Mother Earth Becomes Pruthvi

The earth becomes Pruthvi

There was a time when Mother Earth decided not to share her wealth with humans. She was angered at the misuse and arrogance of humans in using her resources. This resulted in famine, hunger and death. Sounds very familiar to what we hear now? Misuse of natural resources results in climate change, drought, floods and untimely rains. This story from the puranas highlights the need to treat Mother Earth with respect.

The earth had no ruler after the death of the cruel ruler Vena. The Saptharishis realised something needs to be done as a land without a ruler will be the breeding ground of Arajaga or lawlessness. They used the power of their penance to generate a being from the right thigh of Vena. From that came a very evil looking person emerged. The sages realised that this person was evil and shouted Nishada Nishada. Nishada means sit. But the evil dwarf like creature ran out of the yagna shaala. With his exit all the evil from Vena’s body had left.

The sages again churned Vena’s right hand and from there emerged a effulgent being. He was looking like a demi God. Many Devas came with gifts. Sage Marichi, one of the sages who brought the divine being to life named him Prithu. Prithu means the Great One. Lord Lord Brahma himself came down to crown this king. Brahma noticed the mark of shanka and chakra (conch and the disc) – the symbols of Lord Vishnu on Prithu’s hands. He told the sages “This king of the Bhuloka has been blessed by Lord Vishnu himself.”

So Bhuloka had a king who was a divine being, blessed by Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu. Everything should have been fine. Unfortunately, there was a problem. Mother Earth was tortured and treated badly during the period of Vena and in the interim when there was no king for Bhuloka. She decided that she did not want to share her bounty with humans. Taking the form of a cow, she went into hiding. There was no rain, no crops and all the water bodies started drying up. There was hunger and suffering everywhere.

King Prithu was feeling helpless. He could not see his people suffering. He consulted the learned Sages who gave him life. The sages said “King Prithu. Nature blesses and benefits those who respect her. You dead father Vena and his followers misused the wealth of Bhuloka. After Vena’s death, for a long time, Bhuloka did not have a ruler till we decided to bring you as the King. In the long gap, there was too much misuse of the resources of Bhuloka. The only solution is for you to find Mother Earth as the king of Bhuloka. Seek forgiveness and bring her back so that natural cycles can come back. Bowing to the sages, King Prithu set out to look for Mother Earth.

Prithu searched for her in all corners of Bhuloka and in other worlds as well. After many years he got frustrated and angry. He took his arrow and was going to shoot it into the earth when Mother Earth came in front of him in the form of a cow. Prithu bowed and said “Mother, you are the mother to everyone in this earth. If you get angry how can we live here. What if the oceans, the Sun and the Moon follow your example and don’t do their dharma. Please forgive our mistakes and bestow your kindness again.”

Mother Earth took pity on Prithu and his citizens. She said “King Prithu. I have been ordained by Lord Brahma to share my bounty when a country is ruled by a good ruler.” Prithu thought about it. He bowed to Mother Earth and said “Mother. I understand. But due to various reasons, there could be times when a kingdom goes through problems. That is not the fault of the people. They should not suffer. Please grant me the boon and knowledge of getting food and goods from you.”

Mother Earth took pity on humanity and gave seeds for food, flowers and many other life giving substances. She also taught him how to extract food and wealth from her. King Prithu then used a powerful magical arrow to level mountains and uneven land. Using the seeds given by Mother Earth (Bhumatha) and the knowledge she shared, he started agricultural practices and planting of herbs and flower giving plants. These over many yugas learned to thrive and multiply thanks to the kindness and blessings of Mother Earth without getting affected by the rulers of the land.

King Prithu ruled Bhuloka for many years and then ascended to heaven. Since he convinced Mother Earth to give human kind her bounty and shared the knowledge with all humans, Mother Earth came to be known as Pruthvi.