Shloka 10
न भ्रश्यन्ति यतस् तेभ्यो जलान्य् अभ्राणि तान्य् अतः अभ्रस्थाः प्रपतन्त्य् आपो वायुना समुदीरिताः संस्कारं कालजनितं मैत्रेयासाद्य निर्मलाः
na bhraśyanti yatas tebhyo jalāny abhrāṇi tāny ataḥ abhrasthāḥ prapatanty āpo vāyunā samudīritāḥ saṃskāraṃ kālajanitaṃ maitreyāsādya nirmalāḥ
Because the waters do not slip away from those clouds, they are therefore called “abhras” (clouds). From the clouds the waters fall, driven onward by the winds; and, O Maitreya, having attained the purification born of time, they become clear and pure.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Sacred geography and the cosmic water-cycle: how waters rise, become clouds, fall, and are purified
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Even ordinary rainwater participates in a lawful cosmic process—lifted, borne, and purified by time—revealing an ordered universe.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Contemplate natural cycles as occasions for gratitude and inner purification; align daily conduct with ṛta/dharma.
Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic regularity (niyati/ṛta) can be read as the Lord’s governance of prakṛti without denying His transcendence.
FAQs
This verse presents rainfall as an ordered cosmic process—cloud-held waters are released by wind and become purified through time—illustrating the Purana’s theme that nature operates under a regulated universal law.
Parāśara links purification to kāla (time/seasonal maturation): as waters circulate and time acts upon them, they attain clarity (nirmalatā), suggesting that cosmic rhythms themselves refine and cleanse.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purana’s cosmology implies a supreme ordering principle behind wind, cloud, and time—nature’s consistent governance reflects the sovereignty of the Supreme Reality upheld throughout the text.