Then spoke the thunder

Prajapati

At last the rain approaches. The scene has changed to the Indian sub-continent, where the River Ganges (Ganga) and the jungle await rain-heavy clouds from the Himalaya (Himavant). There is a peal of thunder, DA DA DA.

The fable of the thunder's message comes from the ancient Hindu texts the Upanishads, originally written in Sanskrit.

Prajapati, the Lord of Creation, presided over three different groups of beings: the gods, the humand and the demons. Each of the groups asked Prajapati to teach them wisdom, and he answered each of them with the same single syllable, DA.

The gods understood this to mean DÀMYATA (control yourself);
The humans thought he meant DATTA  (give to others);
The demons heard it as DAYADHVAM (show compassion).

Prajapati told all three groups that they had truly understood. Whenever the thunder says DA DA DA, we should understand its message: we should control ourselves; give; be compassionate.

This message, Eliot suggests, is the antidote to the materialism, selfishness and decay of modern Europe. The East points the way back to the simple asceticism of the likes of
Saint Augustine.

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