The rain-god’s grace (invocation – part 1 of 2).

Suggested prerequisite: The rain-god’s grace (location and identification).

I discussed, earlier in this blog, that Indra’s worship seems to center in north and east India, and is particularly practiced in Orissa and Bihar. What intrigues me is that there are many hymns to Indra in the Vedas, and several rites (like Somayajña) in which he plays a pivotal role – yet much of his modern worship, that by village dwellers in particular, has little to do with the formal Vedic practices.

Let’s explore a little further. This essay discusses two infamous rituals to call upon Indra as god of rain.
(Since this post got pretty long, I’ll discuss all other customs in a second post.)