Indra, the king of heaven and national god of the Aryans; gives victory to his people, and is always ready to aid them; he is pre-eminently a warlike god, and as he stands on his war-chariot, drawn by five fawn-coloured horses, he is in a sort the type of an Aryan chieftain; he is sometimes assisted by other gods, but he more frequently fights alone; he is the dispenser, moreover, of all good gifts, and the author and preserver of all living; his power extends over the heavens, and he holds the earth in the hollow of his hand.