Namuchi
Namuchi ( Sanskrit नमुचि namuci m.) Is the name of a "demon" ( Asura ) in Vedic mythology and an adversary of the god Indra .
myth
One day Namuchi stole Somatrank from Indra and contaminated it with brandy . Thereupon Indra swore revenge, but due to a contract he was not allowed to attack Namuchi by day or night, neither with anything solid nor with anything liquid, neither with wood nor with stone. But one day, at dusk, the god discovered a column of foam in the sea. Neither solid nor liquid, neither stone nor wood, Indra threw the pillar at Namuchi and beheaded him with it. In this way he regained his soma, which he purified through a sacred ritual. However, since Namuchi's killing looked like a breach of contract, Indra herself had to free herself from this sin through a purification sacrifice.
literature
- Jan Gonda : The Religions of India. Veda and older Hinduism . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1960, pp. 58f. sv Indra
- Namuci. In: Hans Wilhelm Haussig , Heinz Bechert (Ed.): Gods and Myths of the Indian Subcontinent (= Dictionary of Mythology . Department 1: The ancient civilized peoples. Volume 5). Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-12-909850-X .
- Rachel Storm: Encyclopedia of Eastern Mythology . Reichelsheim 2000, sv Indra, Namuci