Australia finished the day on 28-0 with Usman Khawaja 19 not out and Nathan McSweeney on four after India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to field.
Only 13.2 overs were bowled during the first session and there was no further play, much to the disappointment of the big crowd that had filed into the Gabba.
At one stage the outfield resembled a lake but as the weather eased the water drained away quickly, leaving only a few small areas still affected.
However, the rain persisted throughout the day and the umpires eventually called off play midway through the final session.
Play will begin 30 minutes earlier for the remaining four days with a minimum of 98 overs to be bowled each day.
However, while the forecast is better for Sunday, there is more rain predicted early next week.
After a week of downpours in Brisbane, Rohit would have expected plenty of movement from his opening bowlers, but they struggled to find their length.
Spearhead Jasprit Bumrah appeared down on pace early and Mohammed Siraj was equally unthreatening.
The forecasted rain first came 25 minutes into the day's play, causing a half-hour delay, and when the players returned Akash Deep at last found the perfect length with movement in the air and off the wicket.
He troubled McSweeney in particular, but 35 minutes later much heavier rain sent the players from the field for the second time.
The five-match series is evenly poised with India thrashing Australia in the first Test in Perth and Australia recording an equally impressive victory in Adelaide.
The Australians, as expected, brought back Josh Hazlewood for Scott Boland after he recovered from a side strain.
India dropped spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and fast bowler Harshit Rana, replacing them with Ravindra Jadeja and Deep.
