Mythology & Religion Power Ranking TOP100
This article introduces Rank 57: Indra from the “Mythology & Religion Power Ranking TOP100”, which ranks the gods, monsters, and heroes of world mythology, religion, and legend in order of strength.
If you want to see the full TOP100 list and the criteria behind the rankings, check out the overview article below.
Rank 57: Indra (Indian Mythology, Hinduism)
Overview
Indra is the king of the Deva gods (the heavenly gods) and was treated like the supreme deity in the first half of Indian mythology (the Vedic era), celebrated as the greatest hero of that age.
However, as the mythology progressed into the second half (the Hindu era), Vishnu and Shiva increasingly took the role of supreme gods, and today Indra is entirely regarded as subordinate to them.
In the first half of Indian mythology, Indra’s greatest moment was the defeat of “Vritra.”
Vritra was an Asura (gods of a different race from the Devas) in the form of an extremely powerful dragon who controlled all the water in the world and caused a global drought. His body was said to be as hard as “having 99 fortresses,” and he possessed the strength to move mountains.
Beyond Vritra, Indra defeated many Asuras and was revered as the heroic god of Heaven.
However, as the second half of Indian mythology begins, the power inflation unique to Indian mythology starts accelerating — and Indra increasingly ends up fighting and losing to strong Asuras, turning to Vishnu or Shiva for help.
In short, Indra becomes treated as a complete “warm-up opponent” — though one wonders whether Hindu mythology had some kind of grudge against him…
It should also be noted that the divine spear Indra gave to Karna is said to be a different item from his personal Vajra. Given that the spear was powerful but could only be used once, from Indra’s perspective it may not have been a practical weapon. After all, if the spear were strong enough to defeat a powerful Asura, he would have kept it for himself rather than giving it away…
Reason for This Ranking
In any case, Indra’s power as a thunder god is formidable: a single swing of the Vajra is said to have shattered Vritra’s 99 fortresses — or killed 99 Asuras at once — an overwhelming display of force.
However, in the second half of Indian mythology, this lightning becomes unable to work on strong Asuras even while still being effective against weaker ones, suggesting that at full power the Vajra simply cannot penetrate opponents of equal or greater strength.
And since he tends to lose outright once the lightning fails, it is also telling that his combat ability beyond the Vajra is nothing special.
Even so, against those weaker than him, he should still be able to dominate with the Vajra — so despite his demoted status as a “warm-up opponent,” I conclude he would not be at a disadvantage against an ordinary war-god-class opponent, and placed him at this position.
About the Book
I wrote a book that compiles this entire ranking! The reasoning behind each placement is grounded in the actual lore and episodes from each mythology, so I think it makes for a fairly convincing read.
The book also contains many columns and extras not published on this blog, so if you are interested, please check it out below.
📚 Series: Mythology Power Ranking (Individual Characters) (44/100)
