Divine Beings
Prithvi
पृथ्वी
The Goddess Earth
Who was Prithvi?
Prithvi (पृथ्वी): The Goddess Earth, one of the divine beings in the Mahabharata. The earth herself, addressed throughout the epic as a goddess who can be angered, milked and worn out.
Quick Facts
| Sanskrit name | पृथ्वी |
|---|---|
| Title / Epithet | The Goddess Earth |
| Faction | Divine Beings |
| Key traits | Enduring, Forgiving, Wrathful, Burdened |
| Notable relationships | Petitioned Him: Brahma, Her Rescuer: Vishnu, Lifted Her Burden: Krishna |
| Featured in | 10 stories |
About Prithvi
The earth herself, addressed throughout the epic as a goddess who can be angered, milked and worn out. When Brahma gave her away as a sacrificial fee she sank into the nether waters in wrath until Kasyapa appeased her; when Prithu called her to yield milk she asked to be regarded as his daughter and let every order of creature milk her in turn. After the Daityas began taking birth in royal houses she went to Brahma unable to bear the weight of them, and the war that emptied Kurukshetra was the answer she was given.
In Their Words
It behoves you to regard me as your daughter, and then I will yield what you ask.
Prithvi
Traits
- Enduring
- Forgiving
- Wrathful
- Burdened
Story Appearances
Stories Featuring Prithvi
8 further tales on this site name Prithvi, in canonical reading order.
- The Tree and the ForestKrishna answers Sanjaya at Upaplavya and decides to go to the Kurus himself
- The Secret of the GodsVyasa tells the blind king why the war was ordained before his eldest son was born
- The Princes the Earth HidWhat was left of the Kshatriyas after the axe
- Three Balls of MudThe Boar invents the rite for the dead, and has no one above him to offer it to
- What Sends a Man to Heaven or HellBhishma on gifts, the Sraddha, and the two lists of deeds
- The Brahmanas Who Deserve WorshipNarada tells Krishna whom he bows to, and Bhishma tells a king what it costs to forget
- Flowers, Incense, and LampsThe goddess Earth tells Krishna what a household owes each day, and Shukra tells Bali which flowers belong to which beings
- The Wind Answers the Thousand-Armed KingKartavirya boasts, and an invisible voice begins to argue
Character Arc
- The Gift She RefusedSinks into the waters rather than be given away
- The MilkingAsks Prithu to call her his daughter, and yields
- The ComplaintTells the Grandsire she can carry no more
Key Relationships
Places in Prithvi's Story
Drawn from the stories Prithvi appears in.
Related Characters
Others counted among the Divine Beings.