The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c23.s1.43

v1.c23.s1.43

Of the individual names of the enemies of the gods Vṛtra ranks first; he is a serpent with power over the lightning, mist, hail, and thunder, when he wars with Indra; his mother is Dānu, apparently the stream or the waters of heaven, but he bears that name himself as well as Dānava, offspring of Dānu. His abode is hidden in the waters, but is also on a summit or on lofty heights, which suggest the waters of the air. He is by name the encompasser of the waters, rather than the holder back by congealing them: the cloud mountain is, therefore, said to be within his belly. He has ninety-nine forts which Indra shatters as he slays him. From the single Vṛtra the Vedic conception, as often, produces many Vṛtras, and we find also the plural used of foes who must be clearly human, perhaps, however, never without a sub-reference to Vṛtra, though, as the neuter is used in this way, it may be that the use is not simply a direct generalization of Vṛtra as a demon. The Brāhmaṇas, which tell many tales about Vṛtra,¹ make him out to be the moon, swallowed at new moon by Indra as the sun.