Introduction
Indra, called Andra in Avestan, is one of the six chief daevas (demonic beings) of Zoroastrianism, said to lead people away from righteousness and to stand opposed to the Amesha Spenta Asha Vahishta, "Best Truth". His name is directly cognate with, and historically descended from the same Indo-Iranian source as, the Vedic and later Hindu god Indra, king of the gods and wielder of the thunderbolt.
This article covers only the Zoroastrian daeva. For the Vedic and Hindu deity of the same name, see the separate article on Indra in the Hindu tradition.
Zoroastrianism inherited many divine names from the older, shared Indo-Iranian religious tradition ancestral to both Zoroastrianism and Vedic Hinduism, but its strict ethical dualism recast several of these figures as daevas, evil spirits opposing Ahura Mazda and the Amesha Spentas, in deliberate contrast to their positive standing (as Devas) in the Vedic tradition. The six chief daevas each specifically oppose one Amesha Spenta.
Shared origin, opposite meaning
Before the religious traditions of ancient Iran and India diverged, both peoples shared a common Indo-Iranian religious vocabulary, in which the term deva (Sanskrit) or daeva (Avestan) simply meant "god" or "shining one", and Indra was a leading figure among these gods. Zoroaster's religious reform sharply reversed this evaluation in the Iranian tradition: the daevas, including Indra, were recast as demons to be rejected, while the term Ahura ("lord") was reserved for the true gods, led by Ahura Mazda. In the Vedic tradition that became Hinduism, by contrast, Indra retained and even expanded his position as a leading, heroic god.
Role in opposing Asha
As a daeva, Indra in Zoroastrian texts is specifically associated with undermining asha, the principle of truth and cosmic order, drawing people toward falsehood and unrighteousness, the direct opposite of his role in Vedic religion as a champion of order against the chaos-serpent Vritra.
Scholarly significance
The Indra/Andra daeva is one of the clearest and most frequently cited pieces of evidence scholars use to demonstrate the common origin of the Vedic and Zoroastrian religious traditions, and the striking way a single shared ancestral religion could develop in nearly opposite ethical directions in its two descendant traditions.