Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.253

v2.c4.253

Pṛthivī denotes the ‘earth’ as the ‘broad’ one in the Rigveda¹ and later,² being often personified as a deity³ both alone and with Div, ‘heaven,’ as Dyāvā-Pṛthivī.⁴ Mention is often made of three earths,⁵ of which the world on which we live is the highest.⁶ The earth is girdled by the ocean, according to the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa.⁷ The Nirukta⁸ places one of the three earths in each of the worlds into which the universe is divided (see Div). In the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa⁹ the earth is called the ‘firstborn of being,’ and its riches (vitta) are referred to;¹⁰ hence in a late passage of the Śāṅkhāyana Āraṇyaka¹¹ the earth is styled vasu-matī, ‘full of wealth.’ The word also occurs in the Rigveda,¹² though rarely, in the form of Pṛthvī.¹³