Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Vala, meaning "enclosure" in Vedic Sanskrit, is an Asura of the Rigveda and the Atharvaveda, the brother of Vrtra.Historically, it has the same origin as the Vrtra myth, being derived from the same root, and from the same root also as Varuna, val-/var- (PIE wel-) "to cover, to enclose" (perhaps cognate to veil).Parallel to Vrtra "the blocker", a stone serpent slain by Indra to liberate the rivers, Vala is a stone cave, split by Indra (intoxicated and strengthened by Soma, identified with Brhaspati in 4.50 and 10.68 or Trita in 1.52, aided by the Angirasas in 2.11) , to liberate the cows and Ushas, hidden there by the Panis.