Pṛthu Charitra

Pṛthu is the first king to rule the whole Earth. The Padma Purāṇa tells how he was born from the arm of the dead king Vena, how he chased Bhū-devī (the Earth) when she hid all the seeds, and how he milked her so that every kind of being could be fed. The Earth was then named Pṛthivī and Medinī.

Brahmā appoints the lords of the realms

Before the account of Pṛthu, the Bhūmi Khaṇḍa tells how Brahmā appointed a ruler over each part of creation:

  • Candra, the Moon, became lord of all plants and healing herbs.
  • Varuṇa became lord of all waters.
  • Kubera became lord of the Yakshas and of the treasures.
  • Yama became lord of the pitṛs (the ancestors) and of the keeping of dharma’s account.
  • Sūrya became lord of light and time.
  • Indra became lord of the devas and the three worlds.
  • Agni became lord of the sacred fire and of purifying.

The king on earth stands in the same order that these lords keep in their own realms.

Vena’s adharma

Vena was the son of the rājarshi (royal seer) Aṅga. His mother was Sunīdhā, the daughter of Mṛtyu. Vena was adharmic from birth, because of his mother’s family.

As king, Vena declared that he alone should receive all yajñas (fire rituals) and all worship. He stopped the Vedic rites. He forbade the yajñas of the ṛshis. He claimed to be above all the devas.

The ṛshis put up with his rule until they could bear it no more. They gathered together and destroyed him by the power of their joined śāpa (curse).

Then a problem came up. Vena had died without a son. With no rightful heir, the Earth fell into disorder. The ṛshis churned the dead body of Vena, to draw out whatever puṇya (merit) remained in it.

Two beings born from Vena’s body

Two beings came out of two parts of the body.

From Vena’s left thigh came a Nishāda. He was dark, short and ugly, and he carried all the pāpa (sin) of Vena’s wrong deeds. He became the father of the Nishāda people and took away the dross of Vena’s pāpa, so that what was left was pure.

From Vena’s right arm came Pṛthu. He shone like the sun. He was born holding weapons and wearing armour, ready for battle. The devas knew at once that he was a partial manifestation (aṃśa) of Bhagavān Vishṇu. The devas rained flowers, divine drums sounded, and the ṛshis chanted the Vedas. Pṛthu was made king of the Earth on the spot. He was the first king to rule the Earth as one whole.

Pṛthu chases the Earth

Pṛthu received an Earth in ruin. During Vena’s adharmic rule Bhū-devī had swallowed all the seeds into herself. She had pulled back her bounty because of the disorder. The crops failed and living beings suffered from famine.

Pṛthu took up his great bow and went after the Earth. She ran from him, taking different forms. At last she took the form of a cow. Pṛthu cornered her.

Bhū-devī, in the form of a cow, begged him: “Do not kill me. If you destroy me, how will your people stand? Where will they live? Understand what I have done, and why.”

Pṛthu understood. He put down his weapon. He made an arrangement with her: the Earth would give out her stored riches through milking.

The milking of the Earth

Pṛthu himself became the calf. The Earth gave her milk as grain and all plant life.

Then each kind of being sent its own calf and milked the Earth into its own vessel, for the food that suited it:

  • The ṛshis sent Meru as the calf. Their vessel gave the knowledge of the Vedas.
  • The devas sent Indra as the calf. Their vessel gave amṛta (the drink of immortality).
  • The ancestors sent Yama as the calf. Their vessel gave the soma that feeds the realm of the pitṛs.
  • The Nāgas and serpents sent Takshaka as the calf. Their vessel gave poison, which feeds their nature.
  • The asuras sent Prahlāda as the calf. Their vessel gave māyā (illusion).

In this way each kind of being drew from the Earth the food that fitted its nature. The seeds the Earth had swallowed were given back to creation.

The Earth becomes Pṛthivī and Medinī

Pṛthu levelled the mountains that stood in the way of farming and homes. Until then the Earth had no flat land to grow food on. Mountains and forests covered everything. The ground was made smooth, fit for villages, fields and cities. Pṛthu made the first orderly sharing out of land for people to live on.

From this the Earth received two new names:

  • Pṛthivī means “she who belongs to Pṛthu”, or “she whom Pṛthu made broad and flat”.
  • Medinī means “the nourishing one”. It is tied to the marrow (medas) of Madhu and Kaiṭabha, from whose bodies the Earth was first formed.

Pṛthu’s golden age

Under Pṛthu the Earth grew very rich. Rain fell at the right times. Crops grew without hard labour. Cows gave plenty of milk. The rivers were pure and the forests were full.

Pṛthu ruled by dharma, and the places that Brahmā had given to the lords of the realms were fully honoured. He is called the first true rājā, the one who makes the people glad (rañjana). The Purāṇa says that kingship itself began with Pṛthu. Before him there were mighty beings who ruled by force. With Pṛthu, ruling by care for dharma became the way of kings.

Sources

  • Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 27 (the lords appointed by Brahmā)
  • Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 28–29 (Vena’s adharma and his death)
  • Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 29 (the two births, the milking of the Earth, the names Pṛthivī and Medinī, Pṛthu’s reign)