Indra

   In Vedic myth a god of battle and of rain. He appears to have been a real king, a jolly fair-haired fighting man of the Nordic type, who was deified after death, and whose worship spread at the expense of the older gods. Eventually, he was ousted by the Brahmans in favour of Vishnu, and sank from the position of a heaven god to that of king of Swarga, the Hindu paradise. His sacred city was Amaravati. His title of Vritrahan, said to have been acquired by his defeat of Vritra, may have been taken from the name of Verethraghna, the Zoroastrian god of victory, whose name means the Slayer. In his military campaigns, Indra fought successfully against the Asuras, the Daityas, the Danavas, and the Dasyus. He is frequently shown mounted on an elephant, named Airavata.