Parjanya

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. 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. According to his 1965 Sanskrit–English Dictionary, Vaman Shivram Apte gives the following meanings: 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. — Rigveda 7.102 (tr. Ralph T. H. Griffith, 1896) Three hymns of the Rigveda, 5.83, 7.101 and 7.102, are dedicated to Parjanya. In Vedic Sanskrit Parjanya means "rain" or "raincloud".