SB 10.24.8 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीनन्द उवाच पर्जन्यो भगवानिन्द्रो मेघास्तस्यात्ममूर्तय: । तेऽभिवर्षन्ति भूतानां प्रीणनं जीवनं पय: ॥ ८ ॥

Verse text

śrī-nanda uvāca parjanyo bhagavān indro meghās tasyātma-mūrtayaḥ te ’bhivarṣanti bhūtānāṁ prīṇanaṁ jīvanaṁ payaḥ

Synonyms

śrī — nandaḥ uvāca — Śrī Nanda Mahārāja said ; parjanyaḥ — the rain ; bhagavān — the great lord ; indraḥ — Indra ; meghāḥ — the clouds ; tasya — his ; ātma — mūrtayaḥ — personal representatives ; te — they ; abhivarṣanti — directly give rain ; bhūtānām — for all living entities ; prīṇanam — the gratification ; jīvanam — the life-giving force ; payaḥ — (like) milk .

Translation

Nanda Mahārāja replied: The great Lord Indra is the controller of the rain. The clouds are his personal representatives, and they directly provide rainwater, which gives happiness and sustenance to all creatures.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Nanda Mahārāja replied: The great Lord Indra is the controller of the rain. The clouds are his personal representatives, and they directly provide rainwater, which gives happiness and sustenance to all creatures. KB 10.24.8 On hearing this inquiry from Kṛṣṇa, Mahārāja Nanda replied, “My dear boy, this ceremonial performance is more or less traditional. Because rainfall is due to the mercy of King Indra and the clouds are his representatives, and because water is so important for our living, …

Purport

Without clean rainwater, the earth could not possibly provide food or drink for anyone, nor could there be cleanliness. Thus it would be difficult to overestimate the value of rain.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

This is a local custom. In this verse Nanda maharaja gives the logic for the worship. Indra showers down rain which is pleasing and giving life to entities such as grass.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Indra is the controller (bhagavān) by showering rain. The clouds shower water which gives life to grass which is almost dead and which gives satisfaction (prīṇanam).