Parjanya (Sanskrit: पर्जन्य, IAST: parjánya) according to the Vedas is a deity of rain, thunder, lightning, and the one who fertilizes the earth. It is another epithet of Indra, the Vedic deity of the sky and heaven.
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Description
It is assumed Parjanya is the udder and lightning is the teats of the rain-cow; accordingly, rain represents her milk. Also, he is sometimes considered as a rain-bull controlled by the superior Indra. The thunder is his roar. He is the father of arrow or reed which grows rapidly in the rainy season. He is also considered as a protector of enlightenment seekers and an enemy of flesh-eating fire.
Meanings
According to his 1965 Sanskrit–English Dictionary, Vaman Shivram Apte gives the following meanings:
Rain-cloud, thunder cloud, a cloud in general;
Rain (as referred in the Shloka from Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 14);
The god (deva) of rain i.e. Indra.
In hymns
Sing forth and laud Parjanya, son of Heaven, who sends the gift of rain.May he provide our pasturage.Parjanya is the God who forms in kine, in mares, in plants of earth,And womankind, the germ of life.Offer and pour into his mouth oblation rich in savoury juice:May he for ever give us food.
Three hymns of the Rigveda, 5.83, 7.101 and 7.102, are dedicated to Parjanya. In Vedic Sanskrit Parjanya means "rain" or "raincloud". Prayers dedicated to Parjanya, to invoke the blessings of rains are mentioned in the Atharvaveda. Parjanya was also one of the Saptarishi (Seven Great Sages Rishi) in the fifth Manvantara. He is one of the 12 Adityas and according to the Vishnu Purana, the guardian of the month of Kartik, a Gandharva and a Rishi in the Harivamsa.
Similar deities
The deity can be identified with various other Indo-European Gods such as Slavic Perun, Lithuanian Perkūnas, Latvian Pērkons and Finnish Perkele "god of thunder", Gothic fairguni "mountain", and Mordvin language Pur'ginepaz.
Rig Veda hymns to Parjanya
RV 5.83 in the translation of Jamison and Brereton:
Buddhism
Parjanya also features is Buddhist literature. In the Pali Canon of the Theravāda, he is known as Pajjuna.
He is king of the vassavalāhaka devas who have limited control over the clouds and weather. He has a daughter named Kokanadā.