Prithvi in the context of "Prithu"

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⭐ Core Definition: Prithvi

Prithvi (Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, Pṛthvī, also पृथिवी, Pṛthivī, "the Vast One", also rendered Pṛthvī Mātā), is the Sanskrit name for the Earth, as well as the name of the goddess-personification of it in Hinduism. The goddess Prithvi is an archetypal Mother Goddess, and one of the most important goddesses in the historical Vedic religion.

She is depicted as a stable, fertile, and benevolent presence in the Vedas. She is frequently addressed as a mother, and a nurturing, generous goddess who provides sustenance to all beings living on her vast, firm expanse. While the Rigveda predominantly associates her with Dyaus ('Father Sky'), the Atharvaveda and later texts portray her as an independent deity.

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👉 Prithvi in the context of Prithu

Prithu (Sanskrit: पृथु, Pṛthu, lit. "large, great, important, abundant") is a sovereign (chakravarti), featured in the Puranas. According to Hinduism, he is an avatar (incarnation) of the preserver god—Vishnu. He is also called Prithu, Prithi and Prithvi Vainya, literally, "Prithu — the son of Vena".

Prithu is "celebrated as the first consecrated king, from whom the earth received her (Sanskrit) name, Prithvi." He is mainly associated with the legend of his chasing the earth goddess, Prithvi, who fled in the form of a cow and eventually agreed to yield her milk as the world's grain and vegetation. The epic Mahabharata, Vishnu Purana, and the Bhagavata Purana describe him as a part-avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu.

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Prithvi in the context of Bhūmi

Bhumi (Sanskrit: भूमि, romanized: Bhūmi), also known as Bhudevi, Dharani, and Vasundhara, is a significant goddess in Hinduism, personifying the Earth. Her earliest form is reflected in the Vedic goddess Prithvi, though their roles, attributes and depictions are drastically different. Bhumi features prominently in the post-Vedic texts such as the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and various Puranas.

Bhumi plays a central role in Hindu mythology, where she is often portrayed as a supplicant, oppressed by evil forces, demons, or corrupt rulers. These stories frequently depict her appealing to the god Vishnu for assistance, and in response, Vishnu intervenes to alleviate her distress by taking different avatars. In one instance, Vishnu takes the Varaha (boar) avatar to save her from the asura Hiranyaksha and later marries her, resulting in birth of a son, Mangala. In another narrative, Vishnu takes the avatar of King Prithu to tame Bhumi, who had ran away in the form of a cow. Sita, the female protagonist of Ramayana, is described being born from the earth and regarded as Bhumi's daughter. Bhumi also incarnates as Satyabhama to help defeat Narakasura, an asura who was born from her due to Hiranyaksha's influence.

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Prithvi in the context of Earth goddess

This is a list of earth deities. An Earth god or Earth goddess is a deification of the Earth associated with a figure with chthonic or terrestrial attributes. There are many different Earth gods and goddesses in many different cultures and mythology. However, Earth is usually portrayed as a goddess. Earth goddesses are often associated with the chthonic deities of the underworld.

In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corresponding to Roman Terra, Indic Prithvi, etc. traced to an "Earth Mother" complementary to the "Sky Father" in Proto-Indo-European religion. Egyptian mythology have the sky goddesses, Nut and Hathor, with the earth gods, Osiris and Geb. Ki and Ninhursag are Mesopotamian earth goddesses.

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Prithvi in the context of Dyaus Pita

Dyaus (Vedic Sanskrit: द्यौस्, IAST: Dyáus) or Dyauspitr (Vedic Sanskrit: द्यौष्पितृ, IAST: Dyáuṣpitṛ́) is the Rigvedic sky deity. His consort is Prthvi, the earth goddess, and together they are the archetypal parents in the Rigveda.

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Prithvi in the context of Hiranyagarbha

Hiranyagarbha (Sanskrit: हिरण्यगर्भ, lit.'golden womb', IAST: Hiraṇyagarbha, poetically translated as 'universal womb') is the source of the creation of the universe or the manifested cosmos in Vedic philosophy. It finds mention in one hymn of the Rigveda (RV 10.121), known as the Hiraṇyagarbha Sūkta, suggesting a single creator deity (verse 8: yo deveṣv ādhi devā eka āsīt, Griffith: "He is the God of gods, and none beside him."), identified in the hymn as Prajāpati. The concept of the "golden womb" is first mentioned in the Vishvakarma Sūkta (RV 10.82.5,6) which picturized the "primeval womb" as being rested set upon the navel of Vishvakarman. This imagery was later transferred to Vishnu and Surya.

The Upanishad calls it the Soul of the Universe or Brahman, and elaborates that Hiraṇyagarbha floated around in emptiness and the darkness of the non-existence for about a year, and then broke into two halves which formed the Svarga and the Pṛthvi.

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Prithvi in the context of Pancha Bhuta

Pancha Bhuta (Sanskrit: पञ्चभूत; pañca bhūta), five elements, is a group of five basic elements, which, in Hinduism, is the basis of all cosmic creation. These elements are: Prithvi (Sanskrit: पृथ्वी:, Earth), Ap (Sanskrit: आपः, Water), Agni (Sanskrit: अग्नि, Fire), Vayu (Sanskrit: वायु:, Air), Akasha (Sanskrit: आकाश, Aether). In Ayurveda and Indian philosophy, the human body is made of these five elements. However, the Chārvāka system of materialism did not accept Akasha as a basic element as it is not tangible and they accepted that there are only four basic elements. Hinduism influenced Buddhism, which accepts only four Mahābhūtas, viewing Akasha as a derived (upādā) element. These five elements of the Indian cosmological system are static or innate in comparison to five element, phases or the transformational theory used within China's Wuxing philosophy.

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