Introduction
Prithu, called Vainya, "son of Vena", is the first properly consecrated king (rajan) in Puranic tradition, and one of the great model rulers. He is chiefly remembered for compelling the Earth, who had withheld her produce, to become fruitful again, an act from which the Earth's name Prithvi is derived.
This article follows the Puranic tradition. Where a detail differs between texts, the article says so.
Family
- Father: Vena
Birth and coronation
Prithu was born from the body of his unrighteous father Vena, after the sages, having killed Vena for his misrule, sought a worthy successor; Prithu emerged radiant and was formally consecrated, receiving weapons and blessings from the gods and sages, becoming the first king to be crowned by such a rite.
The Earth as a cow
Under the misrule of Vena and the resulting disorder, the Earth had ceased to yield crops. Angered, Prithu took up his bow to force her compliance. The Earth fled in the form of a cow; Prithu pursued her relentlessly across the universe, until she agreed to yield her wealth if given a calf and a suitable milker for each kind of being. Prithu made Svayambhuva Manu the calf and, with the earth levelled by his own effort into plains fit for farming, milked her himself of grains and crops, and other beings, sages, gods and serpents, each milked her in turn of what they needed.
Prithvi
Because of this act, the Earth is called Prithvi, "belonging to Prithu" or "she who was made to yield by Prithu", one of her most common names in Sanskrit.
Meaning
Prithu's reign is presented as a model of righteous, active kingship, in contrast to his father's, and the taming of the Earth is read as an account of the beginning of settled agriculture and organised, just rule.