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Saį¹yutta NikÄya 32.1 Linked Discourses 32.1
1. ValÄhakavagga 1. Gods of the Thunderclouds
Suddhikasutta Plain Version
SÄvatthinidÄnaį¹. At SÄvatthÄ«.
āValÄhakakÄyike vo, bhikkhave, deve desessÄmi. āMendicants, I will teach you about the gods of the thundercloud host. ValÄhaka is not explained in any dictionary I have seen, and I have not been able to find it in pre-Buddhist texts. Trace to the root val (to āturnā or to āarcā). Appended with Äha (āskyā) we have valÄhaka, āone who arcs over the skyā like a constellation (cf. Sanskrit valana). This is the name of the horse of the universal monarch (MN 129:37.2), and metaphorically the āthundercloudsā that rumble like horseās hooves. The link between horses and clouds recalls the Vedic Maruts, boisterous gods of the thunderclouds, who roamed about roaring in their chariot drawn by horses (Rig Veda 1.39.6, 1.87.4, 1.88.1, 5.42.15, etc.) or on horseback (RV 5.61.2), which are compared to the rainy clouds (RV 5.53.7, 8.7.28). Other deities also have horses associated with the thundercloud. The twin AÅvins (āhorsemenā) have horses that āthunderā (RV 5.73.7). The horses of Parjanya (Pali pajjuna) are ārain-bearing messengersā (RV 5.83.3). Bį¹haspati has horses ālike a ruddy cloudā (RV 7.97.6). Pegasus, who was said by Hesiod to be the bringer of thunderbolts to Zeus, harks back to the same mytheme.
Taį¹ suį¹Ätha. Listen ā¦
Katame ca, bhikkhave, valÄhakakÄyikÄ devÄ? And what are the gods of the thundercloud host? The āhostā (kÄya) is the four types.
Santi, bhikkhave, sÄ«tavalÄhakÄ devÄ; There are gods of the cool thunderclouds,
santi uį¹havalÄhakÄ devÄ; warm thunderclouds,
santi abbhavalÄhakÄ devÄ; stormy thunderclouds, Abbha (āstormyā) by itself just means ācloudā. In the Rig Veda theyāre associated with wind (10.68.5), rain (10.77.1), and lighting (9.76.3), and in the Suttas they are described as āblueā (Thag 1.13:1.1).
santi vÄtavalÄhakÄ devÄ; windy thunderclouds,
santi vassavalÄhakÄ devÄāand rainy thunderclouds.
ime vuccanti, bhikkhave, āvalÄhakakÄyikÄ devÄāāti. These are called gods of the thundercloud host.ā
Paį¹hamaį¹.