Pṛthu Mahārāja Milks the Earth (Srimad Bhagavatam #57)

The population was a dangerous situation, attacked by the rogues and thieves on the one side, and famine on the other. Pṛthu saved the situation by extracting all edible grains from the Earth.

Apr 19, 2025

By the end of the reign of Vena, all sacrifices and religious performances had been stopped, the population had become irreligious, and all sorts of rogues multiplied. The regional kings who were supposed to maintain law and order in their respective places were also not performing their duties properly. As a result of all this impiety, Bhūmi withheld the production of grains, creating a famine.

The population was thus in a very dangerous situation, attacked by the rogues and thieves on the one side, and famine on the other, all of this came as a result of the demoniac government of Vena. The production of grains had been stopped for so long that even the seeds themselves had deteriorated, making it impossible to resume agriculture.

When Pṛthu came to power, the citizens immediately pleaded with him to somehow solve the situation. Compassionate to the citizens, Pṛthu started chasing Bhūmi, not exactly to punish her, but to make her compassionate to the needs of the citizens. With her surrender and readiness to cooperate with him, Pṛthu Maharaja performed his pastime of milking the Earth, extracting the grains that the citizens could use to restart their agricultural activities. By his example, Pṛthu Maharaja made the citizens again religious, and thus their prosperity was assured. By performing the Varṇāśrama system and the system of karma-yoga, performing their activities for the satisfaction of the Lord, they would gradually advance in spiritual understanding. In this way, Pṛthu performed the role of a perfect king.

Bhūmi had assumed the form of a cow, and thus she proposed that Pṛthu Maharaja obtain the grains he desired by milking her. To milk a cow, three things are needed: a calf, which is tied close to the cow, making her willing to give milk due to affection, a milkman, and a pot where the milk is stored. Pṛthu thus used Svāyambhuva Manu as a calf, since the Earth was very affectionate to him as the first Manu, and acting as the milkman, Pṛthu personally milked the Earth, extracting from her the grains that he withheld in his own hands to give to the suffering citizens.

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Lesson 57: Pṛthu Mahārāja Milks the Earth (chapter 4.18)

Pṛthu was still not satisfied, and thus Bhūmi continued her prayers on chapter 4.18, better explaining her situation and then offering practical solutions. Pṛthu Maharaja was not satisfied when she just offered prayers and arguments in chapter 4.17, because this did not solve the plea of the citizens, but he immediately welcomed the practical solutions offered by Bhūmi in chapter 4.18 and became satisfied with her, just as a guru may chastise a disciple who is misbehaving, but immediately becomes satisfied when he corrects himself.

Bhūmi started by explaining that the reason she was not supplying grains was because the population had become non-devotees during the reign of Vena, and she was thus withholding the production of grains as a result of their impiety. As she mentions:

"My dear King, the seeds, roots, herbs and grains, which were created by Lord Brahmā in the past, are now being used by nondevotees, who are devoid of all spiritual understanding. My dear King, not only are grains and herbs being used by nondevotees, but, as far as I am concerned, I am not being properly maintained. Indeed, I am being neglected by kings who are not punishing these rascals who have turned into thieves by using grains for sense gratification. Consequently I have hidden all these seeds, which were meant for the performance of sacrifice. Due to being stocked for a very long time, all the grain seeds within me have certainly deteriorated. Therefore you should immediately arrange to take these seeds out by the standard process, which is recommended by the ācāryas or śāstras." (SB 4.18.6-8)

This dialogue happened right at the beginning of the reign of Pṛthu Maharaja. By the end of the reign of Vena, all sacrifices and religious performances had been stopped, the population had become irreligious, and all sorts of rogues multiplied. The regional kings who were supposed to maintain law and order in their respective places were also not performing their duties properly. As a result of all this impiety, Bhūmi withheld the production of grains, creating a famine. As explained in the Bhagavad-gita, grains are produced from the rains, and rains are produced by the performance of sacrifice. It is a universal law that when sacrifices to the Lord are stopped, scarcity will follow.

As Prabhupada explains in his purport to text 6:

"Lord Brahmā created this material world for the use of the living entities, but it was created according to a plan that all living entities who might come into it to dominate it for sense gratification would be given directions by Lord Brahmā in the Vedas in order that they might ultimately leave it and return home, back to Godhead. All necessities grown on earth — namely fruits, flowers, trees, grains, animals and animal by-products — were created for use in sacrifice for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. However, the planet earth in the shape of a cow herein submits that all these utilities are being used by nondevotees, who have no plans for spiritual understanding. Although there are immense potencies within the earth for the production of grains, fruits and flowers, this production is checked by the earth itself when it is misused by nondevotees, who have no spiritual goals. Everything belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and everything can be used for His satisfaction. Things should not be used for the sense gratification of the living entities. This is the whole plan of material nature according to the directions of this material nature."

Two significant words on text 8 are yogena and dṛṣṭena (by the approved method, as exemplified by the former ācāryas). One could bring tractors and chemical fertilizers to restart the production of grains, but this would not the in accordance with the processes prescribed by the scriptures or the ācāryas. Such solutions may help in the short term, but in the long run, they cause even more serious problems. Bhūmi emphasized that instead, the king should organize for the performance of agriculture by prescribed methods, leveling the earth to maximize the arable land, organize cow protection so there would be enough bulls to work, as well as sufficient cows to produce milk and fertilizer, organize the division of work according to the Varṇāśrama system, so all activities could be efficiently performed, etc. Pṛthu Maharaja established this system of sustained agriculture in the first manvantara, billions of years ago, and it has continued to be practiced since that a sustainable way. In many parts of the globe, people have continued to practice organic agriculture using bulls and manure for thousands of years, without pollution and degradation of the soil, while in parts where tractors and chemical fertilizers are used, problems start just a few decades later.

Following the footsteps of King Pṛthu, other inhabitants of the universe also came and used different types of pots to obtain all desirable things from the Earth. As Prabhupada mentions in text 4.18.10, the milking of the Earth may be taken figuratively, but the main point is that human beings and other living entities can obtain what they desire from the Earth only through the process of sacrifice, and the appropriate form of sacrifice for our age is the congregational chanting of the holy names. This idea of this particular description being taken as figurative is reinforced in Prabhupada's translation to text 4.18.27, where he translates annādāḥ svannam ātmanaḥ as "Thus they received their various foodstuffs, which were symbolized as milk."

There is another description in the Srimad Bhagavatam that is accepted as an allegory, which is the story of King Purañjana, described later in the 4th canto. In one sense, it is a real story, describing the life of King Prācīnabarhi, but it is described in the form of an allegory. The description of the milking of the Earth seems to be similar, describing a real historical fact (that King Pṛthu and others obtained their desirable objects from the Earth), but in a figurative way.

In any case, the main topic in this description is that we can obtain all necessities from the planet as long as we are pious and religious. This way, this part of the Srimad Bhagavatam teaches us many lessons about sustainable living and the role of pious rulers.

Prabhupada gives us a very instructive purport on text 13:

"The planet earth is also called vasundharā. The word vasu means “wealth,” and dharā means “one who holds.” All creatures within the earth fulfill the necessities required for human beings, and all living entities can be taken out of the earth by the proper means. As suggested by the planet earth, and accepted and initiated by King Pṛthu, whatever is taken from the earth — either from the mines, from the surface of the globe or from the atmosphere — should always be considered the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and should be used for Yajña, Lord Viṣṇu. As soon as the process of yajña is stopped, the earth will withhold all productions — vegetables, trees, plants, fruits, flowers, other agricultural products and minerals. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, the process of yajña was instituted from the beginning of creation. By the regular performance of yajña, the equal distribution of wealth and the restriction of sense gratification, the entire world will be made peaceful and prosperous. As already mentioned, in this Age of Kali the simple performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña — the holding of festivals as initiated by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness — should be introduced in every town and village. Intelligent men should encourage the performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña by their personal behavior. This means that they should follow the process of austerity by restricting themselves from illicit sex life, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication. If the intelligent men, or the brāhmaṇas of society, would follow the rules and regulations, certainly the entire face of this present world, which is in such chaotic condition, would change, and people would be happy and prosperous."

How was it that not only human beings, but many other inhabitants of the universe obtained all kinds of desirable things by this process of milking? If we accept these descriptions figuratively, as suggested by Srila Prabhupada, they indicate the process of obtaining all desirable things by following proper leadership. We can see that Pṛthu Maharaja used Svāyambhuva Manu as a calf, which can be understood in the sense that he followed the principles and example of the first Manu to reestablish agriculture and thus solve the famine. Similarly, the great sages used Bṛhaspati as a calf to obtain spiritual knowledge, which can be interpreted in the sense that they received knowledge from him, and so on.

What were the desirable things the different inhabitants of the universe obtained? The description goes from text 14 to text 25:

14) The great sages transformed Bṛhaspati into a calf, and making the senses into a pot, they milked all kinds of Vedic knowledge to purify words, mind, and hearing.

While Pṛthu Maharaja obtained grains from the Earth to satisfy ordinary people, the great sages used their senses, especially the auditory sense, to obtain knowledge from Bṛhaspati. As Prabhupada mentions, "Bṛhaspati is the priest of the heavenly planets. Vedic knowledge was received in logical order by the great sages through Bṛhaspati for the benefit of human society, not only on this planet, but throughout the universes. In other words, Vedic knowledge is considered one of the necessities for human society. If human society remains satisfied simply by taking grains from the planet earth, as well as other necessities for maintaining the body, society will not be sufficiently prosperous."

15) The demigods made Indra, the King of heaven, into a calf, and from the earth they milked soma, or nectar.

The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad (6.2) mentions that the planets in the higher planetary systems, inhabited by demigods and great sages, are maintained by the sun, manifested from the energy of the Lord. The sun is thus considered its firewood, and the day its flame. In that fire, the demigods offer their devotion (śraddhā), and from this offering, soma appears. In this way, by following the leadership of Indra in the performance of sacrifices, the demigods obtain nectar, which gives them strength and sensual power for enjoying the heavenly delights they appreciate. As Prabhupada mentions, the words hiraṇmayena pātreṇa indicate that this soma is not an ordinary intoxicating liquor, but a superior type of beverage.

16) The demons transformed Prahlāda Mahārāja into a calf, and they extracted various kinds of liquor and beer, which they put into a pot made of iron.

After Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva killed Hiraṇyakaśipu, Prahlāda Maharaja became the king of the asuras. The fact of being guided by a perfect Vaishnava didn't make the asuras pure devotees immediately, but they certainly benefited from his leadership. By the mercy of the Lord, pure Vaishnavas are present even amongst the most degraded beings, as in the case of Lord Shiva and Prahlāda Maharaja. As mentioned by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thākura in his Jaiva Dharma, Vaishnavas are the very reason the universe continues existing, since the very purpose of the universe is to give the fallen souls an opportunity to revive their original spiritual consciousness.

By the mercy of Prahlāda Maharaja, the demons were able to enjoy their lives as demons, enjoying the inferior material pleasures they are attached to, but at the same time have some opportunity of evolving in spiritual realization. As Prabhupada mentions: "Because Prahlāda Mahārāja was born in a family of demons, as the son of Hiraṇyakaśipu, by his mercy the demons were and still are able to have their drinks in the form of wine and beer."

An attentive reader could point out that the pastime of Pṛthu Maharaja milking the Earth happened in the first manvantara, while Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu appeared much later, in the 6th manvantara. However, this can be harmonized if we consider that the fact that it is mentioned here doesn't mean it happened immediately.

17) Gandharvas and Apsarās made Viśvāvasu into a calf, and they drew the milk into a lotus-flower pot. The milk took the shape of sweet musical art and beauty.

Just as Bṛhaspati is the leader amongst the great sages, Viśvāvasu is the leader amongst the Gandharvas and Apsarās, who learn from him the celestial arts. In SB 11.16.33, Krsna mentions: "Among the Gandharvas I am Viśvāvasu, and I am Pūrvacitti among the heavenly Apsarās. I am the steadiness of mountains and the fragrant aroma of the earth."

Just as the nectar of the demigods and the liquor and beer of the demons, these celestial arts are a form of sense gratification, but they are also of a superior quality, and therefore it is mentioned as pātre padmamaye, stored in a lotus-flower pot.

18) The inhabitants of Pitṛloka made Aryamā into a calf and milked kavya, food offered to the ancestors, into an unbaked earthen pot.

In the Bhagavad-gita (10.29), Krsna mentions that "Of departed ancestors I am Aryamā, and among the dispensers of law I am Yama, the lord of death." Aryamā is empowered by the Lord to guide the inhabitants of Pitṛloka, and thanks to him, they obtain the offerings of food from their descendants on Earth. As Prabhupada mentions: "In Vedic civilization there is a performance called śrāddha by which food is offered with faith and devotion. If one offers oblations with faith and devotion — either to the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu or to His representative in Pitṛloka, Aryamā — one’s forefathers will attain material bodies to enjoy whatever material enjoyment is due them. In other words, they do not have to become ghosts."

This piṇḍa, or kavya, is described as being stored in an unbaked earthen pot. The quality of this type of pot is that it is fragile and perishable, usually used a single time. This appears to describe the temporality of life in Pitṛloka.

19) The inhabitants of Siddhaloka and Vidyādhara-loka, transformed Lord Kapila into a calf, and making the whole sky into a pot, they milked out yogic mystic powers, beginning with aṇimā.

Bṛhaspati, Indra, Viśvāvasu, and Aryamā are great personalities empowered by the Lord to guide inhabitants of the celestial planets. Prahlāda Mahārāja is a pure devotee of the Lord, who receives the mission of guiding the asuras, while Lord Kapila is the Lord Himself. Just as the inhabitants of the Earth obtained the food grains they needed to live and be prosperous by following the guide of Pṛthu Maharaja, other inhabitants of the universe obtained the material opulences they desired by following these guides. The message is that we can obtain what we desire by following the proper representatives of the Lord, and not mundane leaders who have no idea of religious life.

20) The inhabitants of planets known as Kimpuruṣa-loka, made the demon Maya into a calf, and they milked out mystic powers by which one can disappear immediately from another’s vision and appear again in a different form.

The Kimpuruṣas are beings who have forms half-man and half-animal. They live in Kimpuruṣa-varṣa, one of the tracts of land that compose Jambūdvīpa, and are inferior to the demigods, although also powerful due to their mastery of mystic powers. This verse indicates they obtain these powers from Maya Dānava, who creates all types of desirable things for the demons. The Mahabharata describes that he cooperated with the Pandavas, building the assembly hall of Maharaja Yudhiṣṭhira.

In the Bhagavad-gita (10.41), Krsna mentions that "Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor." Therefore, the creations of Maya Dānava and the mystic powers taught by him also come originally from Krsna, who mercifully allows the demons and other inhabitants of the universe to obtain what they desire.

21) The Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, ghosts, and witches transformed Lord Śiva’s incarnation Rudra [Bhūtanātha] into a calf and milked out beverages made of blood and put them in a pot made of skulls.

As Bhūtanātha, Lord Shiva gives shelter to all kinds of degraded creatures who have the most outrageous habits and eat the most revolting things. Daksa offended Lord Shiva because he associates with this category of beings, but the fact is that only Lord Shiva is pure enough to give shelter to such beings without becoming contaminated by their association. Just as the demons have a chance of advancing in spiritual understanding by following the guidance of Prahlāda Maharaja and his grandson, Bali Maharaja, ghosts and others have a chance of deliverance by following Lord Shiva.

22) Cobras, snakes, scorpions, and other poisonous animals took poison out of the planet earth as their milk and kept this poison in snake holes. They made a calf out of Takṣaka.

In his purport, Srila Prabhupada explains that "Within this material world there are various types of living entities, and the different types of reptiles and scorpions mentioned in this verse are also provided with their sustenance by the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The point is that everyone is taking his eatables from the planet earth. According to one’s association with the material qualities, one develops a certain type of character. Payaḥ-pānaṁ bhujaṅgānām: if one feeds a serpent milk, the snake will simply increase his venom. However, if one supplies milk to a talented sage or saint, the sage will develop finer brain tissues by which he can contemplate higher, spiritual life. Thus the Lord is supplying everyone food, but according to the living entity’s association with the modes of material nature, the living entity develops his specific character."

23-24) Cows and other four-legged animals used Nandi (the bull of Lord Śiva) as a calf, to obtain green grasses. Ferocious animals used the lion as a calf to obtain flesh. The birds made a calf out of Garuḍa to obtain the insects and plants they eat.

25) The trees used the banyan tree as a calf to obtain the sugary sap that maintains them, and the mountains used the Himālayas as a calf to obtain different minerals. In this way, all classes of beings obtained their respective sources of sustenance by the grace of the Lord, under the rule of His representative, Pṛthu Maharaja.

Following the instructions of Bhūmi, he also made the entire surface of the planet level, so it could be easily used for agriculture. Normally, the removal of mountains is a gradual geological process caused by thunderbolts and other forces, but Pṛthu Maharaja, as an empowered incarnation, was able to do it by himself using his bow and arrows to break the mountains.

In the cosmological model of the universe giving in the Srimad Bhagavatam, the different tracts of land in Jambūdvīpa are divided by great chains of mountains, but each individual tract of land is leveled. According to this description, this was done during the reign of Pṛthu Maharaja. If we accept our planet as a gross representation or a projection of Bhu-mandala in our gross plane, this description also holds, because the planet is composed by different tracts of relatively flat land separated by great chains of mountains, like the Himalayas, the Urals, the Alps, etc.

After leveling the surface of the Earth, King Pṛthu marked different places for settlements and in this way he founded many villages and towns and mines, built forts for protection, etc. As mentioned in text 32: "Before the reign of King Pṛthu there was no planned arrangement for different cities, villages, pasturing grounds, etc. Everything was scattered, and everyone constructed his residential quarters according to his own convenience. However, from the time of King Pṛthu, plans were made for towns and villages."

Pṛthu performs one hundred horse sacrifices (chapter 4.19)

In chapter 4.18, we studied how all inhabitants of the universe obtained all desirable things by following the virtuous example of King Pṛthu. Even demoniac beings were able to obtain their alcoholic drinks by the grace of the Lord; what to say about pious persons and devotees.

Now, in chapter 4.19, we have a less noble example, the description of how all sorts of deceptive religious orders were introduced by the mischief of Indra, who became envious of Maharaja Pṛthu and tried by all means to stop his performance of 100 aśvamedha yajñas.

"The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, King Pṛthu initiated the performance of one hundred horse sacrifices at the spot where the river Sarasvatī flows towards the east. This piece of land is known as Brahmāvarta, and it was controlled by Svāyambhuva Manu.
When the most powerful Indra, the King of heaven, saw this, he considered the fact that King Pṛthu was going to exceed him in fruitive activities. Thus Indra could not tolerate the great sacrificial ceremonies performed by King Pṛthu." (SB 4.19.1-2)

Indra is also considered an empowered incarnation of the Lord, a qualified soul who receives the power to control the rain and rule the heavenly realm. The difference between Indra and Pṛthu is that Pṛthu Maharaja was in fully agreement with the desires of the Lord, acting as His instrument, while Indra misused his independence as an individual soul to disturb the performance of sacrifices by the king, just as when he used his powers to attack Vṛndāvana because the cowherds had stopped his sacrifice to worship Govardhana.

In the Bhagavad-gita (10.40), Krsna explains that, "O mighty conqueror of enemies, there is no end to My divine manifestations. What I have spoken to you is but a mere indication of My infinite opulences." When a living entity is empowered with extraordinary power, it is called śaktyāveśa, and when the empowerment is smaller, it is called vibhūti. In the Gītā, Krsna explains how even powerful animals such as the lion and the shark are his representatives. They are examples of vibhūtis. Since all intelligence, power, opulence, etc., come from Krsna, we are ultimately all empowered by Him. However, just as Indra, we have our free will as individual souls, and consequently, the choice of dovetailing our actions with the desires of the Lord, or misusing our small dependence and acting sinfully.

How is that a great personality such as Indra can become envious? This comes from his devotional service being mixed with a self-centered spirit of enjoyment. Most of the time, the propensity to serve the Lord wins, and Indra remains as a faithful servant of the Lord, but sometimes the self-centered attitude wins, and he becomes envious of the Lord or His pure devotees.

As Prabhupada explains in his purport to text two: "In the material world everyone who comes to enjoy himself or lord it over material nature is envious of others. This envy is also found in the personality of the King of heaven, Indra. As evident from revealed scriptures, Indra was several times envious of many persons. He was especially envious of great fruitive activities and the execution of yoga practices, or siddhis. Indeed, he could not tolerate them, and he desired to break them up. He was envious due to fear that those who performed great sacrifices for the execution of mystic yoga might occupy his seat. Since no one in this material world can tolerate another’s advancement, everyone in the material world is called matsara, envious."

Reading the pages of the Srimad Bhagavatam, we may have the impression that Indra constantly commits mistakes, but this is not exactly true. The post of Indra is occupied by a different person in each Manvantara. The Indra who offended his spiritual master and fought Vṛtrāsura, for example, is Mantradruma, the 6th Indra, while the Indra who attacked Vṛndāvana is Purandara, the 7th. Considering each Indra rules for 306.72 million years, these mistakes are not so frequent as it may seem at first, but this doesn't make them any less instructive.

The fact that Indra occupies such an elevated post is actually an impediment to his devotional service, because it is the source of the enjoying spirit that makes him sometimes envious of others. The central principle of Vaishnava philosophy is to try to become small instead of bigger. Srila Prabhupada explains that humility means to act boldly for Krsna, and in this spirit, a Vaishnava may perform any kind of wonderful activity and occupy any elevated post, just like in the case of King Pṛthu. In this case, the goal of all actions is the glorification of the Lord, and thus, if another devotee can do something even greater, a Vaishnava will glorify him. However, when we see ourselves as the enjoyers of a certain position, we become fearful of losing it and therefore envious of others who may become prominent and challenge our rule, as in the case of Indra. This self-centered attitude blocks our progress in devotional service.

As Prabhupada explains: "In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is therefore said that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is meant for those who are completely nirmatsara (nonenvious). In other words, one who is not free from the contamination of envy cannot advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, if someone excels another person, the devotee who is excelled thinks how fortunate the other person is to be advancing in devotional service. Such nonenvy is typical of Vaikuṇṭha. However, when one is envious of his competitor, that is material. The demigods posted in the material world are not exempt from envy."

What did Pṛthu Maharaja do after solving the famine and improving the conditions in his kingdom? He did what most pious kings do: started the performance of sacrifices, attempting to perform 100 aśvamedha yajñas in a sacred place called Brahmāvarta at the banks of the river Sarasvatī, which flows in the northern part of Bhārata-varṣa. It's described that Lord Vishnu was personally present at the sacrifices made by Pṛthu Maharaja, followed by all the demigods and other important beings of the universe. The performance of the yajñas made his kingdom even more prosperous, a situation Prabhupada mentions we can also attain by the regular performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña, the only form of sacrifice prescribed for our age.

Verses seven to nine describe how the land became fertile thanks to this performance of sacrifices, with the rivers making the land fertile and able to produce all kinds of crops, large trees supplying fruits and honey, cows having sufficient grass to eat and supplying profuse milk which was in turn used to produce all kinds of milk products, valuable minerals being supplied by the mountains, etc.

"The flowing rivers supplied all kinds of tastes — sweet, pungent, sour, etc. — and very big trees supplied fruit and honey in abundance. The cows, having eaten sufficient green grass, supplied profuse quantities of milk, curd, clarified butter and similar other necessities." (SB 4.19.8)

Prabhupada explains that "The flowing rivers supplied all kinds of tastes" means they fertilized the land, which produced different types of crops. The rivers were thus the indirect causes:

"If rivers are not polluted and are allowed to flow in their own way, or sometimes allowed to flood the land, the land will become very fertile and able to produce all kinds of vegetables, trees and plants. The word rasa means “taste.” Actually all rasas are tastes within the earth, and as soon as seeds are sown in the ground, various trees sprout up to satisfy our different tastes. For instance, sugarcane provides its juices to satisfy our taste for sweetness, and oranges provide their juices to satisfy our taste for a mixture of the sour and the sweet. Similarly, there are pineapples and other fruits. At the same time, there are chilies to satisfy our taste for pungency. Although the earth’s ground is the same, different tastes arise due to different kinds of seeds."

The performance of sacrifices not only made the kingdom extraordinarily opulent but also made Pṛthu Maharaja personally powerful. It’s mentioned that "Because King Pṛthu performed so many sacrifices, he was super-humanly enhanced by the mercy of the Supreme Lord."

The aśvamedha yajña is a grand Vedic ritual performed by emperors to assert their supreme authority and attract divine blessings by worshiping the Lord. A horse is let to roam free throughout all the lands ruled by him, followed by the emperor’s warriors, and all other kings have the choice of either accepting his authority or restraining the horse and challenging him to a fight. After all the kings had submitted or been defeated, the sacrifice in itself would be performed, with the horse being sacrificed and then revived by the chanting of mantras. The entire sacrifice was dependent on the horse, therefore, if the horse was somehow lost or captured, the sacrifice couldn't continue until it was recovered.

Maharaja Yudhiṣṭhira performed an aśvamedha yajña after the battle of Kurukṣetra, but Pṛthu Maharaja was performing them one after another, totaling 99. This attracted the envy of Indra. He had ascended to his position as the king of heaven after performing 100 horse sacrifices, and now, seeing Pṛthu Maharaja performing one sacrifice after the other, he felt that his position was threatened by him. He feared that if Pṛthu Maharaja was also able to complete 100 horse sacrifices, he could take away his position, even though that was not his goal. As Prabhupada mentions: "When King Pṛthu was performing one hundred yajñas, Indra became very envious because he did not want anyone to excel him. Being an ordinary living entity, he became envious of King Pṛthu, and, making himself invisible, he stole the horse and thus impeded the yajña performance."

What did he do? Apparently, King Pṛthu was too powerful to be challenged even by the king of the heavens, therefore, Indra opted to stop his 100th sacrifice by stealing the horse:

"When Pṛthu Mahārāja was performing the last horse sacrifice [aśvamedha-yajña], King Indra, invisible to everyone, stole the horse intended for sacrifice. He did this because of his great envy of King Pṛthu. When King Indra was taking away the horse, he dressed himself to appear as a liberated person. Actually this dress was a form of cheating, for it falsely created an impression of religion. When Indra went into outer space in this way, the great sage Atri saw him and understood the whole situation." (SB 4.18.11-12)

The verse mentions that he both became invisible (tirohitaḥ) and dressed himself in saffron robes to look like a liberated person (āmuktam iva). This may appear contradictory at first, but it is not. He became invisible to common people, but he could still be seen by elevated personalities like Atri Muni and Vijitāśva, the son of King Pṛthu, therefore, he also dressed like a sannyāsī to cheat them.

This partially worked. When Vijitāśva was alerted of the theft by Atri Muni, he first chased Indra, but when he saw him dressed as a saintly person, he thought he was a religious man, and thus didn't attack him. However, when he returned without the horse, Atri Muni explained Indra’s cheating and instructed the son of Pṛthu to kill him. Chased, Indra gave up his false dress and left the horse, who was thus returned to the sacrificial arena.

Indra then used his powers to create darkness around the arena, obstructing everyone's vision. He thus captured the horse again. The same trick was repeated, with Indra adapting another style of sannyāsī dress. Again, Vijitāśva was instructed by Atri Muni, and again the horse was recovered, just for Indra to dress as a different type of sannyāsa and try again, repeatedly.

"In this way King Indra, in order to steal the horse from King Pṛthu’s sacrifice, adopted several orders of sannyāsa. Some sannyāsīs go naked, and sometimes they wear red garments and pass under the name of kāpālika. These are simply symbolic representations of their sinful activities. These so-called sannyāsīs are very much appreciated by sinful men because they are all godless atheists and very expert in putting forward arguments and reasons to support their case. We must know, however, that they are only passing as adherents of religion and are not so in fact. Unfortunately, bewildered persons accept them as religious, and being attracted to them, they spoil their life." (SB 4.19.24-25)

In this way, Indra introduced many irregular forms of sannyāsa, which were later adopted by different types of atheistic groups. These irregular forms of sannyāsa later would create havoc, being used by unscrupulous persons to cheat the innocent public. This pastime explains that Indra was the one who introduced all of this.

Pṛthu Maharaja was tolerant about the stealing of the horse, but he was alarmed by the introduction of all these irregular sannyāsa orders, and thus he took his bow and prepared to kill Indra. He was, however, prevented from doing so by the priests and saintly persons present. They argued that the sastras prohibit the killing of anyone during a sacrifice to the Lord. As Prabhupada mentions: "No one should ever be killed in a sacrifice meant for the satisfaction of Lord Viṣṇu. How then could Indra be killed when he is actually worshiped in the yajña and accepted as part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead?"

Instead of having Pṛthu Maharaja kill Indra with weapons, the sages proposed that they would kill Indra themselves by casting him into the sacrificial fire by the chanting of secret Vedic mantras. Normally, Indra would be protected from such an attempt by his vast pious merits, but the sages reasoned that in stealing the horse by such deceptive tactics, he had already been diminished in his powers.

"When the priests and all the others saw Mahārāja Pṛthu very angry and prepared to kill Indra, they requested him: O great soul, do not kill him, for only sacrificial animals can be killed in a sacrifice. Such are the directions given by śāstra.Dear King, Indra’s powers are already reduced due to his attempt to impede the execution of your sacrifice. We shall call him by Vedic mantras which were never before used, and certainly he will come. Thus by the power of our mantra, we shall cast him into the fire because he is your enemy." (SB 4.19.27-28)

Indra was thus in a very precarious position, threatened by the powerful Pṛthu Maharaja on one side and the enraged Brāhmaṇas on the other. He was, however, saved by Lord Brahma, who appeared at the scene to offer a diplomatic solution.

"Lord Brahmā addressed them thus: My dear sacrificial performers, you cannot kill Indra, the King of heaven. It is not your duty. You should know that Indra is as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Indeed, he is one of the most powerful assistants of the Personality of Godhead. You are trying to satisfy all the demigods by the performance of this yajña, but you should know that all these demigods are but parts and parcels of Indra, the King of heaven. How, then, can you kill him in this great sacrifice? In order to make trouble and impede the performance of King Pṛthu’s great sacrifice, King Indra has adopted some means that in the future will destroy the clear path of religious life. I draw your attention to this fact. If you oppose him any further, he will further misuse his power and introduce many other irreligious systems.
“Let there be only ninety-nine sacrificial performances for Mahārāja Pṛthu,” Lord Brahmā concluded. Lord Brahmā then turned towards Mahārāja Pṛthu and informed him that since he was thoroughly aware of the path of liberation, what was the use in performing more sacrifices?" (SB 4.19.30-32)

Brahma argued that Indra is a representative of the Lord, and he is in charge of all the demigods. The purpose of the yajña the king was trying to perform was to please the Lord and all his servants, the demigods. How could the priests expect to achieve that by killing a person who was simultaneously the assistant of the Lord and the leader of the demigods?

If Indra were killed, the sacrifice would be meaningless, and if they continued opposing his actions without killing him, he would continue introducing more and more irreligious orders. Brahma thus proposed that Pṛthu Maharaja would be content with just 99 sacrifices, since in any case, he had already attained the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices, being already an unalloyed devotee of the Lord.

Prabhupada explains the point about stopping the sacrifice in his purport to text 36: "For his own sense gratification, King Indra thought to defeat Mahārāja Pṛthu in the performance of one hundred horse sacrifices. Consequently he stole the horse and hid himself amid so many irreligious personalities, taking on the false guise of a sannyāsī. Such activities are attractive to the people in general; therefore they are dangerous. Lord Brahmā thought that instead of allowing Indra to further introduce such irreligious systems, it would be better to stop the sacrifice."

Sacrifices should be executed when the result will be positive, guiding society on the right path. If the result will be further degradation, why should one bother trying to perform sacrifices? Better to do something else. On the same point, Prabhupada mentions another example when sacrifices were stopped, with the advent of Lord Buddha: "A similar stance was taken by Lord Buddha when people were overly engrossed in the animal sacrifices recommended by Vedic instructions. Lord Buddha had to introduce the religion of nonviolence by contradicting the Vedic sacrificial instructions. Actually, in the sacrifices the slaughtered animals were given a new life, but people without such powers were taking advantage of such Vedic rituals and unnecessarily killing poor animals. Therefore Lord Buddha had to deny the authority of the Vedas for the time being. One should not perform sacrifices that will induce reversed orders. It is better to stop such sacrifices."

Brahma also remembered Pṛthu that his original purpose as an empowered incarnation was to establish good government and set things in the right order. By insisting on performing more sacrifices, he would obtain just the opposite, making Indra introduce even more irreligious systems.

"O King Pṛthu, son of Vena, you are the part-and-parcel expansion of Lord Viṣṇu. Due to the mischievous activities of King Vena, religious principles were almost lost. At that opportune moment you descended as the incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu. Indeed, for the protection of religious principles you have appeared from the body of King Vena." (SB 4.19.37)

Having achieved a compromise, Brahma then proceeded to make peace between Pṛthu and Indra, arguing that both of them are not only individual souls, parts and parcels of the Lord, but that both are also empowered incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore, there should be no disagreement between them:

"Lord Brahmā continued: Let there be good fortune to both of you, for you and King Indra are both part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore you should not be angry with King Indra, who is nondifferent from you." (SB 4.19.33)

This is a very important instruction for all devotees of the Lord. Because of differences in tastes, personal preferences, and different ideas on how to best satisfy the Lord, there may be many disagreements with other devotees, but it is always important to remember that we must somehow find ways to cooperate in the service of the Lord. Despite any disagreement, our goal is the same, and thus, some kind of compromise must be reached.

Another point made by Lord Brahma is that the very nature of the material world is that we always meet with reversals in life, and they should be tolerated as sent by providence. The more we become agitated, the more we fall into material ignorance. Instead of becoming agitated and employing all our energy to rectify such reversals, the best course of action is to tolerate and adjust, keeping focus on what is really important.

In this way, after making peace with Indra, Pṛthu Maharaja took his ceremonial bath, marking the end of his sacrificial performances, remunerated the Brāhmaṇa priests and received their heartfelt blessings in return.

One detail in this narration that is difficult to reconcile is that the Indra for the first Manvantara is Yajña, who is a direct incarnation of the Lord. The description of the qualities of Lord Yajña makes it implausible that He would become envious of King Pṛthu and stop his sacrifice. Yajña also doesn't attain his position after executing 100 horse sacrifices like other Indras, who are empowered souls. A possible explanation is given in the Matsya Purana (8.11), which mentions:

caturbhiḥ pṛthumabhyeo, nṛpo'bhiṣiktaḥ prathayaṁ pṛthivyāṁ
gate'ntare cākṣuṣanāmadheye, vaivasvatāgneyaca punaḥ prabhūtaḥ
prajāpatiḥ sauro'ya carāsarasya, babhūva sūryātyavayaṁścihnaḥ
"The various kings named above assembled together and joined the festivities of the crowning of King Pṛthu. He was recognized as the sovereign of the world. The rule of King Pṛthu continued till the end of the Cākṣuṣa Manvantara, when he was succeeded by Vaivasvata Manu of the solar dynasty."

This reference suggests that it was not Yajña who tried to frustrate King Pṛthu's horse sacrifice, but one of the other Indras of the sequence who were ordinary jīvas.

Pṛthu Mahārāja Milks the Earth (Srimad Bhagavatam #57)

The population was a dangerous situation, attacked by the rogues and thieves on the one side, and famine on the other. Pṛthu saved the situation by extracting all edible grains from the Earth.

💬 Text of the lesson

Lesson 57: Pṛthu Mahārāja Milks the Earth (chapter 4.18)

Pṛthu performs one hundred horse sacrifices (chapter 4.19)

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