Shloka 14
शिशुमार-रूपं, ध्रुवबन्धनम्, वृष्टिचक्र-पालनम्, नारायणाधारत्वम्
दृष्टसूर्यं हि यद् वारि पतत्य् अभ्रैर् विना दिवः आकाशगङ्गासलिलं तद् गोभिः क्षिप्यते रवेः
dṛṣṭasūryaṃ hi yad vāri pataty abhrair vinā divaḥ ākāśagaṅgāsalilaṃ tad gobhiḥ kṣipyate raveḥ
That water which is seen to fall from the sky even when the sun is visible and no clouds are present is the water of the heavenly Gaṅgā; it is cast down by Ravi through his “cows”—that is, his rays.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Identifying cloudless rainfall as celestial Gaṅgā-water propelled by the Sun’s rays
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: When rain falls from the sky with the Sun visible and no clouds, it is taught to be celestial Gaṅgā-water driven by solar rays.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Use everyday anomalies (like sunshowers) as prompts for remembrance (smaraṇa) and reverence toward cosmic law.
Vishishtadvaita: The sacred can be encountered through the natural world, which functions as an expression (śarīra) of the divine order.
FAQs
Here it explains cloudless rainfall as water originating from the heavenly Gaṅgā, emphasizing that celestial waters also participate in sustaining the earthly realm.
He states that such water is the ‘ākāśagaṅgā’ and that the Sun’s rays cast it down—an account framed as a cosmic process rather than a random event.
Even while describing Surya’s function, the Purana’s broader teaching treats such cosmic regularity as operating under the supreme ordering principle—Vishnu as the sustaining reality behind the world’s governance.