Description of Goddess Prithivi

According to Sayana, Prithivi has two forms one is the physical earth as we see it and the other is the mythological and, therefore, the anthropomorphic divinity called Prthivi. According to Macdonell, "Her personification is vague, and her characteristics are similar to those of the earth. Prithivi is very extensive, as the word 'prthu', fat, from which it is derived signifies, she represents this earth? She is as large as the altar, presumably, because at this late stage of the Brahmanas when the sacrifice was glorified, the entire earth appeared to be the stage set for a cosmic sacrifice. was identified with the altar. Hence it She contains water which rushes downwards and is abundant. on her smoke in great quantity comes out without fire and water rushes out without rain. She possesses trees with delicious fruits! She possesses forests, many kinds of herbs? hills and snowy mountains; 2 "Vedic Mythology," Varanasi, 1963, p. 88. Rigveda V : 54 : 9, V # 8412, VI | 6814, X 18:10, X # 63110, # X : 63110, Maitrayani-samhita IV : 11:34, IV: 14191, Taittiriya-brahmana II : 21615, Taittiriya-brahmana I # 2:4:7, Taittiriya-brahmana II : 21818, Chandogya-brahmana I : 317, Satapatha-brahmana III # 6:1:15 II : 284. 3 Jaiminiya-brahmana I: 1:55. 4. Rigveda V 1 8411. Atharva-veda XII : 119, Satapatha-brahmana I # 17:19, Sadvimsa-brahmana VI # 3;2. S Sadvimsa-brahmana VI: 7:2. Sv_B = # Rigveda X 16:14, Atharva-veda XII 1:57, XII # 1 3 & 4. Atharva-veda XII # 1157, Aitareya-brahmana I : 1:7:19. 6 7 8 Atharva-veda XII # 1111. 8

91 on her there are so many ascente, advances, plains, oceans, 10 rivers and streams. She is the refuge of cattle, horses and birds!! grow!? on her ploughing is conducted and crops grow, the people of ancient times spread themselves, and on her the gods overcame 13 14 the asuras. She is all-possessing, and provides human beings with a place to sing and dance with a lot of noise, and also to 15 16a speak, fight and shout: The gods have fashioned her strongholds. 165 She is the keeper of all creation, and provides men with the means of their sustenance. She hears hidden treasure medicinal herbs 17 20 18 21 18 and also the cosmic fire. The famous hymn to the earth" "according ts to Keith is "conspicuous rather for the accuracy of enumeration A of the sights of the earth than for its religious fervour the In this late hymn predominant aspect of the earth which A' 22 worshipfully extolled and magnified is that of agricultural land. Clearly, this signifies the specific stage of the Aryan civilization when they had learned to till the land from the indigenous Indus Valley people. Hence now she is the mother who supplies food to her children. This motherhood is real to the people who depend on Hence the 'magnificat' in this hymn. her for their very existence. 9 Atharva-veda XII # 1 : 3 & 4. 10 Atharva-veda XII : 119. 11 Atharva-veda XII : 115, Satapatha-brahmana I : 17:19. 12 Atharva-veda XII : 1 : 3 & 13 Atharva-veda XII # 115. 14 Atharva-veda I : 3214. 15 1 Atharva-veda XII : 1:41. 16 Atharva-veda X: 1:43. 16b Atharva-veda XII : 1:57. 17 Satapatha-brahmana III # 51314, 28 III : 31812. : 18 Atharva-veda XII : 1:44. 19 Atharva-veda XII 1 112. 20 Atharva-veda XII : 1 : 6 & 45. 21 Atharva-veda XII.1. 23 Op. cit., p. 174.

92 23 She is firm and steady? She is also beseeched to remain 24. firm for the sake of man's prosperity. She supports truth, and also bears the heavy burden of 25 26 of the mountains and of trees. She is the support and foundation of the whole world?" She rules over and controls the whole world 28 with her immense power. 29 She protects her devotees from mortal sins, and the sacrificer from regions near the god of death? 30 she protects well the house of her worshippers, and also looks after them in foreign lands and even in forests. She takes care of people of varicus 33. 34 speech and customs, and preserves the corpse from Nirrti or decay. She is asked to shroud with her cover the departed man like a mother covering her child - 23 66 Possibly a detail of internment current in the Vedic or Indo-European period is furnished in some of the stanzas of this hymn (Rigveda X : 18:13). The practice of laying with 1 the dead or his relics an effigy of the great goddess if she is to be identified with the Prithivi of this hymn, thus will go back to the Rgvedic antiquity' (Th Bloch, "Excavations at Lauriya," ASIAR, 1906-1907; A.K. Coomaraswamy, "History of Indian and Indonesian Art," New York, 1927, p. 10; V.S. Agrawala, "Studies in Indian Art", Varanasi 1965, p. 243). At any rate here we have a clear mention Rigveda X 1 8111, X : 18112, Vajasaney-samhita IX : 22, XI : 58, Atharva-veda XII # 116, Chandogya-brahmana I 2 3:7, II = 214, Taittiriya-brahmana I # 21418. 24 Taittiriya-samhita IV : 119, Maitrayani-samhita II # 7178. 1 25 Rigveda V : 8411, Maitrayani-samhita IV 1 12:6. 26 Rigveda X # 6019. 27 # Atharva-veda XII: 1 27 & 29, V : 28:5, XII 1:6 & 4, Chandogya-brahmana I : 307, : TE II: 214, TI 1 2:418 & 9. conta ...

28 Vajasaney-samhita IX : 22, XI : 58. 29 Rigveda VII 104 : 23, X.: 53:5. 30 Rigveda X : 18:10. 31 Rigveda X 63 10 & 16. 32 Rigveda X : 63 : 16. 33 Rigveda XII : 1:45. 34 Rigveda X : 18 : 10. 93

: 94 to the one significant aspect of the Earth as presiding over death and keeping away the influence of Nirrti. Her invocation by the Vedic people to counteract Nirrti is als 35 alluded to in another passage, where she is prayed to restore the vital spirit (asu). 136 37 She is a strong guard of the people, and grants them good protection . 39 Her light drives away misfortune from the devotee. She overcomes 40 the enemies of her worshippers, and looks after the welfare of her devotees. With her grace the worshippers are able to guard the r 41 42 goads from robbers. She protects her devotees from wild beasts 44 43 and demons) from poisonous serpents and worm" and keeps away the gandharvas and apsarases from them. She also drives away every 45 46 kind of disease from the worshipper; protects them from the anger 47 48 49 of the gods, and from penury. She herself is protected by the gods.9 SO and is defended by Indra unceasingly. Here we see that behind the deification there still lingers the image of the physical earth, which, because it is a physical entity needs to be protected by 51 the gods. 35 36 Rigveda X : 5917, Prithivi Kumar Agrawala, "The Goddess Earth in the Rgveda, Journal of Indian History, 55 (3), 1977, p. 6. 37 Vajasaney-samhita XXI : 6. 38 Maitrayani-samhita IV: 12:35, IV : 10:33, Taittiriya-brahmana I : 21418. 39 Vajasaney-samhita XXXV : 21, Atharva-veda XII : 1149. 40 Atharva-veda XII : 1:14, 18, 23, 24, 25 & 41, Satapatha-brahmana II : 3:5:33. 1 Atharva-veda XII : 1:32, Satapatha-brahmana V : 13:8:3. 42 Atharva-veda XII : 1:47. 43 Atharva-veda XII : 1:49. 44 Atharva-veda XII: 1:46 & 9 45 Atharva-veda XII : 1:50. 46 Atharva-veda XII : 1:62, Satapatha-brahmana II | 315:30. 47 Chandogya-brahmana II | 2:4. 48 Satapatha-brahmana II : 315:29. 49 Rigveda X : 63:16. 50 Atharva-veda XII : 1:18. 3.

95 She arrives at the lovely sacrifice by the northern altar, $2 altar $1 and prospers through the sacrifice 32 She invokes the gods to the 53 sacrifice, and provides them with a place to perform the sacrificial 54 ritual in. On her the sacrificial seat, oblation-holder and the 55 sacrificial post are placed and on her men of all professions 56 perform sacrifice: She is entreated to approve the work of the 58 57 sacrificers, to beckon the Agnidhra to her. 59 Prthivi is the mother and creator of the whole world. 60 She holds Agni in her womb. She is the all-producing mother of herbs 61 She is both the mother and wise 62 63 of Parjanya. $1 Rigveda X # 63:16. 52 15 IV # 719, Vajasaney-samhita XVIII : 18. 53 Maitrayani-samhita X : 9:1 & 6. 54 Vajasaney-samhita XII : 5, SBI # 112:16. 55 Atharva-veda XII : 1:13 & 38. 56 Atharva-veda XII # 113 & 21. 57 22 II : 207 13. 58 Satapatha-brahmana I # 118141. 59 X Rigveda X : 68:15, X : 6213, * 1 6313, VI : 5115, VI # 7016, III : 55:12, V : 4312, Taittiriya-samhita III # 312, Vajasaney-samhita XXX : 17. IX 22, X : 213, Maitrayani-samhita I 9:1, II: 6:32, IV : 2172, II : 7:144, Atharva-veda XII i 1:43, XII # 1912, II : 28:4, §VB I : 6121, p II : 21713, III ; 7:5, Satapatha-brahmana III : 5:314, V 1 4120, XII : 813, Taittiriya-brahmana I: 1:2:1, I : 3:2, II : 418, Satapatha-brahmana I : 1:8:41, II : 2:21. 60 KS II : 19198. 61 Atharva-veda XII : 1:17. 62 Atharva-veda I | 2:1. 63 Atharva-veda XII : 1:42.

W 96 66 Wilke in his work, 'Die Religion der Indo-germanen', opines that the conception of the mother, earth, as the source of all earthly plants, animal and human lives, is the oldest and the most important. For this activity of here she becomes 'the goddess of fertility' (Frucht. barkeitsgottheit 164 jing 'It is said that Mother Earth lies recumbent vis-a-vis the Father sky or Dyaus, forming as if two inverted bowls facing each other (Rigveda 1.164.33). The phrase used here is uttana, which appears no less significantly with the Prithivi (Rigveda III.29.3, uttanyam, Rigveda X.27.13, nyankuttanam). Though the exact meaning of the expression is uncertain, it is from uttanapada that the Earth is said to have been produced and thereby she gave birth to the directions (Rigveda X 1-7313 & 4) which often counted as ten, became her daughters, of whom there is frequent mention as the ten sisters (Rigveda I\ : 91:1, IX: 93:1, III ↑ 29113). She lies on her back with uplifted legs only for producing new generations (Rigveda VIII.29.3). But it is hard to infer that this description points in any way to some iconographic trait of the Earth Goddess. A name like uttanapada for the 7765 Earth Goddess is nowhere found in Vedic literature. 66 67 Free from malice and hatred, she is also devoid of sins 68 and does not oppress people for the sake of the sacrificer. She 69 does not harm the worshipper, and is not disliked by any of them 70 too. 64 Quoted in - P.S. Deshmukh, "Religion in Vedic literature", Oxford University Press, London, New York, Bombay, 1933, p. 96. 65 Prthivi Kumar Agrawala, op. cit., p. 7. 66 Rigveda VI # 51:5. 67 Rigveda X * 63:10. 68 Rigveda X : 18:11. 69 $ ☎S III, 3:2, I ; 8:15, Vajasaney-samhita X: 23, IS II 61:32, Atharva-veda XII : 1:34. : 70 Taittiriya-samhita I # 8:15, Atharva-veda XII : 1 '18, XII : 1:23, etc.

97 yone?1 73 She gives happiness to everyone, and bestows life on her 72 worshippers! She grants the devotees their desires. She is a wish-fulfilling Aditi spreading out, and Prajapati makes up for 74 whatever is deficient in her. She gives to the worshipper 75 76 pleasant medicines, and grants them shelter. She gives progeny. splendour, cattle, command of cattle, growth of wealth and kinsmen otees?? to her devotees. 79 She wins booty, and is capable of capturing the 79 riches of the enemy. She offers refreshment, food and clarified 80 butter to her worshippers This clearly refers to the cattle grasing on the grassy plots on the earth. From then the Aryans received their supply of milk products which constituted an important part of their food. She takes care of the nourishment 81 82 of the world) She gives them honey that is dear to them? strength and gold jewels and honeyed speech 84 .83 71 | Rigveda X | 18:10, X : 63110 & 16, Taittiriya-brahmana I: 1:2:1, Chandogya-brahmana II + 214, 72 Rigveda X : 59:7, Atharva-veda XII : 1:22. 73 Rigveda V ; 5312, Vajasaney-samhita XXVI, 17, Atharva-veda XII : 1:44, Satapatha-brahmana III 1 5:314, I # 212121. 74 Taittiriya-brahmana I: Atharva-veda XII 1 1161, 2B I : 11312, I : 21418. 75 45 76 77 Vajasaney-samhita XXV : 17. Vajasaney-samhita XXXV # 21, IV # 12:35, IV 10:33, Chandogya-brahmana II : 214, Satapatha-brahmana I 22:19, II: 3:5127. Vajasaney-samhita XI: 58, Atharva-veda XII : 115, 7, 6, 9, 6, 21, 45, 4, 29, 63, 8, Satapatha-brahmana II & 3:5:28. 78 Maitrayani-samhita IV # 12:25. 79 Taittiriya-brahmana I # 2:47. 80 Rigveda X # 16:14, Atharva-veda XII : 1:29, KB (Rigveda) VI : 14. KE 1 81 Taittiriya-brahmana I 1 213:2. 82 Atharva-veda XII : 117. 83 Atharva-veda XII # 1 8 & 21. 84 Atharva-veda XII : 1:16 & 17, Rigveda V 1 5313.

98 86 85 She becomes the splendid residence of her devotees, and places them in each other's loved abode. She provides the gods with an abode, too! She is the abode of the Revedic mantra. 87 88 Prithivi is praised by the worshipper with songs of praise? 9 chants and sacrificial formulae and speech. She is paid homage 92 by the devotee." 90 93 91 She is sustained by great truth formidable justice, consecration, penance, brahman and sacrifice. She becomes manifest on account of her being seen by everyone, and is clearly a goddess 95 before their eyes. 96 She is very friendly, famous, intelligent and possessed of manly vigour. She is pleasant to her worshippers, and her direc- 97 98 tions are also pleasant to them; they do not fall down while moving 99 about on her. with her grace, the sight of her devotees does not fail from one year to another 100 She is endowed with the quality 101 of mobility: She is fearless, indestible, respectable 103 105 and auspicious 104 She is cleansing, patient, tranquil and 106 -fragrant These traits refer to the water under the soil (cleansing), the firmness of the earth (tranquil) the : aromatic plants which grow on her (fragrant). 108 and compact. 85 Rigveda X : 63:16, Satapatha-brahmana I: • 1 B flowers and 107 She is divine 86 Atharva-veda XII 1:52. 87. Satapatha-brahmana V : 14 : 3 : 4. 88 Satapatha-brahmana V : 14 : 3 ± 4. $ 89 Gopatha-brahmana II.24. 90 Rigveda V : 84:2, X : 63:16, Vajasaney-samhita IX 122, XI : 58, Maitrayani-samhita IV : 12:35. 91 Atharva-veda XII 1:38. 92 Taittiriya-brahmana I : 1 : 3:2, I: 2:418. Conta

93 96 97 3228&2 94 Taittiriya-samhita I : 8:15, Vajasaney-samhita IX : 32, XI : 58, Satapatha-brahmana III # 512118. V 5 Atharva-veda XII 1 ; 1 & 17. 95 Rigveda III : 55:15. 3 Rigveda V # 86:1. Rigveda X # 18110. 98 Rigveda X : 63116, Vajasaney-samhita IK 22, XI # 58, Maitrayani-samhita IV # 12:35. 99 Rigveda V * 84:1, Vajasaney-samhita XXXV 21, IV 1 12 # 35, 100 # IV 1 10 # 33, Maitrayani-samhita IV : 12 # 35. : Atharva-veda XII : 1 # 31. 101 Atharva-veda XII # 1' # 33. 102 Rigveda V # 84 # 2. 73 103 ES II 17 212. 104) Maitrayani-samhita IV : 12 : 35. 105 Atharva-veda XII 1:12, 29, 35 & 37. # 106 Atharva-veda XII : 1 : 59. 107 108 Atharva-veda XH ↑ 1144, Satapatha-brahmana III 1 6 1 6 1 6. Satapatha-brahmana I : 2 : 2 # 16. 99

100 earth 108 She is situated in the centre of the earth, and her 109 immortal heart resides in the highest firmament. She endures 110 the death of both the good and the evil: She makes many kinds 111 of sounds and burns brightly without fire! She resembles the first foot of Subrahman 113 She is the 112 fire, and also the psalm. reland And also the two feet of Prajapati 115 and also the She is a beautiful, fair and splendid lady with radiant 117 feet} 16 she possesses two-fold forms and a golden complexion? 118 She is endowed with eternal youth, and has golden backs 119 These may refer to the ears of ripe corn at harvest time. A few instances may be noted where she is depicted as a cov. She makes the milk which is substantial and sweet flow for the sake 120 of the gods. She arranges the seasons, years, days and nights, and makes them yield milk to her worshippers 121 100 Rigveda V : 84:1. 109 AV_XII : 1:8. 110 Atharva-veda XII ; 1:48 & 59. 111 SV B VI $ 72. __B_VI 112 Pv B XV : 418. 113 PV_B_XII : 4:13. 114 Sm V BI : 2:9. 115 Sm V BI 1 1:5. 118 # Rigveda V 1 8412, Vajasaney-samhita IX 22, XI: 58. Taittiriya-brahmana II # 3:1:12. : 117 Rigveda V : 8411. 118 Taittiriya-brahmana II : 3+1+12 119 Rigveda XII # 116. 120 Rigveda X 1 6313, Satapatha-brahmana III: 7:3:21. 121 Atharva-veda XII : 1:36.

101 A parallel may be seen in the ancient Egyptian mother- -goddess Isis, who is also conceived as a cow. In ancient mythologies the earth was frequently regarded as a cow, and the sky as a bull, presumably because as man's first food milk is provided by the cow, so all later food is provided by the earth. Satapatha-brahmana In the opinion of Fraser, E 6 there exists a fertility charm, according to which the Roman Vestals were required to sacrifice annually, on the 15th of April, pregnant cows to the Earth goddess, in order to 'quicken both the seed in the ground, and the wombs of the cows. 122 Prithivi is sometimes depicted also as a lioness of WV V.12 and Satapatha-brahmana III : 412:12. It is noticeable that the Vedic Aryans regarded Prithivi In all the Vedic texts from the Raveda to as a mother-goddess. the Brahmanas we find Prthivi being depicted as the mother of everything that is, of men, animals, plants, herbs, etc. The Vedic Aryans looked upon her as the protector of men, cattle, etc., and the nourisher and sustainer of the whole world. They invoked her for endowing them with all that they desired. They considered her as the goddess of fertility since she was invoked for granting them progeny and also mourishing the soil on which crops, plants, trees and forests grew. 122 Frazer J.Q., *The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings, Vol. II, p. 229.

102 It may be noted that the goddess Frthivi gained in importance during the period of the later Samhitas and Brahmanas. In that period, agriculture came to play a very important part in the lives of the Vedic Aryans. Agriculture became their mainstay, and also the principal source of livelihood. The expansion of agriculture brought prosperity to the people and therefore they v valued this occupation above everything else. They, therefore, invoked Prehivi for nourishing the soil that is, for the fertility of the soil, on which crops, plants and forests grew. Agricultural prosperity depended upon fertility of the soil, which provided the people with their sustenance that is, food, and also produced grass and fodder for their cattle. She is, therefore, regarded as a goddess who provides nourishment and sustenance to the whole world. The people approached her for progeny especially sons. This may be due to the fact that they needed more sons for being a help in agriculture, and also for fighting wars against the natives. Her pivotal role in agriculture probably explains her special reverence among the Vedic Aryans in the period of the later Samhitas and Brahmanas. She had certain anthropomorphic features for example, she had radiant fest, a golden complexion, a golden back and two-fold forms. It may be that due to the existence of anthropomorphic features people could construe a clear image of her, and therefore her worship could be sustained over a long period of time that is, till the sutras.

! 103 123 Prithivi gives happiness or refuge to her devotees, "ana 1235 also grants them security. She is beseeched to become a giver of eternal bliss to the worshipper 124 She bestows conception 125 on the female devotee. And she is prayed to be favourable towards 126 her worshippers. 127 1 She fosters the sacrifice, and is invoked not to kill the root of the osadhi which is related to the sacrifice of the gods. 129 She is the mother of all living creatures. She bears the 130 131 fire in her womb like a mother, and gives birth to it. She is famous for her forberance, and is regarded as the She is the water, and the producer of all living creatures 132 she essence of the earth; she also is looked upon as the essence of all created things: 133 she is the gayatri, and on her are all creatures sustained 14 she is the final abode of everybody 135 presumably because interment continued as a mode of the disposal of the dead in some cases and in some regions. She is girdled by the ocean, and is said to be the upholder of the universe. 136 123a Satyashadha-srauta-sutra II = 1116:21. 123b MCS II : 816. 124 Mahanarayana-upanishad I : 46. 125 Manava-grihya-sutra II : 1814. 123 Baudhayana-grihya-sutra I : 19:16, Manava-grihya-sutra I : 1015, II # 111 9 & 10, II 712. : 126 Satya S 5 II : 91318, ASS III : 8:8. Baudhayana-grihya-sutra IV : 23. 128 G 129 11:10. Katyayana-srauta-sutra II # 15:8:24, BSS II : 10:6:22, I # 26, ASS II : 11:10. 130 Satya ES II : 11:3:25. 131 Satyashadha-srauta-sutra II # 111819. 132 Mahanarayana-upanishad I : 46. 133 Brihad-aranyaka-upanishad VI : 411, Chandogya-upanishad I : 182. 134 Chandogya-upanishad III : 12 # 2. : 135 Up III # 2:13. 136 Min Up II : 1:3, Narayana-upanishad I, Kaivalya Up XV.

104 for her She is honey for all beings, and all beings are honey 137 This, however had become a set phrase in the Upanisads and, applied to various divinities ceases to connote anything really concrete. She is the head She is the head of the Purusa dwelling 138 in the orb, and she is regarded as the personification of truth 139 She is looked upon as the Re, the hinkara 140, the hinkara 140 and she is also supposed to be the vessel. 4 144 She is the body of speech, and extends as far as it extend 42 extensive 143 146 harmless 14 and is prayed to be peaceful. She is extensive, perous, 149 145 and is possessed of soma: She is calm, PrOS She is initiated by Agni, and is said to be covered by it too 150 She is regarded as barren since birth. 151 137 MA Up II : 5:1. 138 BA Ub V : 5:3 & 4. 139 ASS III : 837. 140 Chandogya-upanishad I : 6:1, II : 1711. 141 BOS II : 9:18. 142 Brihad-aranyaka-upanishad I : 5:11. 143 Satyashadha-srauta-sutra II: 916121, Katyayana-srauta-sutra I # 2+2:10. 144 Manava-grihya-sutra I # 1418. 145 Gautama-dharma-sutra III # 2:11, Manava-grihya-sutra II : 816. 146 Satyashadha-srauta-sutra III- 15:53. 147 Katyayana-srauta-sutra I Katyayana-srauta-sutra I # 22:10. 148 Paraskara-grihya-sutra III : 316. 149 Satyashadha-srauta-sutra II | 1)1216. 150 AGS III # 11#1, BOS I : 7:38. 151 Satya S 5 II # 11:8:9.

105 She was The Vedic Aryans no longer thought her to be so important during the period from the Aranyakas and Upanisads to the sutras. Even though she was not given so much importance as before, she was still regarded by them as the mother of the whole creation. As before, she was held to be the mother of fire, and was also invoked by the devotee for happiness, security, progeny and welfare. She played some part in the performance of the sacrificial ritual. It is clear that she becomes slightly abstract during the period of the Aranyakas and the Upanisads. conceived as the essence of all creation, and also as Rc, hinkara and Gayatri. Unlike before, she was now looked upon as the body of speech, and was also thought to extend as much as the full range of speech. In the Samhita and Brahmana period, she was considered as possessed of vigour and tremendous power, and was also said to be ruling over and controlling the whole world. But in the period of the sutras, she is conceived as calm, and is beseeched to be pleasant and peaceful. It is thus seen that her conception underwent certain changes during the period from the Aranyakas to the sutras. The process is one of the loss of the concrete physical details of the Early Vedic period. The goddess now ceases to be the earth as such, the physical reality is replaced by sacrificial details and she becomes a rarefied and abstract being in the process. The compensation of the Mother Earth's physical details is now found in the introduction of ritual components which have hardly any logical relevance in the concept of Prthivi. i

106 Earth was deified by almost all the peoples of the world. Among the deities of the partriarchal Teutons, the goddess Nerthus represented Mother Earth. Tacitus could recognise this deity of his own land among the German tribes # Nerthum 14 152 est Terram Matvem. The latter goddess, Terra Mater or Tellus or Ops Mater was the Earth Goddess of the Romans, whose cult they carried far and wide. The Teutonic Tamfana Frija and Nehalemi: were intimately associated with the earth, while the giantess Jordh, mother of Thor, was simply the Earth. In the Prose Edda ve also come across a group of goddesses known as asynia who were probably earth-spirits 153 The Celts on the other hand were probably a matriarchal people and in their religion goddesses predominate over the gods. Their earliest Gaelic pantheon was styled Tuatha De Danaan. They believed that all their deities sprang from a great Earth Mother called Danu. The British gods were also the children of the great Earth Goddess Don, who was surely the same 154 divine personage as Danu, the mother of the Tuatha Da Danaan. ther 15$ The Pre IndoIn Esthonian religion, Mother Earth is also the presiding deity of birth and death. In Finn mythology, Akka was the Earth Goddess who was popularly called great-grandmother: ,,European peoples of Armenia worshipped a great Earth Goddess who had identical characteristics of the Babylonian Ishtar. This goddess was later known as Anahit whose Iranian counterpart was Anaitis. 152 Germania, 40 153 Grimm J., "Teutonic Mythology," (Tr. S. Stallybrass) London, 1880-88. p. 250££. 154 Squire, C.. "Celtic Mythology and Legend, Gresham, 48-51, P. 252. 155 Tylor, E.B., "Primitive Culture", London, 1871, 1, 24-277

1. 107 A parallel of Prthivi can be seen in Gaia, the Greek Earth goddess. The Greeks had seen in her the mother-goddess. Similarly, the Vedic Aryans also regarded Prthivi as the mother of everyone. Gaia's soil nourished all that existed, and by her benevolence men were blessed with progeny and the pleasant fruits of earth. Gaia's substitutes Rhea and Cybele, personified the earth as such, while Demeter represented the fertile and cultivated soil. A parallel of Prithivi can also be seen in the Slavonic Mati-Syra Zemlya which means 'Moists Mother Earth'. She was generally looked upon as a protectress of peasants. Another parallel of the earth-goddess in the Zend Avesta is Spenta Armaiti. Like Frthivi, she supports flocks, herds and men. The protects her worshippers from the enemies, and is generally regarded as good to everybody. A few instances of iconographical evidence may be noted in connection with Prithivi i In a passage of the Markandeya Purana the Devi says, 66 Next, O ye gods, I shall support the whole world with the vegetables which shall grow out of my own body during a period of heavy rain 'I shall gain fase on earth then as Sakambhari". 156 Thus the goddess is no other than Mother Earth from whose body grows the life-sustaining vegetables. In this connection we may 156 Pargiter F.E., "Markandeya Purana" (Tr.), Calcutta, 1904, Xc 11, 43£.

108 refer to a seal unearthed at Harappa which, on the obverse, shows a nude female figure, head downwards and legs stretched out 157 and upwards, with a plant issuing out of her womb. This may be regarded as the prototype of the aforesaid Earth Mother sakambhavi. on the reverse, we find a female figure with dishevelled hair and arms raised in alarm, and a male figure standing in front of her in a threatening attitude with a shield>> -like object in one hand, and a sickle-like object in the other. Marshall suggests that - 66 the scene is intended to portray a human sacrifice connected with the Earth Goddess depicted on the other side. The association of the Earth Goddess with the vegetative forces of nature is not confined only to the said 'Sakambhari' seal. There are many others in which trees and plants are associated with the goddess. In one such seal the goddess stands between the bifurcated branches of a pipal tree in front of which appears a half-kneeling worshipper behind whom stands a goat with a human face, and in the lower section there are seven persons dressed in short kilt and #158 wearing long pigtails. The figurines of the Kulli culture finish at the waist ☑ in a splayed pedestal, arms bent with hands on the hips, breasts usually shown, eyes fashioned from small stones, halx elaborately dressed, ornamented by oval pendants resembling cowrie-shells, and bangles on arms and wrists. In the Zhob Valley sites the same 157 150 Marshall, J., "Mohenjodaro and the Indus Civilisation, London, 1931, 1, p. 52. Marshall, op. cit., 63££; Mackay E.J.H., "Further Excavations at Mohenjodaro, 1937, 1, 337-38.

109. type of female figures recurs with necklaces, large and beak-like noses, hooded heads, exaggerated breasts, circular eye-holes, 159 and slit mouths and bangles. The Zhob figurines remind us of the Phigalian Demeter or the Black Annis. As Piggot rightly. observes : a grim embodiment of the Mother Goddess who is also the guardian of the dead an underworld deity connected alike with the crops and the seed-com buried beneath the earth. The fertility aspect so often connected with such #160 underworld gods is indeed represented by other models. The finds of southern sind along the Indus include terracotta figurines exactly like the specimens from Harappa and Mohenjo-dard. The figurines of the Mother-Goddess from Chanhu-daro are also of Mohenjo-daro type, the only difference being that they stand upon a flat, more or less open base which recall the figurines from the pre-Harrappan sites of Northern and Southern Baluchistan. Many of the figurines from Mahonjo-daro are painted with red slip or 162 162 163 wash, as in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Malta, but those from Harappa retain no trace of paint. 164 The goddesses wear a dis tinctive head-dress which rises from the back of the head, in some cases directly from the head, while in others it forms part of coiffure. Certain prehistoric figures of Earth Nother from Adalia A 159 Stein, A., "An Archaeological Tour in Waziristan and North Baluchistan", (MASI,37), Calcutta 1929, pp. 38, 42, 60, 75, 'An Archaeological Tour in Gedrosia" (MASI, 43), Calcutta 1931, pp. 37, 70, 120, 126, 151, 162. 160 161 Piggot, S., Prehistoric India, London, 1950, p. 127. Majumdar, N.G., "Explorations in Sind (MASI, 48), Delhi,1934, pp. 38, 68. Conta.

162 163 Mackay, op. cit., 1, 349, Marshall, op. cit., 1, p. 342. Brunton, G., and Caton-Thompson, G., The Badarian Critisation, 1928, p. 29. 164 Vats, M.S., Excavations of Harappa, Delhi, 1950. 110

111 in Asia Minor wear something similar to the fan-shaped portion of the above headdress. Reference may also be made in this connection to a figurine of the Semitic Mother Goddess Astarte, the great goddess of vegetation and fertility, whose headdress bears a resemblance to that of the figurines from Mohenjo-daro. The goddess is significantly nude save for a very short skirt round the waist secured by a girdle. 66 4th - 3rd c B.C. (323 - 273 B.C.) - Lauriya Nandangarh near Bedia in Champaran district of N. Bihar) preserve certain characteristics of the Vedic burial mound for example, the central pillar and small gold leaves #165 stamped with the image of the Earth goddess. 66 In the 3rd e B.C., a colossal standing female figure has been found at Besnagar. The figure is of the 166 "Earth goddess" or may be that of a Yaksi. "Vedic burial mounds, which may be placed around 800 B.C. or thereabout, at Bauriya, Nandangarh and other places have yielded among various objects, a small gold plaque bearing the figure of a nude female, probably the earth goddess mentioned in the burial hymns. A pre-historic megalith as the shrine of earth-mother has been found at Bol Hai in M.P. : 165 Herman Goets, "India : 5000 years of Indian Art London, p. 42. 166 A.K. Coomaraswamy, "History of Indian and Indonesian Art", Dover'65 (Hierseman, 27), p. 15. 167 Ajit Kumar Mukherji, "Art of India", Oxford Book and Stationary Company, Calcutta, New Delhi, Darjeeling, 1952, p. 15.