The Parable of Ants

Monsoon has brought out bunches of black ants from the woodwork. Termites flutter in from the garden. The roiling mass of insects on the floor reminds your columnist of the story of Indra and the Ants retold by Heinrich Zimmer in Myths and Symbols of India.

After defeating Vritrasura, Indra goes on a building spree. His endless demand for new pavilions is so exhausting that the builder Vishwakarma goes to Brahma for relief. Brahma appeals to Vishnu in turn. The Lord visits Indra as the lustrous young dwarf, Vamana. While praising Indra’s new abode, Vamana says no former Indra could have built such a marvel. Indra is amused by the boy’s claims of omniscient knowledge, but is horrified when Vamana begins to narrate the chronicles of former Indras set against great cycles of creation and destruction. Just then, a long line of ants comes creeping into the palace.

Vamana bursts into laughter saying the ants were Indras in former lives. Just then, Lomesh Rishi comes in, displaying a circular bald spot on his chest otherwise densely matted with hair! When Indra asks about the spot, the Muni replies that each hair stands for the life of one Indra! Every time an Indra dies, one hair falls, and a new king of the gods appears.

Before vanishing from sight along with the dwarf, the sage predicts the end of the present Indra’s span. Properly chastened, Indra releases his master builder and goes on to lead aspiritual life balanced with material goals.

Moral? Don’t let pride affect you; remember Indra and the ants: everything passes, including the rains!