appearance and/orlocation prior to its celebrated flight. Here the

vajra's role in Indianiconography provides valuable insights, not only

to its celestial identity,but to its original form as well.Although

the form of the vajra is mutable, it is frequently portrayed as

athree-pronged object (see figure five), a tradition which finds

support in theRig Veda, where the weapon is called trikakubh,

" three-pointed " .89 The vajra's triune nature finds numerous

parallels in the weaponry of other warrior-heroes. Heracles club,

for example, was described as " trinodis " by Ovid.90The arrow(s) of the

Greek strongman, similarly, are likewise said to be

" tri-barbed " .91While the significance of the warrior-hero s

three-pronged weapon might beexplored in many directions, we ll limit

ourselves here to the observationthat the vajra's form offers a close

parallel to that accorded the thunderboltthroughout the ancient world.

Witness, for example, the images in figure six,taken from

Jacobsthal's classic study.92The antiquity of this imagery is not to

be denied, examples appearing amongthe earliest iconography stemming

from the ancient near East. Here van Burenobserves:In early times the

triple lightning was usually rendered by three undulatinglines rising

from a straight main line or handle; thus it might easily bemistaken

for a trident. In later times the triple lightning was delineated

likethe thunderbolt of classical art, for it was grasped in

the middle, anddivided into three wavy forks at each end.93The

similarity between ancient images of the thunderbolt and Poseidon

strident has been remarked upon by other scholars as well.94

Coomaraswamy, forexample, found a similar relationship between Indra's

" thunderbolt " and thetrident in Hindu iconography. Thus it is that

the vajra is commonly found inconjunction with a pillar, the vajra

forming the apex or terminus of thelatter. If the pillar is viewed as

a pole or shaft, the whole image offers aclose resemblance to the

trident. As to the origins of this sacrediconography, Coomaraswamy

suggested that it traces to ancient conceptionsassociated with the

World Pillar and Solar wheel:In our representations the trisula forms

the termination of a stem or trunkwhich we have been able to identify

with the pillar (skambha) that supports-apart Heaven and Earth, and

with the axle-tree (aksa) of the Solar chariot, i.e. with the axis of

the Universe. Recalling now the kenning

aksa-ja=vajra [ " axle-born " ], it is not implausible to assume that our

trisula may also bethought of as a " single vajra " .95If indeed the

iconography surrounding the vajra and trident traces to

ancientconceptions associated with the World Pillar, how are we to

understand thecelestial basis of this imagery?96 This question is

directly related toanother: How is it possible to explain the

triune-nature of the thunderbolt inancient art? If we are to be

consistent, of course, the planet Venus musthave been involved in the

origin of this imagery. Did the comet-like Venusdisplay three tails

as it fell from the sky? Or was some other celestialphenomenon

responsible for this recurring theme?If we take as our point of

reference the polar configuration associated withSaturn a solution to

this vexing problem is possible.97 As Talbott hasdocumented, the

pillar associated with the ancient sun-god was frequentlygiven a

fork-like shape, as in figure seven.98 Variously envisaged as

thehorns of a

celestial bull, the ship of heaven, or the upraised arms of

thewarrior-hero, the crescentine-shape at the apex of the World Pillar

wasformed, apparently, as the lowermost portion of Saturn was

illuminated by thereflected light of the Sun. As the reader will

recognize, all that isnecessary in order to arrive at the shape of a

trident is to add a third,central spike to the crescent. According to

the thesis presented here, it wasthe planet Venus, set immediately

within the horns of the crescent associatedwith Saturn, that presented

the appearance of a central spike of the celestialtrident. The

familiar image of a star (Venus) set within a crescent warrantsmention

here, if only in passing, as a probable reminiscence of this celestial

scenario.99While it would be impossible here to offer conclusive proof

for a thesis ofsuch radical scope, a few observations are in order to

set the stage forfuture investigations. It can be shown, for example,

that the central spikeof the trident in

addition to being associated with the vajra was variouslyinterpreted

as the primordial hill, sacred earth, lotus, etc., all sacredsymbols

associated with the planet Venus.The Primordial HillWe have seen that

the vajra was associated with the epithet parvata,signifying " stone,

or mountain " .100 The same word, however, elsewheresignifies the

primordial hill which congealed within the waters of chaos atthe dawn

of Creation. As Kuiper has documented, the ancient conception of

theprimordial hill plays a prominent role in Indian cosmology, where

it isintimately associated with the World Pillar:While in later times

this axis was identified with Mount Meru, the cosmicmountain of the

Rigveda does not yet bear that name (presumably of foreignorigin), as

this text is less concerned with primitive geography and much morewith

mythical cosmology, in which the primordial hill, as the sacred image

ofthe earth, is generally denoted as giri, parvata, adri, etc.101It

would seem to follow, given the

original significance of the word parvata,that Indra s weapon was

nothing but the primordial hill or sacred earth whichcongealed at the

dawn of time. The same conclusion, bizarre as it must seemat first

sight, is supported by the fact that other words for the

primordialhill, giri and adri, likewise appear as epithets for Indra s

heaven hurledmissile: adrivat and girikantaka.102The sacred earth, in

turn, was personified as the mother goddess, hence theapparent

relationship between the words parvata and Parvati, the latter

beingone of the goddess many names. That the planet Venus was

universallyregarded as an earth-goddess, or as the " earth-star " , we

have documentedelsewhere.103 The planet Mars, in turn, was known as

the " earth-born " inIndia as elsewhere.104In Indian tradition, as

throughout the ancient world in general, the sacredearth was compared

to a lotus.105 Given our hypothesis that the central spikeof the

celestial trident was formed by the planet Venus, the latter

beingalternately identified with the sacred earth and primeval lotus,

it issignificant to find that ancient images of the trident likewise

take on theappearance of a lotus-like flower (see figure eight). Here

Blinkenbergremarks: " The conventionalization of the trident as a lotus

bloom is quiteanalogous to the change, on Greek soil, of the Assyrian

thunderweapon to twoflowers pointing in opposite directions. " 106What

is true for the trident is also true of the thunderbolt. Thus, a

curiousfeature of thunderbolt-art, one frequently remarked upon by

scholars, is thatthe thunderbolt often takes on the appearance of a

flower. Blinkenberg, forexample, spoke of the constant confusion

between the thunderbolt as lotus andas a solid weapon of metal.107 A

similar situation can be found in Indianiconography, where Indra s

wheel is given a lotus-like form. Here Wijesekeraobserves: " Hindu

iconography shows several examples of cakra-s some withspokes as in

the chariot-wheels and others with

spokes shaped like the petalsof the lotus. " 108The intriguing

symbolism surrounding the celestial lotus might be explored inmany

directions. Suffice it to say here that the equation lotus=sacred

earth=mother goddess=Venus will be confirmed again and again

throughout the ancientworld. Is it any wonder, then, that the

warrior-hero, according to the samemythical logic, is known as the

" lotus-born " ?109Here a famous episode from the career of Indra

warrants mention. In theaftermath of his murder of Visvarupa it is

said that the war-god was sotormented by his guilt (the murder was

considered a brahmanicide) that he ranaway, ultimately assuming a

minute form and hiding in the stalk of a lotusflower. This bizarre

tradition finds a ready explanation if, and we aretempted to add, only

if, it is understood that the stalk was the World Pillarand the lotus

the planet Venus, Mars' movement up the pillar towards

Venusnecessarily resulting in its shrinking in size.110Kavya UsanasIn

the Rig Veda,

as is well-known, the vajra is generally said to have beenfashioned

by Tvashtri, the divine smith and sometimes father of Indra.

Elsewhere, however, there can be found glimpses of another tradition,

onewhich identifies the maker of the vajra as Kavya Usanas.111

Indeed, severalhymns credit this figure with providing Indra with his

" power " .112Who then is this mysterious figure? According to the

Mahabharata, KavyaUsanas was a formidable magician, capable of all

sorts of fantastic feats. Inone such feat he is said to have balanced

himself on the tip of Shiva'strident.113 Later, it is related, Kavya

Usanas flew to heaven and became theplanet Venus (Sukra).114That the

legend surrounding Kavya Usanas transfiguration into the planetVenus

is late and encumbered with all sorts of elaborations upon the

originalmyth may be easily granted. It remains significant

nonetheless, given themagician's explicit identification with the

planet Venus, to find him broughtinto intimate relation with

Indra's vajra and the tip of Shiva's trident, thevery associations we

would expect given our analysis of the vajra in

Indianiconography.Athena TritogeniaOne of the earliest attested

epithets of Athena is Tritogeneia, signifying " Triton-born " .115

Various explanations of the name have been proposed byancient and

modern writers alike, none wholly satisfactory. Some would traceit to

a lake Triton,116 others to a mountain peak by a river of that name,

andothers to a play upon the word three.117 The conclusion seems

inescapablethat already by the time of Homer and Hesiod the Greeks had

forgotten theoriginal significance of this epithet. Given our

analysis of the traditionsassociated with the trident in ancient art

and symbolism we may be in aposition to offer a solution to this

age-old puzzle.Athena was called Tritogeneia, " triton-born " , for the

simple reason that asthe planet Venus, Athena was indissolubly

connected with the celestial " trident " , the central peak of which was, in

fact, formed by that planet-goddess. Inasmuch as the Trident/World

Pillar formed a three-peaked mount inheaven or a celestial river

spanning the three worlds, the various ancientetymologies of the name

can be seen as variations upon a common theme, thecelestial archetype

of which had long since been forgotten.Heracles and the Cup of

HeliosOur analysis of the myth of Indra's stealing the wheel of the

ancient sun-godhas led us to the conclusion that the original

inspiration for the myth wasthe appearance of the planet Mars against

the backdrop of Venus during itsascent to heaven. It can be shown

that this celestial scenario gave rise to ahost of mythical

interpretations, only a very few of which have been touchedupon in

this essay. As a final indication of the wide-ranging ramificationsof

our finding we'd like to call attention to an intriguing parallel in

thecareer of Heracles.As was the case with the Vedic Indra, a

recurring theme in the Greektraditions surrounding Heracles pits

the Greek strongman in some form ofadversarial relationship with

Helios, the ancient sun-god.118 One suchtradition, a favorite of the

vase-painters, makes Heracles steal the goblet ofthe sun-god and use

it as a vessel to sail across the ocean (see figure nine).119

Unfortunately, only a few tantalizing scraps of the original myth

havecome down to us. According to Pherekydes, by way of Athenaeus,

the hero sride was a rocky one, Heracles being buffeted about

mercilessly by the waves. There is also mention of the hero s being

heated to the point of danger duringhis eventful ride, ostensibly by

the rays of the Sun.120 One final motive isof the utmost significance

here: It is said that Helios cup had theappearance of a lotus-like

flower (water-lily).121As the Greek homologue of the Vedic Indra,

Heracles is to be identified withthe planet Mars.122 Given this

identification, the conclusion seems probablethat Helios' goblet is

analogous to the wheel of Surya and thus identifiablewith

the planet Venus.123ConclusionHaving devoted the better part of the

past decade to an analysis of ancientmyth, where, in the sacred

traditions associated with Indra, Heracles, andThor it is possible to

reconstruct in great detail the recent history of theplanet Mars, it

is with a profound sense of irony that I greet news of theapparent

failure of the recent NASA probe aimed towards the red

planet,ostensibly to learn more about the early history of that

planet. In the wakeof these events, coming at a cost of several

billion dollars to the Americantaxpayer, is it too much to ask that

modern astronomy acquaint itself with theknowledge to be had in

ancient myth? For it is within the sacred traditionsassociated with

the aforementioned warrior-heroes that compelling,

eye-witnesstestimony can be found of the great flood which inundated

Mars; of theconvulsions which ravaged the red planet as it moved

perilously close to Venusand Earth; of the great rift running across

its face; of the

tumultuous eventsresulting in the theft of the Martian atmosphere; of

spectacular volcanism andmuch else. The testimony of the ancient

texts is both clear and abundant. Most importantly, perhaps, it is

free. In the meantime, however, Carl Saganand his colleagues at NASA

continue to assure one and all that the geologicalforces responsible

for shaping the physiognomy of Mars are to be sought forbillions of

years in the distant, and one is tempted to say, the largelyfictional,

past.1 I:51:4 All hymns are from R. Griffith, The Hymns of the Rig

Veda (Delhi,1973).2 VI:72:1-2.3 A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology (New

York, 1974), pp. 54-66.4 V:33:45 Griffith, op. cit., p. 252. It is

with reference to such traditions,perhaps, that we are to understand

the epithet asita, dark, black applied toSurya/Saturn in Hindu

tradition. See M. Williams, A Sanskrit-EnglishDictionary (Oxford,

1872), p. 105. Significantly, the Babylonians likewiseknew Saturn as

the Black Star, mul MI. See the

discussion in A. Scherer,Gestirnnamen bei den indogermanischen

Volkern (Heidelberg, 1953), pp. 84-85.6 IV:30:3-4.7 IV:16:148 E.

Cochrane, Indra, AEON II:4 (1991), pp. 49-76.9 See the discussion in

Cochrane, Heracles and the Planet Mars, AEON I:4(1988), pp. 90-92,

for further examples.10 Gordon, No. 143. J. Sawyer & F. Stephenson,

Literary and AstronomicalEvidence for a Total Eclipse of the Sun

Observed in Ancient Ugarit on 3 May1375 B.C., BSOAS 33 (1970), p.

468-471. Sawyer & Stephenson translate thistext as follows: The Sun

went down (in the day-time) with Mars in attendance. p. 474.11 J.

Sawyer & F. Stephenson, op. cit., p. 468.12 On the identification of

Reseph and Nergal see M. Dahood, Ancient SemiticDeities in Syria and

Palestine, in Le Antiche Divinita Semitiche, ed. by S.Moscati (Rome,

1958), p. 84.13 Significantly, Wilson made the same claim for early

Maya records. Wilson sclaim has recently found support in the work of

V. Bricker & H. Bricker, TheMars Table in the

Dresden Codex, in Research and Reflections in Archaeologyand

History: Essays in Honor of Doris Stone (1986). There the

authorsconclude: It is clear that the authors of the table intended it

to deal insome fashion with the relationship between Martian events

and eclipses. p.77.14 P. Gossman, Planetarium Babylonicum (Rome,

1950), p. 82. On Nergal stendency to rise to the place of the setting

sun, see E. von Weiher, Derbabylonische Gott Nergal (Berlin, 1971), p.

35.15 Gossman, op. cit., p. 132.16 M. Jastrow, Sun and Saturn, Revue

d Assyriologie et d ArchaeologieOrientale 7 (1909), p. 165.17 A.

Wensinck, The Semitic New Year and the Origin of Eschatology,

ActaOrientala (1923), p. 188.18 I:175:4 See also II:11:20, VI:31:2-3,

IV:16:12 and IV:30:419 I:130:920 J. Puhvel, Comparative Mythology

(Baltimore, 1987), p. 36.21 See here the valuable discussion of O.

Wijesekera, Discoid Weapons inAncient India, The Adyar Library

Bulletin 25 (1961), pp. 250-267.22 VIII:85:923 Griffith, op.

cit., p. 120.24 Wijesekera, op. cit., p. 257. See also the comments

of M. Sparreboom inChariots of the Veda (Leiden, 1985), pp. 13-27.25

See the discussion in Wijesekera, op. cit., pp. 256-257.26 4:16:1227

E. Anati, Camonica Valley (New York, 1961), p. 163.28 E. Cochrane,

Suns and Planets in Neolithic Art, AEON III:2 (1993), pp.51- 63.29

Ibid., pp. 57-58.30 E. Cochrane, The Birth of Athena, AEON II:3

(1990), pp. 25-26.Alternatively, Venus could be viewed as the hub of

the wheel centered uponSaturn.31 E. Cochrane, op. cit., pp. 55-63.32

This glyph is taken from R. Heizer & C. Clewlow, Prehistoric Rock Art

ofCalifornia Vol. 2 (Ramona, 1973), figure 74.33 RV 8:69:15 See the

discussion in D. Talbott, Mother Goddess and Warrior-Hero, AEON I:5

(1988), pp. 41-54. See also the discussion in A.Coomaraswamy, Loathly

Bride, in Coomaraswamy: Selected Papers, ed. by R.Lipsey (Princeton,

1977), p. 356. Elsewhere the warrior-hero appears as thepupil in the

arts of war on the sacred isle

of a Venusian goddess.34 Papyrus Harris 58. See the discussion in H.

Bonnet, Reallexikon deragyptischen Religionsgeschichte (Berlin, 1952),

p. 686.35 R. Anthes, Mythology in Ancient Egypt, in S. Kramer ed.,

Mythologies ofthe Ancient World (Garden City, 1961), pp. 89-90. See

also E. Cochrane, TheBirth of Athena, AEON II:3 (1990), pp. 18-26.36

Williams, op. cit., p. 831.37 J. Grimm, Teutonic Mythology Vol. I

(Gloucester, 1976), pp. 166-167.38 M. Gimbutas, Perkunas/Perun: The

Thunder God of the Balts and the Slavs,Indo-European Studies I:4

(1973), p. 466.39 A. Nutt, Cuchulainn: The Irish Achilles (London,

1900), p. 9.40 J. Sammer, An Ancient Latin Name for Venus, KRONOS

VI:2 (Winter 1981), p.61.41 E. Weiher, op. cit., p. 38.42 F. Weidner,

Fixsterne, Reallexikon der Assyriologie III (Berlin, 1957-1971), p.

81.43 See the discussion in E. Cochrane, Indra, AEON II:4 (1991), pp.

53-54 and61-64.44 Both Heracles and Thor were likewise represented

upholding heaven.45 M. Sparreboom, op.

cit., p. 25.46 I:30:1447 Griffith, op. cit., p. 18.48 See the

discussion in E. Cochrane, The Birth of Athena, AEON II:3 (1990),pp.

5-28.49 IV:17:750 II:11:9-10.51 Sparreboom, op. cit., pp. 16-17.52 In

hymn I:32, for example, the vajra is called a whizzing club .53 T.

O'Rahilly, Early Irish History and Mythology (Dublin, 1971), p. 60.54

G. Dumezil, Gods of the Northmen (Berkeley, 1973), p. 66. To these

we would add the gai Bulga of Irish tradition, with which Cuchulainn

slew Ferdia and the demons of darkness known as Fomors. See A. Nutt,

op. cit., pp. 19.55 J. Gonda, Epithets in the RigVeda (S-Gravenhage,

1959), p. 54.56 H. von Dechend, Bemerkungen zum Donnerkeil, Prismata,

ed. by Y Maeyama &

E. Saltzer, (Wiesbaden, 1977), p. 95. It must be said, however, that

Dechends analysis of the thunderbolt traditions is not particularly

helpful. Shewould identify Indra with the planet Jupiter and the

thunderbolt with Soma.57 I:121:958 Gonda, op. cit., p. 63.59 M. and J.

Stutley, A

Dictionary of Hinduism (London, 1977), p. 320.60 Gonda, op. cit., p.

60.61 Gonda, op. cit., p. 61.62 C. Blinkenberg, The Thunderweapon in

Religion and Folklore (Cambridge,1911), p. 32.63 Ibid., p. 13. For a

similar opinion see the extensive researches of G. A.Wainright: In

religion the meteorite and the thunderbolt are the same

thing.Letopolis, J. of Egyptian Archaeology 18 (1932), p. 161.64 Nor

is it entirely without relevance to the issue at hand that

meteoritesoriginating from Mars have been found on Earth.65 Grimm, op.

cit., p. 173.66 Grimm, op. cit., p. 180.67 J. O'Neill, The Night of

the Gods Vol. II (London, 1993), pp. 684-685.68 B. Brundage, The Fifth

Sun (Austin, 1979), p. 148.69 For the thunderbolt as serpent in the

New World see A. Demarest, Viracocha:The Nature and Antiquity of the

Andean High God (Cambridge, 1981), p. 52.Compare also the

boomarang-like dragon wielded by the Egyptian Horus. See E.Budge, The

Gods of the Egytpians (New York, 1969), p. 255.70 That

Murukan is to be identified with the planet Mars speaks many

factors,not the least of which is the god s persistent connection with

the color red.F. Clothey, The Many Faces of Murukan (New York, 1978),

pp. 144-145, offeredthe following observation: The association of

Murukan and Mars appears torest on at least two factors: the fact that

both are red, and the fact thatboth are associated with military

prowess. See also E. Cochrane, The Springof Ares, KRONOS XI:3

(Summer 1986), p. 17. We intend to return to thisintriguing god in a

future essay.71 V. Ivanov and V. Toporov, A Comparative Study of the

Group of BalticMythological Terms From the Root *vel-, Baltistica 9:1

(1973), p. 15.72 Note the emphasis upon the word particular, as Mars

itself was also viewedas a heaven-hurled weapon by many ancient

peoples. As we hope to show in afuture article, if the flight of

Venus served as the prototype for the hurlingof lightning or the

thunderbolt, Mars was the thunder itself. Note also

thatthe bands which ultimately came to congeal around the polar

configurationlikewise came to partake of this symbolism. It is thus,

perhaps, that we areto understand the ancient tradition of seven

lightnings.73 E. Cochrane, The Birth of Athena, AEON II:3 (1990), pp.

5-28.74 Iliad 4:7575 Iliad 10:154; 21:198.76 Agamemnon 466. See the

discussion in E. Cochrane, The Birth of Athena,AEON II:3 (1990), pp.

25-28. See also the extensive discussion in A. Cook,Zeus (New York,

1965), pp. 161-165.77 J. Harrison, Epilegomena to the Study of Greek

Religion and Themis (NewYork, 1966), pp. 87-88.78 E. Budge, The Gods

of the Egyptians Vol. I (New York, 1969), p. 392.79 R. Faulkner, The

Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts (Warminster, 1973), Spell316.80 Ibid.,

p. 260.81 R. Anthes, Mythology in Ancient Egypt, in S. Kramer ed.,

Mythologies ofthe Ancient World (Garden City, 1961), pp. 89-90. See

also E. Cochrane, TheBirth of Athena, AEON II:3 (1990), pp. 18-26.82

D. Handelman, Myths of Murugan:

Asymmetry and Hierarchy in a South IndianPuranic Cosmology, History

of Religions 27:2 (1987), p. 145.83 F. Clothey, op. cit., p. 145.84

Ibid., p. 383.85 W. Burkert, Greek Religion (Cambridge, 1985), p.

406.86 E. Cochrane, Venus in Ancient Myth and Language, AEON I:3

(1988), pp. 103- 104.87 L. Farnell, The Cults of the Greek States Vol.

2 (New Rochelle, 1977), p.516. See also H. Liddell & R. Scott,

Greek-English Lexikon (New York, 1897),p. 1705.88 Grimm, op. cit., pp.

375 and 723; see also H. R. Davidson, Gods and Myths of Northern

Europe (Middlesex, 1964), p. 41; and G. Dumezil, Gods of theNorthmen

(Berkeley, 1973), p. 143.89 I:121:490 Fasti I:57591 Iliad 5:393.92 P.

Jacobsthal, Der Blitz in der orientalischen und griechischen

Kunst(Berlin, 1906).93 E. van Buren, Symbols of the Gods (Rome, 1945),

p. 68.94 See Blinkenberg, op. cit., p. 55, who remarked as follows

upon theidentification of the trident as a thunderbolt: The evidence

adduced abovestrongly supports this explanation

of Poseidon s weapon, and from what hasbeen already said its origin

can be no longer doubtful: It is an adaptation ofthe Hittite and

Babylonian thunderweapon.95 A. Coomaraswamy, Elements of Buddhist

Iconography (New Delhi, 1972), p. 14.96 In what follows I owe a great

deal to extensive discussions with DaveTalbott, who has promised to

write in detail of the celestial circumstancesbehind the

trident-symbolism.97 Talbott and I will be developing this argument in

future articles. In whatfollows my views have been greatly influenced

by private communications withTalbott.98 D. Talbott, Mother Goddess

and Warrior-Hero, AEON I:5 (1988), p. 54.99 For examples of the

Venus-star set within the horns of a crescent see F.Steinmetzer, Die

babylonischen Kudurru (Grenzstein) als Urkundenform(Paderborn, 1922),

p. 181, and figure 138 of A. Jeremias, Handbuch deraltorientalischen

Geistekultur (Leipzig, 1913), p. 241.100 Williams, op. cit., p.

555.101 F. Kuiper, The Bliss of Asa, Indo-Iranian

Journal 8 (1964), p. 108.102 Williams, op. cit., pp. 19, 289.103 E.

Cochrane & D. Talbott, When Venus was a Comet, KRONOS XII:1

(Winter1987), pp. 18-20.104 R. Vaidya, Astronomical Light on Vedic

Culture (Bombay, 1964), p. 97.105 A. Coomaraswamy, Elements of

Buddhist Iconography (New Delhi, 1972), pp.20-22.106 Blinkenberg, op.

cit, p. 54.107 Blinkenberg, op. cit., p. 44.108 Wijesekera, op. cit.,

p. 253.109 The Egyptian war-god Horus offers the best known example of

this motive.110 On the identification of the lotus-stalk with the

World Pillar see A.Coomaraswamy, The Nature of Buddhist Art, in

Coomaraswamy: Selected Papers,ed. by R. Lipsey (Princeton, 1977), op.

cit., p. 171.111 I:121:12 See also 5:34:2112 1.51.10 and 5.34.2.113

Mbh. 12.278.7-32. This episode finds an intriguing parallel in

Celtictradition whereby Dordmair, the patroness of Cuchulainn in the

arts of war,leaps upon the point of a spear: And she was a long time

resting thus on thepoint of the spear. See W. Stokes,

The Training of Cuchulainn, RevueCeltique 29 (1908), p. 113.114 S.

Kramrisch, The Presence of Siva (Princeton, 1981), p. 135. On

theidentification of Usanas and Venus see also A. Scherer, op. cit.,

p. 86.115 Iliad 4:515; 8:39; 22:183; Odyssey 3:378; Hesiod Theogony

886, 895, 924.116 Herodotus 4:180117 See the discussion in K. Kerenyi,

The Gods of the Greeks (London, 1979),pp. 119-120. See also the

various explanations given in Liddell & Scott, op.cit., p. 1580.118

For an extensive discussion of this theme see E. Cochrane, Heracles

andthe Planet Mars, AEON I:4 (1988), pp. 90-97.119 Stesichorus PMG

185:1; Pisander Ath. 469d. See also the discussion in K.Galinsky, The

Heracles Theme (Oxford, 1972), pp. 20-25.120 The image of the

warrior-hero bobbing about in a cauldron-like vessel,suffering as if

being put to fire, finds a close analogue in the immolationsof Jason

and Melikertes. See E. Cochrane, The Death of Heracles, AEON

II:5(1991), pp. 61-63.121 R. Graves, The Greek Myths

Vol. II (New York, 1960), p. 133.122 E. Cochrane, Heracles and the

Planet Mars, AEON I:4 (1988), pp. 89-105.123 In a future essay it

will be shown that Heracles goblet finds anotherclose parallel in the

kettle associated with Thor in Norse sources. SeeGrimm, op. cit., p.

187. Indian symbolism, significantly, speaks of the powerof Sukra s

cup, Sukra being identified with the planet Venus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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