Before the sport of Braj, there was a Dev-Asur (divinity-demon) war in which King Dushyant of the Moon dynasty had gone to Himalaya to help Indra, king of the divinity kingdom. While on his return, his chariot had stopped at a hermitage (Kanvāshram) near the river Mālini in Bijnaur Janpadh, situated at the foothills of Himalayas. It was here King Dushyant had met his wife Shakuntala, daughter of Menaka. His son Bharat was at that time playing with lion cubs. The Kauravas and Pandavas were from the lineage of Bharat, and there is mention about Arjun helping Indra in his wars with demons. There is no doubt that the prestige and stature of king Indra of that time were well known all over the earth.
It is generally known that many highly accomplished spiritual souls can bring about rains or stop rains by their yogic powers. They can alter the forces of nature by their accomplished spiritual prowess as per their will.
If this is the case with human attainers, it should not be a great surprise to accept that Indra of the times had brought about thundershowers at Braj in retaliation to the maiden damsels not worshipping him under the instigation of Shri Krishna.
It should be noted that the position of Indra keeps changing, and one or the other becomes Indra by his prowess of penances, wisdom and power. In this context, what Vishnu had to say about King Bali as narrated in Bhagwat is worth noting.
“aesha me prāpithaha stħānam dhushprāpamamarairapi.
Sāvarnerantharasyāyam bhavithendhro madhāshrayaha”
Bhagwat 8/22/31
I have given Bali that position that is difficult for even the greatest of divinities to attain. In the Manvantar of Sarvāni, this Bali shall occupy the position of India.
