As the bearer of the thunderbolt, Vajrap€Ši inherits a mythological motif, associated with the warrior, that has correlates throughout the Indo-European world. Moreover, it is revealing that these cross-cultural parallels emerge in the Gandh€ran sculptures, which are themselves the product of a complex process of assimilation and innovation of Greek, Iranian and Central Asian elements.

From the Iranian MiØra, to Nordic Thor, to Greek Herakles, and the roman Jupiter, the presence of a powerful warrior who holds and employs a Vajra-like weapon is ever present throughout Indo-European mythological complexes.

While a thorough elaboration of Indra's connection to these figures is beyond the scope of this paper, and has moreover already been done, it will suffice to suggest some of the ways that Vajrap€Ši participates in, and is indebted to, this ancient complex.