Parva 1 Chapter 6: pṛthu upākhyānam - Legend of pṛthu

"In this world, if anyone indeed eliminates many, either for his own sake, or for the sake of his followers, he will attract sin… but oh, lady, when many derive happiness when one evildoer is eliminated, then there will be neither sin nor stigma for the eliminator… further, that 'eradication' itself becomes meritorious, because many will get eudaimonia, because that single evildoer hampering the wellbeing of all others is eliminated... nihate + aśubhe - iti pada cchedaḥ. saḥ ahaṁ prajā nimittaṁ tvāṁ haniṣyāmi vasuṁdhare | yadi me vacanaṁ na adya kariṣyasi jagat hitam || 1-6-4 Such as I am, I am prepared to eliminate you now for the sake of people, if you do not heed my advice that which is a well-wishing for all the people… tvāṁ nihatya adya bāṇena mat śāsana parṅmukhīm | ātmānaṁ prathayitvā ahaṁ prajā dhārayitā ciram || 1-6-5 sā tvaṁ śāsanam āsthāya mama dharma bhṛtāṁ vare | saṁjīvaya prajāḥ sarvāḥ samarthā hy asi dhāraṇe || 1-6-6 duhitṛtvaṁ ca me gaccha tata enam ahaṁ sharam | niyaccheyaṁ tvat vadha-artham udyantaṁ ghora darshanam || 1-6-7 Since you are refuting my order, I wish to eliminate you now, and then, on expanding my own body I myself will bear all the people for a long time to come… but, you lady, you have abidance for righteousness... as such, follow my order and keep people alive... you are capable to do so… further, you become my daughter, whereby I will withdraw this deadly arrow of mine raised to eliminate you… pṛthivi uvāca — ṁuter Earth said sarvam etat ahaṁ vīra vidhāsyāmi na saṁśayaḥ | upāyataḥ samārabdhāḥ sarve siddhyanti upakramāḥ || 1-6-8 upāyaṁ pashya yena tvaṁ dhārayethāḥ prajā imāḥ | vatsaṁ tu mama sampashya kṣareyaṁ yena vatsalā || 1-6-9 samāṁ ca kuru sarvatra māṁ tvaṁ dharmabhRtāṁ vara | yathā nispandamānaṁ me kṣīraṁ sarvatra bhāvayet || 1-6-10 "Oh, bold man pṛthu, I am prepared to do all that and there is no doubt about it… but… by proper plan of action all the endeavours bear fruits… hence, you approach the problem with a proper plan by which you can sustain all the people through me… if you are not able to get the drift of it, I will tell you… find out a calf for me with whose lovable aid I can flow milk… further, oh, best righteous pṛthu, you should level off my uneven surface whereby the milk flown from my udder spreads and makes it greensward everywhere… vaiśampāyana uvāca - vaiśampāyana said: tataḥ utsārayāmāsa śailān shata sahasraśaḥ | dhanuṣkoṭyā tadā vaiṇyaḥ tena śailā vivardhitāḥ || 1-6-11 pṛthu vainaḥ tadā mahīm cakre samām tataḥ | manvantareṣu atīteṣu viṣama āsīt vasuṁdharā || 1-6-12 svabhāvena abhavat hi asyāḥ samānī viṣamāṇi ca | cākśusya antare pūrvam āsīt evam tadā kila || 1-6-13 Then, oh, janamejaya, vena's son pṛthu started to lift up hundreds and thousands of mountains with the tips of his arrows to fling one upon the other at farther places, and made a wide berth for flat surface for the flow of milk for the sake of greenhouse effect, whereby the layered mountains grew in height. In the earlier eras the earth was very much denticulated, and, even in cākśuṣa manvantaram the earth was highly uneven owing to her own nature, they say so… Land reclamation is the first duty of governments. nahi pūrva visarge vai viṣame pṛthivī tale | pravibhāgaḥ purāṇāṁ vā grāmāṇāṁ vā tadā abhavat || 1-6-14 na sasyāni na go rakṣyaṁ na kṛṣiḥ na vaṇik pathaḥ | na eva satya anṛtaṁ ca āsīt na lobho na ca matsaraḥ || 1-6-15 vaivasvate antare ca asmin sāmprataṁ samupasthite | vaiṇyāt prabhṛti vai rājendra sarvasya etasya saṁbhavaḥ || 1-6-16 On such a ragged surface of the earth there was no demarcation for villages and cities in earlier eras, and there were no farming, crops, livestock, and the trade in that period was devoid of falsity or actuality, or greed, or stinginess - i.e. in 'as is where is condition' say barter system… the concept of produce, either agricultural or otherwise, is given rise and flourished only from the era of pṛthu after the start of vaivasvata manvantara yatra yatra samaṁ tu asyā bhūmeḥ āsīt iha anagha | tatra tatra prajāḥ sarvāḥ saṇvāsaṁ samarocayan ||1-6-1-17 āhāraḥ phala mūlāni prajānām abhavat tadā | kṛcchreṇa mahatā yukta iti evam anu-śuśruma ||1-6-1-18 Wherever the land is levelled all the people wished to dwell thereabout, and prior to it, i.e., pṛthu's scheme of land levelling, the people were put to dire straits for edibles, let alone fruits and tubers, because of dwelling on uneven lands... thus we hear… saṅkalpayitvā vatsaṁ tu manuṁ svāyambhuvaṁ prabhum | sva pāṇau puruṣaśreṣṭa dudoha pṛthivīṁ tataḥ | sasya jātāni sarvāṇi pṛthur vaiṇyaḥ pratāpavān |||1-6-19 tena annena prajāḥ tāta vartante adya api sarvaśaḥ | Then pṛthu made svayambhū-manu as a calf of the cow-like earth, and his own palms as a milking-vessel, and milked the earth wherefrom he obtained rich harvest, fruits, tubers, and other produce of earth… from then on to this day, the people are victualled with something called cooked foodstuff… ṛṣibhiḥ śrūyate cāpi punaḥ dugdhā vasundharā || vatsa somo abhavat teṣām doghā ca aṅgīrasaḥ sutaḥ || 1-6-20 bṛhaspatiḥ mahātejāḥ pātram chandāṁsi bhārata | kṣīrm āsīt anupamam tapo brahma ca śāśvatam || 1-6-21 We also listen that sages too made soma as calf, where the milker is sage bṛhaspati, the son of angirasa, and milked the cow-like earth, and obtained ritual undertakings like kṛccāndrāyaṇa vratā-s etc, vedic rituals, and everlasting knowledge about brahma - śāśvata brahma jṣānam… punaḥ deva gaṇaiḥ sarvaiḥ purandara purogamaiḥ | kāṣcanaṁ pātraṁ ādāya dugheyam śrūyate mahī || 1-6-22 vatsaḥ tu maghavān asīt doghdhā ca savitā prabhuḥ | kṣīram ūrjaskaram caiva vartnte yena devatāḥ || 1-6-23 Taking a golden vessel all the gods led by indra have also milked that cow-like earth, where they made indra as cow, and the sungod as milker, whereby they got the nectar like milk with which those gods are still thriving… pitṛbhiḥ śtūyate ca api punar dugdhā vasundharā | rājatam pātram ādāya svadhām amita vikramaiḥ || 1-6-24 yamo vaivasvato teṣām āsīt vatsaḥ teṣām pratāpavān | antakaḥ ca abhavat doghdhā kālo lokaprakālanaḥ || 1-6-25 We also listen that manes - pitṛ devatā-s - also milked the earth with svadhā-kārā-s, and they took a silver vessel, made yama, the son of vaivasvat, as calf, and kāla, the Time who ends everything, as the milker. svāha-kārā-s are said in vedic rituals while addressing devā-s; svadha-kārā-s while addressing manes; and some more like vaṣaṭ kārā-s, hanta etc formulas are there coming as suffixes in vedic mantras. nāgaiḥ ca śrūyate dugdhā vatsam kṛtvā tu takṣakam | alābu.m pātram ādāya viṣam kṣīram narottama || 1-6-26 teṣām airavato dogdhā dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ pratāpavān | nāgānām bharata śreṣṭha sarpāṇām ca mahīpate || 1-6-27 tena eva vartanti ugrā mahākāyā viṣolbaṇaḥ | tadāhārāstadācārāstadvīryāstadupāśrayāḥ || 1-6-28 - yadvā tat āhārāḥ tat ācārāḥ tat vīryāḥ tat upāśrayāḥ And the nāgā-s have milked the earth making takshaka as calf, and airāvata as milker, and they caught milk like poison in gourd shell [the hollow hard skin of a gourd, dried and used as a drinking vessel, water container etc], whereas the serpents have also milked the earth making dhṛtarāṣṭra as milker… whereby these enormous reptiles spew poison, by which spewing alone they earn a living, they conduct themselves in such a lethal way, and their neck is high by this poison alone. nāgā-s are different from ordinary serpants, where nāgā-s are multihooded; and the serpants, may or may not have, many hoods. asuraiḥ śrūyate cāpi punar dugdhā vasundarā | āyasaṁ pātram ādāya māyām shatru nibarhiṇīm || 1-6-29 virocanaḥ tu prahlādiḥ vatsa teṣām abhūt tadā | ṛtvik dvi-mūrdhā daityānām madhuḥ dogdhā majhābalaḥ || 1-6-30 taiyete māyayā adya api sarve māyāvino asurāḥ | vartayanti amita prajṣāḥ tat eṣām amitam balam || 1-6-31 We also hear that asura-s have also milked māyā from the earth into an iron vessel, while they made virochana, the son of prahlāda, as calf and the two-headed madhu, who is the ṛtvik of asura-s, namely the conductor of vedic rituals for asura-s, as milker. Therefore all the asura-s have become māyāvī-s, enchanters, and even today they flourish with their wizardry, and that is their absolute strength. yakśaiḥ ca śrūyate tāta punar dugdhā vasundharā | āma pātre mahārāja purā antardhānam akshayam || 1-6-32 vatsam vaiśravaṇam kṛtvā yakśaiḥ puṇya janaiḥ tadā | dogdhā rajata-nābhaḥ tu pitā maṇivarasya ca || 1-6-33 yaksha anujo mahātejā tri-śīrṣaḥ sumahātapāḥ | tena ete vartayanti iti parama ṛṣiḥ uvāca ha || 1-6-34 yakśā-s milked the earth into a leafy dish and obtained milk in the form of a special ability to remain invisible. They made the son of vaiśravaṇa, namely kubera, as calf… where they made an youngest one among yakśā-s, who is a three-headed yakśā called rajata-nābha, and who is the father of one yakśā called maṇivara, as milker… rākśasaiḥ ca piśācaiḥ ca punar dugdhā vasundarā | śāvam kapālam ādāya prajā bhoktum nararṣabha || 1-6-35 dogdhā rajata-nābhaḥ tu teṣām asīt kurūdvaha | vatsaḥ sumālī kauravya kśīram rudhiram eva ca || 1-6-36 In order to satisfy their offspring rākśasā-s and piśācā-s again milked earth by taking skull as milking vessel, … they arranged rajatanābha as milker and sumāli as calf, and they wrung milk in the form of blood… tena kṣīreṇa yakśāḥ ca rākśasāḥ ca amara upamāḥ | vartayanti piśācāḥ ca bhūta sanghāḥ ca tathaiva ca || 1-6-37 With that milk-like yield as desired by each, the yakśā-s, rākśasā-s, piśācā-s and other groups of beings thrived in those days on par with celestials… padma-pātraṁ punar dugdhā gandharvaiḥ sa apsaro gaṇaiḥ | vatsam citra-ratham kṛtvā surucīn gandhān nararṣabha || 1-6-38 teṣām suruciḥ tu āsīt dogdhā bharata sattama | gandharvā rājo atibalo mahātmā sūrya sannibhaḥ || 1-6-39 And gandharvā-s along with apsarā-s have milked the earth in a lotus bowl making citraratha as calf, and their milker is the mighty, and great soul who vies with the sun, namely suruci, the king of gandharvās. Thus they milked materials of superb fragrances, surabhi-dravyāṇi, from earth… śailaiḥ ca śrūyate rājan punar dugdhā vasundharā | auṣadhīḥ vai mūrtimatī ratnāni vividhāni ca || 1-6-40 vatsaḥ tu himavān āsīt meruḥ dogdhā mahāgiriḥ | pātraṁ tu śailaṁ eva āsīt tena śailā vivardhitāḥ || 1-6-41 Then the mountains have also milked the earth, thus we hear, making himavān as calf, and the loftiest mountain meru as milker, using a rock-vessel, whereby the obtained herbs, and numerous precious stones, with which the mountains have become prominent for such depositories. This is a celebrated episode also referred by kavi kālidās in kumārasambhavam: yam sarva śailāḥ parikalpya vatsam merau sthite dogdhari doha dakṣe | bhāsvanti ratnāni mahā auṣadhīḥ ca pṛthu upadiṣṭām duduhuḥ dharitrīm || 1-2 ks Whom all the mountains have once made a calf of cow, and milked glittering gemstones and medicinal herbs as well from her, where the cow is the Mother Earth, while Mt. Meru stayed on as an expert milker, as has been indicated earlier by Emperor Prithu, who was an expert milker of many benefits from such an earth-cow, that Himavan is there in the North. [1-2 of kumārasambhavam] These adventures of pṛthu also occur in viṣṇu purāṇa 1-13; vāyu 62; matsya 10; padma 1-27 and bhāgavata purāṇās. virudbhiḥ śrūyate rājan punar dugdhā vasundharā | pālāśam pātraṁ ādāya dagdha ccinna prarohaṇam || 1-6-42 dudoha puṣpitaḥ sālo vatsaḥ plakṣo abhavat tadā | Oh, king, it is also heard that trees too have milked the earth taking a bowl prepared by palāśa leaves, and they got milk-like benefit from the cow-like earth, for their re-growth, even if they are burned or broken. And the flowered sāla trees, tree of resin, or in general all trees, have also milked earth making plakṣa, Indian figtree, as calf… sā iyaṁ dhātrī vidhātrī ca pāvanī ca vasuṁdharā || 1-6-43 cara-acarasya sarvasya pratiṣṭhā yonir eva ca | sarva kāma dughā dogdhrī sarva sasya prarohaṇī || 1-6-44 Such as she is, this earth remained in effect as Mother Earth, angel of mercy, and the consecrated blue dot - dhātrī, vidhātrī, pāvani; and she remained a harbour - āśraya, for all the sessile and mobile, and she alone is the provenance - yoni; because she will always be 'in milk' for every desired object, and all kinds of crops grow up on her… āsīt iyaṁ samudra antā medinī pariśrutā | madhu kaiṭabhayoḥ kṛtsnā medasā abhipariplutā | tena ayaṁ medinī devī ucyate brahma vādibhiḥ ||1-6-45 This earth that spread up to the fringes of oceans was once wringing wet with the fat of two earliest demons, namely madhu and kaiṭabha, as such great sages used to call her 'medinī' one who is wet with medas, fat… Further details are in bāla kāṇḍa of vālmīki rāmāyaṇa about medinī. tataḥ abhyupagamāt rājjṣaḥ pṛthoḥ vaiṇyasya bhārata | duhitṛtvam anuprāptā devī pṛthvīti ca ucyate | Consequently she is called as pṛthvi after emperor pṛthu, the son of vena, as she has become pṛthu's daughter. pṛthunā pravibhaktā ca śodhitā ca vasuṁdharā || 1-6-46 sasya ākaravatī sphītā pura pattana mālinī | evam prabhāvo vaiṇyaḥ sa rājā āsīt rāja sattamaḥ || 1-6-47 And when pṛthu demarcated the earth and made land reclamation, she flourished with heaps of crops, and with cities, towns and villages… this is the efficacy of pṛthu, and hence he is called a king, rājā, true to the definition of that word… namasyaḥ caiva pūjyaḥ ca bhūta grāmaiḥ na saṁśayaḥ | brāhmaṇaiḥ ca mahābhāgaiḥ veda vedāṅga pāragaiḥ || 1-6-48 pṛthur eva namaskāryo brahma yoniḥ sanātanaḥ | pārthivai ca mahābhāgaiḥ pārthivatvam abhīpsubhiḥ || 1-6-49 ādi rājo namaskāryaḥ pṛthur vaiṇyaḥ pratāpavān | 1-6-50 a Hence, pṛthu is undoubtedly the reverential and adorable one to all beings, and even the highminded brāhmaṇā-s well-versed in vedas and their ancillaries, worship pṛthu alone, deeming him as the source of caturmukha-brahma, and as one who is the eternal - say n*r*yaṇa… even the kings, who will be longing for lordship on the earth, adore the son of vena, namely emperor pṛthu, as the first king… yodhaiḥ api ca vikrāntaiḥ prāptu-kāmaiḥ jayaṁ yudhi | pṛthuḥ eva namaskāryo yodhānāṁ prathamo nṛpaḥ ||1-6-50 b – c And the warriors who undertake campaigns desiring victory, they also revere pṛthu as the first one among the warriors kings… yo hi yoddhā raṇaṁ yāti kīrtayitvā pṛthuṁ nṛpam | sa ghora-rūpāt saṁgrāmāt kṣemī bhavati kīrtimān ||1-6-51 And the warrior who enters battlefield on glorifying emperor pṛthu, he returns safely from that deadly battle, and becomes acclaimed… vaiśyaiḥ api ca vitta-āḍhyaiḥ vaishya vṛtti vidhāyibhiḥ | pṛthur eva namaskāryo vṛtti-dātā mahāyaśāḥ ||1-6-52 For the wealthy tradesman too, pṛthu is venerable, because he alone established the system of trade and commerce… tathaiva śūdraiḥ śuchibhiḥ tri varṇa paricāribhiḥ | ādi rājo eva namaskāryaḥ śreyaḥ parama-abhi-īpsubhiḥ ||1-6-53 For the working class, on whom the other three classes, namely brāhmaṇa, kshatriya, vaishya, depend for services, pṛthu is adorable as he is the first king… ete vatsa viśeṣāḥ ca dogdhāraḥ kṣīram eva ca | pātrāṇi ca mayā uktāni kiṁ bhūyo varṇayāmi te ||1-6-54 Oh, boy, vaiśampāyana, I have said all about those calves, vessels, milkers, and the various kinds of milks they obtained… what more I can say about it…. ya idaṁ śṛṇyān nityaṁ pṛthoḥ caritam āditaḥ | putra-pautra-samāyukto modate suciraṁ bhuvi ||1-6-55 Thus, he who listens to this legend of pṛthu from the start to finish, he will rejoice on this earth along with his sons, grandsons iti śrī-mahābhārate khila-bhāge harivaṁśe harivaṁśa-parvaṇi pṛthopākhyāne ṣaṣṭo'dhyāyaḥ || 6 Thus, this is the sixth chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the legend of emperor pṛthu.