The famed town of Badrinath located in Garhwal Hills of Himalayan region has five Dharas flowing here, each of which has their own tale. One of the Panch Dharas is the Indra Dhara.
Flowing through the caves and the shrines, Indra Dhara tells the story of Brahmahatya by Lord Indra and how he did severe penance to absolve himself of this sin.
Once, Indra sought the help of the demon Vishwaroopa who had three heads to defeat Asuras. Vishwaroopa performed religious ceremonies and yagnas to help Indra. However, Vishwaroopa not only dedicated the fruits of the rituals to Devas but he also gave one-third to asuras and one third to humans. In this way, he was secretly helping asuras. One day, Indra came to know about Vishwaroopa’s treachery. He killed Vishwaroopa with his sword. However, since Vishwaroopa was also a Brahmin though his mother was a rakshasni, Indra became a sinner guilty of killing a Brahmin. As a result he had to be punished. Thus Indra did severe penance exiled for several years hiding under water and praying to Lord Vishnu until he was advised to distribute his sin among the earth, trees, water and women. Only then, Indra was absolved of his misdeed and could take up the kingdom of heaven again.
The Indra Dhara is reminiscent of the severe austerities of Indra.
The Indra dhara tells a tale of great of the great King Indra and his penance as well as the piousness of water, women, trees and earth who took upon themselves the sins of Indra to save humanity. It shows that no one is above justice and even the King of Gods had to suffer due to his sins and pious people can carry the load of even others sins due to their goodness.
