Parjanya

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Parjanya

Parjanya is the Hindu deity of rain , often identified with Indra

Indra

Indra is the god of War and Weather, also the King of the gods or Deva and Lord of Heaven or Swarga in Hinduism. Mentioned first as the chief deity in the sacred Hindu text of Rig Veda, Indra is bestowed with a heroic and almost brash and amorous character....
, the "Bull

Bull (mythology)

Appearances of the Bull in mythology and worship are widespread in the ancient world. It is the subject of various cultural and Religion incarnations, as well as modern mentions in new age cultures....
" of the Rigveda

Rigveda

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian subcontinent sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the Rigvedic deities . It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas....
, but also associated with Varuna

Varuna

In Historical Vedic religion, Varuna or Waruna is a god of the sky, of waters and of the celestial ocean, as well as a god of law and of the underworld....
as a deity of clouds and as punishing sinners. Two hymns of the Rigveda, 5.63 and 7.101, are dedicated to Parjanya. In Vedic Sanskrit

Vedic Sanskrit

Vedic Sanskrit is an Old Indic language. It is the language of the Vedas, the oldest shruti texts of Hinduism, compiled over the period of the mid 2nd to mid 1st millennium BC....
Parjanya means "rain

Rain

Rain is liquid precipitation . On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into droplet heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface....
" or "raincloud". Prayers dedicated to Parjanya, to invoke the blessings of rains are mentioned in the Atharva Veda .

Parjanya was also one of the Saptarishi (Seven Great Sages Rishi

Rishi

A rishi denotes a poet-sage through whom the Vedic hymns flowed, credited also as divine scribes. According to post-Vedic tradition the rishi is a "seer" or "shaman" to whom the Vedas were "originally revealed" through states of higher consciousness....
) in the fifth Manvantara

Manvantara

Manvantara or Manuvantara , or age of a Manu , the Hindu progenitor of mankind, is an astronomical period of time measurement. Manvantara is a Sanskrit Sandhi, a combination of words manu and antara, manu-antara or manvantara, literally meaning the duration of a Manu, or his life span ....
.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Parjanya'

Start a new discussion about 'Parjanya'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Parjanya is the Hindu deity of rain , often identified with Indra

Indra

Bull (mythology)

Rigveda

Varuna

Vedic Sanskrit

Rain

Rishi

Manvantara

Vishnu Purana

The Vishnu Purana is a religious Hindu text and one of eighteen Puranas. It is considered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna ....
, the guardian of the month of Kartik

Kartik

Kartik may refer to:* Kartika , a month in the Indian national calendar and Bengali calendar* Kartik * Karttikeya, the brother of Ganesha in the Hindu mythology...
, a Gandharva

Gandharva

In Hinduism In Hinduism, the Gandharvas are male nature spirits, husbands of the Apsaras. Some are part animal, usually a bird or horse. They have superb musical skills....
and a Rishi

Rishi

Harivamsa

The Harivamsha is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 shloka, mostly in metre. The text is also known as . This text is believed as a khila to the Mahabharata and traditionally ascribed to Vyasa....
. The name may be cognate with Lithuanian

Lithuanian language

Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad....
Perkunas
Perkunas

Perkunas was the common Baltic languages god of thunder, one of the most important deities in the Baltic Pantheon . In both Lithuanian mythology and Latvian mythology, he is documented as the god of thunder, rain, mountains, oak trees and the sky....
"god of thunder", Gothic

Gothic language

Gothic is an extinct language Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. It is known primarily from Codex Argenteus, a 6th century copy of a 4th century Bible translation, and is the only East Germanic languages with a sizable corpus....
fairguni "mountain", see Perkwunos

Perkwunos

The name of an Proto-Indo-European religion deity of thunder and/or the oak may be reconstructed as * or *.Another name for the thunder god contains an onomatopoeic root *, continued in Gaulish Taranis and Hittite Tarhunt....
.

Rig Veda hymns to Parjanya

RV 5.63 in the translation of Griffith

Ralph T.H. Griffith

Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith , scholar of indology, B.A. of Queen's College was elected to the vacant Sanskrit Scholarship on Nov 24, 1849. He translated the Vedas scriptures into English....
:

Sing with these songs thy welcome to the Mighty, with adoration praise and call Parjanya.

The Bull, loud roaring, swift to send his bounty, lays in the plants the seed for germination.

He smites the trees apart, he slays the demons: all life fears him who wields the mighty weapon.

From him exceeding strong flees e'en the guiltless, when thundering Parjanya smites the wicked.

Like a car-driver whipping on his horses, he makes the messengers of rain spring forward.

Far off resounds the roaring of the lion, what time Parjanya fills the sky with rain-cloud.

Forth burst the winds, down come the lightning-flashes: the plants shoot up, the realm of light is streaming.

Food springs abundant for all living creatures, what time Parjanya quickens earth with moisture.

Thou at whose bidding earth bows low before thee, at whose command hoofed cattle fly in terror,

At whose behest the plants assume all colours, even thou Parjanya, yield us great protection.

Send down for us the rain of heaven, ye Maruts, and let the Stallion's flood descend in torrents.

Come hither with this thunder while thou pourest the waters down, our heavenly Lord and Father.

Thunder and roar: the germ of life deposit. Fly round us on thy chariot waterladen.

Thine opened water-skin draw with thee downward, and let the hollows and the heights be level.

Lift up the mighty vessel, pour down water, and let the liberated streams rush forward.

Saturate both the earth and heaven with fatness, and for the cows let there be drink abundant.

When thou, with thunder and with roar, Parjanya, smitest sinners down,

This universe exults thereat, yea, all that is upon the earth.

10a

10c

Thou hast poured down the rain-flood now withhold it. Thou hast made desert places fit for travel.

Thou hast made herbs to grow for our enjoyment: yea, thou hast won thee praise from living creatures.

Verse 2 and 9 describe Parjanya as a violent god, slaying demons like Indra and chastising the wicked like Varuna. Verses 3 to 5 describe thunderstorm and torrential rain (Monsoon

Monsoon

A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind that lasts for several months. The term was first used in English in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and neighboring countries to refer to the big seasonal winds blowing from the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea in the southwest bringing heavy rainfall to the region....
) as a gift from a benevolent god, feeding plant and animal life, and "liberating the streams", an important mythological motive of the Rigveda, again connected with Indra. In verse 10, Parjanya having bestowed the beneficient rain is asked to cease again.