[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879) › c5.1405 # A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.1405 A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.1405 - **Language:** English ### [c5.1405](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1405) PRITHĪ, PRITHU, PRITHĪ-VAINYA. Prithī or Prithī-vainya, i.e., Prithī, son of Vena, is mentioned in the Rig-veda, and he is the declared Rishi or author of one of the hymns. The Atharva-veda says, “She (Vīrāj) ascended: she came to men. Men called her to them, saying, ‘Come, Irāvatī.’ Manu Vaivaswata was her calf, and the earth her vessel. Prithī-vainya milked her; he milked from her agriculture and grain. Men subsist on agriculture and grain.” The Satapatha Brāhmana refers to Prithī as “first of men who was installed as a king.” These early allusions receive a consistent form in the Purānas, and we have the following legend:—Prithī was son of Vena, son of Anga. He was called the first king, and from him the earth received her name Prithivī. The Vishnu Purāna says that the Rishis “inaugurated Vena monarch of the earth,” but he was wicked by nature and prohibited worship and sacrifice. Incensed at the decay of religion, pious sages beat Vena to death with blades of holy grass. In the absence of a king robbery and anarchy arose, and the Munis, after consultation, proceeded to rub the thigh of the dead king in order to produce a son. There came forth “a man like a charred log, with flat face and extremely short.” This man became a Nishāda, and with him came out the sins of the departed king. The Brāhmans then rubbed the right arm of the corpse, “and from it sprang the majestic Prithu, Vena’s son, resplendent in body, glowing like the manifested Agni. . . At his birth all creatures rejoiced, and through the birth of this virtuous son Vena, delivered from the hell called Put, ascended to heaven.” Prithu then became invested with universal dominion. His subjects, who had suffered from famine, besought him for the edible plants which the earth withheld. In anger he seized his bow to compel her to yield the usual supply. She assumed the form of a cow and fled before him. Unable to escape, she implored him to spare her, and promised to restore all the needed fruits if a calf were given to her, through which she might be able to secrete milk. “He therefore, having made Svāyam-bhuva Manu the calf, milked the earth, and received the milk, into his own hand for the benefit of mankind. Thence proceeded all kinds of corn and vegetables upon which people subsist now and perpetually. By granting life to the earth Prithu was as her father, and she thence derived the patronymic appellation Prithivī.” This milking the earth has been made the subject of much allegory and symbolism. The Matsya Purāna specifies a variety of milkers, gods, men, Nāgas, Asuras, &c., in the follow style :—“The Rishis milked the earth through Brihaspati ; their calf was Soma, the Vedas were the vessel, and the milk was devotion.” Other Purānas agree with only slight deviations. “These mystifications,” says Wilson, “are all, probably, subsequent modifications of the original simple allegory which typified the earth as a cow, who yielded to every class of beings the milk they desired, or the object of their wishes.” - [Previous: c5.1404](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1404) - [Next: c5.1406](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1406) - [Up: c5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5) ## Cites (5) - [Matsyapurāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.matsya) — Vyāsa, Sanskrit - [Ṛgvedasaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.rg) — Sanskrit - [Viṣṇupurāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu) — Vyāsa, Sanskrit - [Atharvavedasaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.atharva) — Atharvan & Aṅgiras, Sanskrit - [Śatapathabrāhmaṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.satapatha) — Yājñavalkya & Śāṇḍilya (Vedic teacher), Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1405](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1405) · Pramāṇa