Prithvi

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Prithvi

Prithvi (Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
: , also ) is the Hindu

Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
and mother

Mother

Goddess

A goddess is a female deity. Often deities are part of a polytheism system that includes several deities in a pantheon .Common associations of goddesses are the Earth goddess, the Mother Goddess, Love goddess, and the hearth goddess, reflecting historical gender roles....
. According to one tradition, she is the personification of the Earth

Earth

Mother

A mother is a biological and/or Maternal bond female parent of an offspring. Because of the complexity and differences of the social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to define a mother in a universally accepted definition....
, being Prithivi Tattwa, the essence of the element earth. Prithvi is also called Dhra, Dharti, Dhrithri, meaning that which holds everything. As Prithvi Devi, she is one of two wives of Lord Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu , , is the Supreme God in Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of panchadeva, and his supreme status is declared in the Hindu sacred texts like Yajurveda, the Rigveda and the Bhagavad Gita....
. His other wife is Lakshmi

Lakshmi

Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity, purity, and generosity; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are found also in Jainism and Buddhist monuments, with the earliest archeological representation found in Buddhist monuments....
. Prithvi is another form of Laxmi.

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Prithvi (Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
: , also ) is the Hindu

Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
earth

Earth

Mother

Goddess

Earth

Mother

Vishnu

Lakshmi

Bhumi

Bhumi can mean:* Bhumi , a non-profit organization based in Chennai* Bhumidevi, Hindu goddess of the earth* Bhumi , the ten stages a Bodhisattva advances through in the path to become a Buddha...
or Bhudevi or Bhuma Devi

Bhuma Devi

Bhuma Devi or Bhumi-Devi or Bhu Devi is the divine wife of Varaha, an Avatar of Lord Vishnu. She is the representative goddess, mother earth....
.

As Prithvi Mata "Mother Earth" she contrasts with Dyaus Pita "father sky". In the Rigveda

Rigveda

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian subcontinent sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the Rigvedic deities . It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas....
, Earth and Sky are frequently addressed in the dual

Dual (grammatical number)

Dual is a grammatical number that some languages use in addition to singular and plural. When a noun or pronoun appears in dual form, it is interpreted as referring to precisely two of the entities identified by the noun or pronoun....
, probably indicating the idea of two complementary half-shells. She is the wife of Dyaus Pita

Dyaus Pita

In the historical vedic religion is the Sky Father, husband of Prithvi and father of Agni and Indra .Derivatives can be found in the Proto-Indo-European religion sky god *Dyeus, who appears in Greek language as Zeus pater , in Latin as Jupiter , in Slavic mythology as Rod , and Germanic and Norse mythology as Tyr or Ziu....
('father Dyaus'). (The widespread belief that these two were originally a single deity appears to be mistaken. See Dyavaprthivi

Dyavaprthivi

Dyavaprthivi is a Sanskrit dvandva, or compound word, meaning heaven and earth. The term occurs 65 times in the Rig Veda. Dyavaprthivi has mistakenly been labeled a Hindu god who later split into Dyaus, the Sky Father, and Prthivi, the Earth Mother....
). She is the mother of Indra

Indra

Indra is the god of War and Weather, also the King of the gods or Deva and Lord of Heaven or Swarga in Hinduism. Mentioned first as the chief deity in the sacred Hindu text of Rig Veda, Indra is bestowed with a heroic and almost brash and amorous character....
and Agni

Agni

Agni is a Hindu and Rigvedic deities. The word agni is Sanskrit for "fire" , cognate with Latin ignis , Russian ????? , Polish "ogien," Lithuanian - ugnis - all with the meaning 'fire' -, with the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root being h1?gni-....
. According to a tradition, when Indra killed Dyaus Pita, she applauded and married him

Marriage

Marriage is a social, spirituality, or law union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock....
. She is associated with the cow. Prithu

Prithu

According to Hinduism Hindu mythology, Prithu is a sovereign , named in the Vedic scriptures and considered an avatar of the preserver god?Vishnu....
, an incarnation of Vishnu, milked her in the cow's form to get food from her.

Prithvi also appears in Early Buddhism

Early Buddhism

The term Early Buddhism can refer to:* Pre-sectarian Buddhism, which refers to the Teachings and monastic organization and structure, founded by Gautama Buddha....
where she appears in the Pali Canon

Pali Canon

The Pali Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, as preserved in the Pali. It is the only completely surviving Early Buddhist schools canon, and one of the first to be written down....
, dispelling the temptation figure Mara

Mara (demon)

In Buddhism, Mara is the demon who tempted Gautama Buddha by trying to seduce him with the vision of beauty women who, in various legends, are often said to be his daughters....
by attesting to Gautama Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama was a Spirituality teacher in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is generally seen by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddhahood of our age....
's worthiness to attain enlightenment

Bodhi

Bodhi is both the Pali and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English language as "enlightenment." The word "Buddhahood" means "one who has achieved bodhi." Bodhi is also frequently translated as "awakening."...
.

In the Arts

(also ) is a celebrated hymn of the Atharvaveda

Atharvaveda

The Atharvaveda is a sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda".According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Atharvanas and the Angirasa, hence its oldest name is ....
(AVS 12.1), dedicated to Prthivi (the Earth). It consists of 63 verses.

In art she is represented as a woman with four arms and a green skin.

Prithvi

In the Arts

Further Reading