The Sanskrit term Mahāvarṣadhāra can be transliterated into English as Mahavarsadhara or Mahavarshadhara, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: De Gruyter: A Buddhist Ritual Manual on Agriculture

Mahāvarṣadhāra (महावर्षधार) refers to “great rain showers” (as the result of an offering ceremony), according to the Vajratuṇḍasamayakalparāja, an ancient Buddhist ritual manual on agriculture from the 5th-century (or earlier), containing various instructions for the Sangha to provide agriculture-related services to laypeople including rain-making, weather control and crop protection.—Accordingly [as the Bhagavān taught the detailed offering-manual], “Pills should be made of pungent mustard seed oil, honey, oleander-flower, nāgapuṣpa and powder. Then the pills should be thrown into the Nāga lake. After the mantra has been recited 108 times, and merely upon throwing [pills] into the lake, all Nāgas rejoice. They send forth great rain showers (mahāvarṣadhāra). If it does not rain on the same day, the bodies of those Nāgas will be destroyed. They will have head diseases, there will be suffering for them”.

context information

Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Partial matches: Varshadhara, Maha.

Relevant text

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