The appearance of Pṛthu Maharaja (Srimad Bhagavatam #56)

By killing Vena, the Brāhmaṇas stopped his policy of suppressing sacrifices and the worship of the Supreme Lord. However, this led to another problem: the rise of thieves and criminals.

By killing Vena, the Brāhmaṇas stopped his policy of suppressing sacrifices and the worship of the Supreme Lord. However, this led to another problem, which was the rise of thieves and criminals who started plundering the citizens unopposed. It is described that the running of all these thieves formed dust storms around the kingdom, suggesting they had organized themselves in large hordes and were systematically plundering and killing. The save the citizens, the Lord appeared as Pṛthu Maharaja.

It was improper for the Brāhmaṇas to get involved in political affairs and start fighting these gangs, even if with curses, but at the same time, they couldn't just ignore the plea of the citizens.

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Lesson 56: The appearance of Pṛthu Maharaja (chapter 4.15 and 4.16)

By killing Vena, the Brāhmaṇas stopped his policy of suppressing sacrifices and the worship of the Supreme Lord. However, this led to another problem, which was the rise of thieves and criminals who started plundering the citizens unopposed. It is described that the running of all these thieves formed dust storms around the kingdom, suggesting they had organized themselves in large hordes and were systematically plundering and killing. The save the citizens, the Lord appeared as Pṛthu Maharaja.

It was improper for the Brāhmaṇas to get involved in political affairs and start fighting these gangs, even if with curses, but at the same time, they couldn't just ignore the plea of the citizens:

"The great sages began to think that although a brāhmaṇa is peaceful and impartial because he is equal to everyone, it is still not his duty to neglect poor humans. By such neglect, a brāhmaṇa’s spiritual power diminishes, just as water kept in a cracked pot leaks out." (SB 4.14.41)

This verse reveals a very important principle: having the power to protect implies a duty to do so. An armed policeman who fails to protect an innocent person from being attacked is liable to be punished for negligence. In the highest sense, protection means to distribute transcendental knowledge and engage people in Krsna consciousness. Every Vaishnava is also a Brāhmaṇa in qualification, and the duty of such Brāhmaṇas is to share their spiritual knowledge and try to bring people to Krsna consciousness. As Prabhupada mentions, "If they do not do something to relieve the distressed condition of human society, it is said that due to such neglect their spiritual knowledge diminishes."

Often, Vaishnavas and other transcendentalists prefer to live in isolation, cultivating their own spiritual practice without caring for the suffering conditioned souls, but Prahlāda Mahārāja said that he did not want liberation alone. He wanted to deliver all fallen souls.

The sages thus decided to act on the situation. They decided that the lineage of Dhruva Maharaja should not be stopped, because children there were prone to be great devotees of the Lord. Because of Sunīthā, the lineage was spoiled, and Vena was born, which was a catastrophe. Now, a solution had to be found.

How to revive a lineage where the last descendant had just been killed? With current medical technology, it would be impossible, but the Brāhmaṇas knew a way: all bodies are produced from material elements, and thus by manipulating the material elements in a dead body, it is possible to produce a new body. This is a very specific, subtle art that is lost nowadays, but that was known to these powerful Brāhmaṇas present at the time.

Since the body of Vena was preserved by Sunīthā, the Brāhmaṇas decided to use it to produce the body of a saintly king who could continue the seminal lineage of Dhruva Maharaja.

First of all, the body of Vena had to be purified of all contamination. Therefore, they first used the specific technique to produce a dwarf called Bāhuka, who embodied all the contamination of Vena and became the patriarch of the Naiṣāda race, hunters who live in the forests and hills.

After purifying the body of Vena in this way, the Brāhmaṇas churned it again to produce a true descendant of Dhruva Maharaja:

"The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, thus the brāhmaṇas and the great sages again churned the two arms of King Vena’s dead body. As a result, a male and female couple came out of his arms. The great sages were highly learned in Vedic knowledge. When they saw the male and female born of the arms of Vena’s body, they were very pleased, for they could understand that the couple was an expansion of a plenary portion of Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The great sages said: The male is a plenary expansion of the power of Lord Viṣṇu, who maintains the entire universe, and the female is a plenary expansion of the goddess of fortune, who is never separated from the Lord. Of the two, the male will be able to expand his reputation throughout the world. His name will be Pṛthu. Indeed, he will be the first among kings.
The female has such beautiful teeth and beautiful qualities that she will actually beautify the ornaments she wears. Her name will be Arci. In the future, she will accept King Pṛthu as her husband. In the form of King Pṛthu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has appeared through a part of His potency to protect the people of the world. The goddess of fortune is the constant companion of the Lord, and therefore she has incarnated partially as Arci to become King Pṛthu’s queen." (SB 4.15.1-6)

When Krsna personally expands Himself, appearing in many forms with the same physical features (like He did during the rasa dance and to marry the 16,108 queens in Dvārakā), these expansions are called prakāśa. When He expands in forms that are different in appearance (like Lord Balarāma or the different forms of Vishnu), these forms as called vilāsa.

When the Lord partially manifests His qualities and opulences, like in the forms of Mahā-Vishnu, Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu, and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Vishnu, as well as Matsya and other avatāras, these forms are called partial incarnations. The Lord also manifests in forms that take charge of the three material modes as Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva, these are called qualitative incarnations. Finally, the Lord can empower a jīva to perform wonderful activities, such as in the case of Vyāsadeva, Paraśurāma, Nārada Muni, and the four Kumāras. These empowered incarnations are called śaktyāveśa, or empowered incarnations. The śaktyāveśa incarnations are also called āveśa or kalā (part of a plenary expansion, part of a potency or partial incarnation of a plenary expansion). They manifest just a fragment of the Lord's opulences, but because the Lord is unlimited, even a fragment of His potency makes them unlimitedly powerful, just as in the case of Paraśurāma annihilating all Kṣatriyas 21 times. In practice, the difference between different types of incarnations is more technical, since they are all manifestations of the same absolute Lord. Technically speaking, there is a difference between a leg, a hand, and a finger, but in the case of the Lord, any part is a good as any other, and this is appreciated by pure devotees.

This point is further explained by Srila Prabhupada in chapter eight of Teachings of Lord Caitanya and in his purport to SB 4.15.6:

"The Lord then pointed out that there is no limit to the saktyavesa-avataras and that they cannot be counted. However, some can be mentioned as examples. The saktyavesa incarnations are of two kinds--direct and indirect. When the Lord Himself comes, He is called saksat, or a direct saktyavesa-avatara, and when He empowers some living entity to represent Him, that living entity is called an indirect or avesa incarnation. Examples of indirect avataras are the four Kumaras, Narada, Prthu and Parasurama. These are actually living entities, but there is specific power given to them by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When a specific opulence of the Supreme Lord is invested in specific entities, they are called avesa-avataras. The four Kumaras specifically represent the Supreme Lord's opulence of knowledge. Narada represents the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. Devotional service is also represented by Lord Caitanya, who is considered to be the full representation of devotional service. In Brahma the opulence of creative power is invested, and in King Prthu the power for maintaining the living entities is invested. Similarly, in Parasurama the power for killing evil elements is invested. As far as vibhati, or the special favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is concerned, it is described in the Tenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita that a living entity who appears to be especially powerful or beautiful should be known to be especially favored by the Supreme Lord. Examples of direct or saksad-avataras are the Sesa incarnation and the Ananta incarnation. In Ananta the power for sustaining all planets is invested, and in the Sesa incarnation the power for serving the Supreme Lord is invested." (ToLC ch. 8)

"In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that whenever one sees an extraordinary power, he should conclude that a specific partial representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present. There are innumerable such personalities, but not all of them are direct viṣṇu-tattva plenary expansions of the Lord. Many living entities are classified among the śakti-tattvas. Such incarnations, empowered for specific purposes, are known as śaktyāveśa-avatāras. King Pṛthu was such a śaktyāveśa-avatāra of the Lord. Similarly, Arci, King Pṛthu’s wife, was a śaktyāveśa-avatāra of the goddess of fortune." (SB 4.15.6 purport)

King Pṛthu is an empowered incarnation of the ruling power of the Lord invested with the potency for maintaining all living entities, who appeared to restore proper ruling after all the disturbances of the reign of Vena. As the Lord empowered Pṛthu to rule with full power and authority, Laksmi Devi empowered Arci with all good qualities to be his queen.

As Prabhupada describes in his purport to 4.15.2: "The method adopted by the great sages and scholars, who were learned in Vedic knowledge, was perfect. They removed all the reactions of King Vena’s sinful activities by seeing that King Vena first gave birth to Bāhuka, described in the previous chapter. After King Vena’s body was thus purified, a male and female came out of it, and the great sages could understand that this was an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu. This expansion, of course, was not viṣṇu-tattva but a specifically empowered expansion of Lord Viṣṇu known as āveśa."

Some commentators describe King Pṛthu as appearing in the Cākṣuṣa Manvantara (the 6th in the sequence), but this is not in line with the description of the Srimad Bhāgavatam, which describes Pṛthu as appearing in the first Manvantara, as a descendant of Dhruva Maharaja and an ancestor of the Pracetas. It's described that later Pṛthu Maharaja milked the Earth using Svāyambhuva Manu as a calf, which makes it clear that he was still present.

Pṛthu was born not as a child, but as an already a grown-up. He was thus quickly installed on the throne to solve the chaos created during the rule of Vena. During his enthronement, all the demigods were present, including Brahmā and Shiva. Lord Brahmā recognized Pṛthu as an empowered incarnation by noting the presence of the lines of Lord Vishnu's palm on his right hand and impressions of lotus flowers on the soles of his feet.

All the principal demigods, the predominant deities of the planets, rivers, seas, hills, mountains, etc., as well as representatives of the different races that inhabit the universe, offered gifts to the king. The Lord Himself was present in the enthronement as Lord Hari (or Upendra) and presented the king with a partial form of His sudarśana chakra. It's described that later (in the 6th Manvantara), Lord Hari appeared from Diti and Kaśyapa Muni, but this is not contradictory, since all the forms of the Lord are eternal. Lord Hari also appeared on the back of Garuḍa to save Gajendra from the jaws of the crocodile.

As norm in important universal events, professional reciters were engaged in offering prayers and glorifying the qualities of Pṛthu Maharaja. However, showing his humility, he said:

"O gentle reciters, offer such prayers in due course of time, when the qualities of which you have spoken actually manifest themselves in me. The gentle who offer prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead do not attribute such qualities to a human being, who does not actually have them." (SB 4.15.23)

In his purports, Prabhupada emphasizes that we should not accept an ordinary man as an incarnation of God, as is common nowadays. Even though Pṛthu Maharaja was in fact an empowered incarnation of the Lord and had already been accepted by all demigods and important personalities as such, he refused to accept glorification based on qualities he hadn't yet manifested. This is just another example of the divine qualities of a great ruler.

The professional reciters, however, didn't stop glorifying the king. On the contrary, they were further encouraged by his gentleness and sincere display of humility and by the great sages who were present. These prayers, described in chapter 4.16, explain more about the qualities of King Pṛthu and his rule, as well as the qualities of a saintly leader. They are not based on the imagination of the reciters, but on instructions they received from the great sages who were present. Here are the main points:

a) The Lord appeared as Pṛthu through His internal potency. Even though appearing from the dead body of Vena, Pṛthu is not a product of this material world. Just as other empowered incarnations, he carries the divine potency of the Lord, who is fully independent and can appear anywhere. The reciters considered themselves incapable of fully describing the glories of the Lord, but went ahead in an attempt to purify themselves. Similarly, although we are unable to offer prayers to the Lord, our duty is to try our best in order to purify ourselves. Even though demigods like Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva cannot adequately glorify the Lord, we should not stop our glorification.

b) Although considering themselves incapable, the reciters declared that they would try to speak according to instructions received from authoritative sages and scholars. This is actually the greatest qualification. Every conditioned soul is imperfect, therefore, it is impossible for any imperfect person to glorify the Lord. However, we can speak in accordance with the predecessor ācāryas, and when we are successful in that, we can speak with perfect knowledge, even from an imperfect platform. This applies both in offering prayers to the Lord and when teaching Krsna consciousness to others. Even if completely unable to speak anything, we can ask people to chant Hare Krsna.

c) King Pṛthu will be the perfect ruler, engaging everyone in religious duties and punishing the atheists who reject the Vedic system. In this way, he will be the true friend of the citizens, since without God consciousness, no one can be happy.

d) In the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna mentions that by cooperation between men and demigods, prosperity will reign for all. By inducing people on Earth to perform sacrifices, Pṛthu Maharaja will maintain the demigods, and when the demigods later refuse to cooperate with him, he will perform their functions by his own potency, sending proper rainfall.

e) In a proper government, the resources collected through taxes are not just used to maintain the administrative machine, but are accumulated and used to support the citizens in times of need, like famine or flood. Pṛthu Maharaja would perform this principle perfectly, and thus he is compared to the sun, who evaporates water and returns it during the rainy season.

f) Just as the planet is trampled by all kinds of people and animals but continues to maintain all, King Pṛthu would maintain all inhabitants of his kingdom with all necessary resources, even at the cost of his own comfort. Even though some citizens would break the laws of the state, he would be tolerant and look after their welfare.

g) Repeating the predictions of great sages, the reciters predicted that in the future, Pṛthu would replace Indra in sending rain when he would become unreliable in his duties, and thus protect the citizens from drought. Being the incarnation of the ruling power of the Lord, nothing was impossible for him.

h) When people are able to understand what policies the government will adopt, or how much money is available in the treasury, there is always space for business or political speculation. Pṛthu Maharaja would thus keep both a complete secret, even though keeping sufficient funds for all eventualities, different from modern governments, which are drowned in debts and enter into crisis under the smallest instability. In this way, Pṛthu's government would be perfectly stable, no one would be able to take unfair advantage, and there would be no covetousness.

i) How could an incarnation of Krsna come from the dead body of a sinful king like Vena? The analogy given is that he appeared just as fire coming out of wood. Just as fire is simultaneously pure and powerful, no one would be able to overcome its strength.

j) Pṛthu Maharaja would be able to perfectly understand what was going on in his dominions and take appropriate measures, and no one would be able to understand what kind of system of espionage he was using. Often, leaders can be tricked and manipulated by flattery and other games, but this also would fail with him, since he would remain neutral in both glorification and vilification. In punishing criminals, he would also be completely neutral, punishing or not exclusively based on guilt without intrigues, and he would spread his influence everywhere in his dominions just as the sun shines everywhere without impediment.

k) The authority of Pṛthu would not be based just on power. Rather, the citizens themselves would willingly accept his rule and remain fully satisfied due to his practical activities. What are these practical activities and qualities that would satisfy the citizens?

"The King will be firmly determined and always situated in truth. He will be a lover of the brahminical culture and will render all service to old men and give shelter to all surrendered souls. Giving respect to all, he will always be merciful to the poor and innocent.
The King will respect all women as if they were his own mother, and he will treat his own wife as the other half of his body. He will be just like an affectionate father to his citizens, and he will treat himself as the most obedient servant of the devotees, who always preach the glories of the Lord.
The King will consider all embodied living entities as dear as his own self, and he will always be increasing the pleasures of his friends. He will intimately associate with liberated persons, and he will be a chastising hand to all impious persons." (SB 4.16.16-18)

l) Pṛthu was not just a powerful king and an empowered incarnation, but a pure devotee as well. The reciters thus predicted that even while ruling, he would be able to see everything through the lens of perfect knowledge, understanding that the basic principle of all material activities is ignorance of our real self, and thus that all material varieties are meaningless. Based on this understanding, he would be fully detached in his ruling and thus act as a perfectly impartial king.

m) The reciters concluded by describing the activities of Pṛthu Maharaja, which will be described in more detail in the next chapters. He would travel all over the Earth in his chariot at great speed, just like the sun, receiving tribute from all other kings; he would be respected by his queens just as Nārāyaṇa Himself; he would milk the Earth, extracting all kinds of desirable things; he would break mountains all over the world using just his bow, increasing the amount of arable land; he would terrify all rogues and thieves, who would remain scattered just like insignificant animals terrified by a lion; the would attempt to perform 100 aśvamedha sacrifices at the source of the river Sarasvatī, and envious of the feat, Indra would steal sacrificial horse in the last sacrifice, preventing it from being completed. Finally, Pṛthu Maharaja would meet the four Kumāras and receive spiritual instructions from them.

After describing all these glories and activities, the reciters concluded:

"No one will be able to disobey the orders of Pṛthu Mahārāja. After conquering the world, he will completely eradicate the threefold miseries of the citizens. Then he will be recognized all over the world. At that time, both the suras and the asuras will undoubtedly glorify his magnanimous activities." (SB 4.16.27)

Just as his ancestors, Pṛthu Maharaja was the emperor of the whole Bhu-Mandala. The system was that each tract of land was ruled by a different king, who would be responsible for maintaining religious principles, with the emperor overseeing the administration of all smaller states. If at any point there were discrepancies in the management, the emperor would take charge of the management of the respective state and later install a suitable king. This system continued all the way up to the reign of Maharaja Yudhiṣṭhira and Parīkṣit Maharaja.

Mahārāja Pṛthu Becomes Angry at the Earth (chapter 4.17)

Two parts of the pastime of Pṛthu Mahārāja that may sound incomprehensible at first are his chasing of the Earth, when the planet was not producing food grains, and his milking of the Earth. At first, these two descriptions may sound metaphorical, at best. How could Pṛthu chase the planet in space using his chariot, hoping to destroy it with his arrows, and what would he do even if he could effectively destroy the Earth? How could the Earth become a cow and not only run from the king, but later be milked by him?

The first point to understand in this context is the concept of predominating deities explained in the Vedas. We tend to see all material energies and planets as mechanical forces or dead matter. This is the fruit of modern scientific thinking, which sees the world as something that appears by chance and is run by mechanical physical laws.

The Vedas, however, give a different account. The scriptures explain that everything is connected with different energies of the Lord. Just as Krsna has an impersonal aspect (the Brahmajyoti), despite being ultimately a person, all his different potencies appear to be impersonal when we just study the energy, but ultimately reveal themselves as persons. The material energy itself is personified in the form of Pārvatī, the consort of Lord Shiva. We have thus many energetic manifestations, in the form of many planetary systems and the universe in itself, and a person who controls these energies.

Simultaneously, all the different forces that operate in the universe have their predominant deities, just like a country is governed and represented by a president. We can imagine these predominating deities more or less like demigods who control particular energies and natural manifestations and assume duties connected with them. These predominant deities have the power to assume any form they desire. The personality controls the energy, but it is not exactly the same as the energy, just like a president is not the same as the country he rules.

We can see this in the pastime of Parīkṣit Maharaja meeting with Dharma and Kali in the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. Dharma appeared as a bull who was being beaten by Kali, the predominant deity of the age we live. Bhūmi, the Earth, was also present in the form of a cow.

Different from the eternal potencies of the Lord, who are eternal, these predominating deities of planets and material forces are jīvas, who assume their posts due to manifesting certain sets of qualifications. Just as Indra becomes responsible for controlling the rain, other qualified souls take charge of controlling the different energies and manifestations that keep the universe working. They have their personal forms that are distinct from the planets or energies they manage, just as a president has his personal body, distinct from the country.

In this way, Pṛthu Mahārāja interacts in these pastimes with Bhūmi, the predominating deity of Bhu-Mandala (the extended Earth), who is threatened by him for not properly performing her duties, and is later milked by the kind, offering different desirable objects.

Having heard the description of the activities of King Pṛthu by the professional reciters described in chapter 4.16, Vidura wants to hear more details on these pastimes:

"Vidura inquired from the great sage Maitreya: My dear brāhmaṇa, since mother earth can appear in different shapes, why did she take the shape of a cow? And when King Pṛthu milked her, who became the calf, and what was the milking pot?
The surface of the earth is by nature low in some places and high in others. How did King Pṛthu level the surface of the earth, and why did the King of heaven, Indra, steal the horse meant for the sacrifice?
The great saintly King, Mahārāja Pṛthu, received knowledge from Sanat-kumāra, who was the greatest Vedic scholar. After receiving knowledge to be applied practically in his life, how did the saintly King attain his desired destination?
Pṛthu Mahārāja was a powerful incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s potencies; consequently any narration concerning his activities is surely very pleasing to hear, and it produces all good fortune. As far as I am concerned, I am always your devotee as well as a devotee of the Lord, who is known as Adhokṣaja. Please therefore narrate all the stories of King Pṛthu, who, in the form of the son of King Vena, milked the cow-shaped earth." (SB 4.17.3-7)

The description starts right at the beginning of the ruling of Pṛthu Mahārāja. Because Vena had stopped the performance of sacrifices, the Earth had stopped producing food grains, and by the time Pṛthu came to power, there was a full-blown famine. The citizens became skinny due to starvation and approached the king in search of relief.

After deliberating over the causes of the situation, he came to the conclusion that Bhūmi herself was the culprit, because she was not performing her duty of delivering food grains to feed the population, despite accepting her shares of the offerings in the sacrifices he was executing. With this in mind, he drew his bow, with an arrow directly pointed to the planet, aiming to kill Bhūmi, the predominating deity, for her offense.

Bhūmi immediately understood the danger. The king was not in the mood for joking. To save herself, she immediately became visible in the form of a cow and started running from him. She thought that the king would not try to kill a cow and thus she would be saved, but Pṛthu easily understood the plot and kept on the pursuit. She ran here and there in outer space trying to escape the king, but being empowered by the potency of the Lord, Pṛthu continued chasing her everywhere, even in outer space. The only way to save herself was to submit to the king and beg for mercy.

Religious principles dictate that women, children, brāhmaṇas, and elders should receive all protection. Apart from that, a person who voluntarily surrenders should not be harmed. Bhūmi was a woman, and now she had decided to submit to the king, therefore, she prayed:

"I am very poor and have not committed any sinful activities. I do not know why you want to kill me. Since you are supposed to be the knower of all religious principles, why are you so envious of me, and why are you so anxious to kill a woman? Even if a woman does commit some sinful activity, no one should place his hand upon her. And what to speak of you, dear King, who are so merciful. You are a protector, and you are affectionate to the poor." (SB 4.17.19-20)

She also argued that the Earth is just like a vessel floating in space, which shelters all people and objects. In the Vedic cosmological model of the universe, the lower part of the universe is covered by the Garbhodaka ocean, where Lord Vishnu lies on the bed of Lord Ananta. This cosmic ocean occupies the lower half of the universe, and the other half contains ether, where all the planets and stars are situated on their respective orbits by the power of Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa (what we call gravity). When these orbits are disturbed, the planet falls into the Garbhodaka ocean, and everything sinks, just like when the Earth had submerged into the cosmic ocean and had to be rescued by Lord Varāha. If the king were to kill her, the planet would also be lost, and all the population, together with the king himself, would be lost in space.

Pṛthu Mahārāja, however, countered this argument by informing her that as an incarnation of the ruling power of the Lord, he had the potency to maintain everyone by his own power, without depending on her or anyone else. Despite receiving her share in the yajñas, just like all demigods, she was not performing her duty of producing grains to maintain the people, and this was a direct challenge to the authority of the king. If she was not prepared to immediately follow his orders, he would not hesitate to kill her or any other offender. Taking the form of a cow or anything else would not save her. In fact, as an emergency, the king was ready to kill her and use her meat to feed the citizens. As he said:

"Any cruel person — be he a man, woman or impotent eunuch — who is only interested in his personal maintenance and has no compassion for other living entities may be killed by the king. Such killing can never be considered actual killing. You are very much puffed up with pride and have become almost insane. Presently you have assumed the form of a cow by your mystic powers. Nonetheless I shall cut you into small pieces like grain, and I will uphold the entire population by my personal mystic powers." (SB 4.17.26-27)

As Prabhupada comments in his purport to text 25, although meat eating is prohibited, in situations of emergency when there is absolutely no other food available, meat eating can be allowed as a temporary measure during the famine. Pṛthu Mahārāja was ready to adopt this principle if Bhūmi would not start feeding the population.

It's described that at this moment, the king looked exactly like Yamarāja, his power of rule absolute. At this point, Bhūmi fully surrendered, offering prayers that go from text 29 to the end of the chapter.

It may sound strange that Bhūmi addresses Pṛthu as the Supreme Lord when he is a saktyāveśa avatāra and not a direct incarnation, but this distinction is just technical. The Lord is present in the form of Pṛthu Maharaja, having invested him with His energy, and Pṛthu acts as a representative of the Lord, according to His desire. Therefore, having Pṛthu Maharaja go after her is the same as being chased by the same Lord Vishnu who lifted her out of the ocean. Bhūmi thus prays for deliverance.

"My dear Lord, You are always unborn. Once, in the form of the original boar, You rescued me from the waters in the bottom of the universe. Through Your own energy You created all the physical elements, the senses and the heart, for the maintenance of the world. My dear Lord, in this way You once protected me by rescuing me from the water, and consequently Your name has been famous as Dharādhara — He who holds the planet earth. Yet at the present moment, in the form of a great hero, You are about to kill me with sharpened arrows. I am, however, just like a boat on the water, keeping everything afloat. My dear Lord, I am also the creation of one of Your energies, composed of the three modes of material nature. Consequently I am bewildered by Your activities. Even the activities of Your devotees cannot be understood, and what to speak of Your pastimes. Thus everything appears to us to be contradictory and wonderful." (SB 4.17.34-36)

Why exactly was Pṛthu Maharaja threatening to kill Bhūmi, who is his servant? Bhūmi herself answers the question by stating that the activities of the Lord and his pure devotees are bewildering. Because we often don't understand what they plan to achieve, their activities may at first appear to defy logic, but later we can see the wonderful results of such activities. The pastime of Pṛthu Maharaja chasing Bhūmi leads to all inhabitants of the universe obtaining what they desire.

As Srila Prabhupada mentions in his purport to text 36: "The activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His various forms and incarnations are always uncommon and wonderful. It is not possible for a tiny human being to estimate the purpose and plans of such activities; therefore, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has said that unless the Lord’s activities are accepted as inconceivable, they cannot be explained."