Delay in monsoon compels the people of various faiths to appease the rain gods in their own special way. As per the rituals, abhishekham, japam and parayana are performed by the Hindus. The Varunajapam and VarunaSukta Parayana are performed at the abode of Goddess Kanakadurga for four days and then on the fifth day, Sahasraghata Kalasabhishekam is done. Lord Varuna causes the rain to come down and makes the rivers flow.He sends down streaks of lightening. Along with Mitra, Varun sends down the ‘rain flood’; as they both are Lords of Heaven.
Indra is considered as the ‘King of Gods’ and also ‘God of Weather and War’ as per the Hindu Mythology. In the Rigveda, Indra is referred to as the God of thunder and rain, and he battles with the water obstructing demon of the dark skies (which is symbolical of the clouds), named Vritra, with his weapon (lightening) and finally releases the cows (water), which he had captured. The rainbow is called the bow of Indra or ‘Indradhanus’.
Maraimman is the South Indian goddess of rain. Goddess Maraimman is worshipped mainly to bring rain and cure diseases like cholera, chicken pox and small pox.
To look at the recent Chennai rains and floods from a religious perspective, one may perhaps believe that the rain gods unleashedtheir fury.As per the Chennai weather forecast by NASA, the Chennai rain broke 100 year old record this year as hundreds of casualties and deaths were being reported. The heavy rains in Chennai disrupted transport services and the entire city came to a standstill. But what was worth noting was the exceptional unity shown by the flood victims as they helped each other in the hour of need.Post the commendable relief operations provided by themilitary, Chennai is still grappling its way back to life in many parts of the city.
Our heart goes out to the distressed people and we extend our condolences to the people who lost their dear ones to the wrath of nature.
