Indra was the Lord of the Thunderbolt and the most popular deity in the Rug Veda. Unlike some of the other deities he is much anthropomorphized. It is he who is portrayed as overcoming the strongholds of the indigenous people of India, the dasyus or dasas, when the Aryans first arrived on the scene. In one important myth he slays the dragon Vrtra in order to release the pent up waters of existence, perhaps symbolic of allowing the whole of manifest existence to flow forth from the state of chaos. He was the supreme soma drinker and the ideal Aryan warrior:
 
     He was a paradigm of the human qualities the Aryan most admired: vigor, enthusiasm, strength, courage, success in battle, gluttony, And drunkenness.
 
     This illustrates clearly the rather human nature of this popular deity. He was closest to the Aryan man, the most anthropomorphic and easily propitiated deity: For the hymns of praise and the songs of praise make you grow great; Indra, And you bring happiness to the singer of praises.
 
     As the dispenser of tain Indra bestowed fertility on the land, but in many ways he was aligned with .Agni for he represented the fire aspect in space - lightning and thunder. He was also alligned with cosmic fire and therefore with the deity Surya. As the king of the gods he was youthful, active, virile, energetic, and was renowned for his sexual prowess. He was the ideal warlord and warrior - the Ksatriya at his best in Aryan eyes. Perhaps Indra was too this-worldly for, despite becoming less active and more dignified as the Vedic period progressed, he was destined to become a very minor deity in the post-Vedic period.