Goddesses related to Prithivi

Mahi bestows happiness on the worshipper. She is prayed to sprinkle the sacrifice of her worshippers 169 she is 170 the creator of thousands, and is regarded as the guardian of Visnu. 171 She is great, splendid and is endowed with many voi qualities; she does not age, and is denied of burning heat and 172 suffering. The Vedic Aryans considered her to be a personification of the earth. She had some attributes similar to the earth -goddesses Prthivi and Bhumi. Like Bhumi, she may also thus be regarded as a subsidiary of Prithivi, the great Earth-Goddess. In Mahi we have a transparent deification of the earth in her physical aspect with no spiritual or abstract trait added. She symbolizes the early Aryans' reverence for this earth in all her expanse and vastness. Hence the name Mahi. The Goddesses which are related to Prthivi These goddesses are considered to be related to Prthivi, and are invoked together. They grant refuge and happiness to their worshippers, they reside in the waters or in the atmosphere, and are said to be easy of invocation! 168 Rigveda I : 1319. 169 Maitrayani-samhita II : 78225. 170 Maitrayani-samhita II : 7:244. 171 Taittiriya-brahmana II : 3:116. 172 Taittiriya-brahmana II : 3:16. # 173 Rigveda V : 46:7.

= The Vedic Aryans looked upon these goddesses as related to Prthivi. They considered them to be givers of protection and happiness. They also thought them to be residents of the waters or of the atmosphere. They were regarded as being easy of invocation. pantheon. They are very minor goddesses of the Vedic Vasundhara 113 Vasundhara, a very minor goddess is once personified as 174 a goddess. A horse, a chariot and Visnu all travel on her. Evidently she is just another name for the earth with whom she shares these qualities. The only addition seems to be that under this new name she connotes wealth more directly. People conceived her as the personification of the earth on which all kinds of moving things for example, chariots, etc., animals for example, horse, etc. as also the great gods like Visnu exist and move. Mrttika Mrttika, soil, is sometimes personified as a goddess. She is beseeched to destroy the evil deeds and ains committed by the devotee, she is prayed to grant them prosperity, she is excellent, and is the support of all living creatures; she is a 174 Mahanarayana-upanishad I ; 37.

: gift from god to the creatures of earth, and is prayed to by Kasyape in the Mahanerayana Upanisad 1.39, 40. 114 It is obvious that people considered. Pretike as a goddess capable of destroying the evil deeds of the worshipper. also prayed for prosperity. living creatures. She was. She was held to be the support of all She was also sometimes conceived as an abstract goddess when she is said to be gift from god to the creatures. Shuni Pleased after being served by worshippers, Humi is prayed to bestow literally and favourably on them; she is beseeched to grant them auspicious gifts 175 } She is supplicated to protect the sacrifice.76 She saves her worshippers from trouble and suffering, she is entreated to look after the intelligent and praising devotes. 177 178 and 179 She holds the position of the mother of sacrifice, generally holds the form of the mother of everything. She is the mother of the herd of cous 180 131 She is endowed with youth, and has the form of a woman. She is lustrous. trous? 182 175 Rigveda V : 41:15. 176 Taittiriya-brahmana II # 21816. 177 Taittiriya-brahmana II : 2:316. 178 khx Taittiriya-brahmana I 2:412. 179 Rigveda X : 18:10, V : 41:15. 180 BV V # 41:19. 181 Rigveda X : 18:10. 182 Rigveda VII : 3717.

115 183 Being powerful, she 184 She is great and enthusiastic. encompasses Indra, and is the mistress of everything. She is 185. the great receptacle, clearly a reference to land as an arable 186 ✓ field, and is boundless, presumably because the Aryans had by then become the owner of vast areas. She is deserving of homage, and is as if the essence of everything; she is prayed to enjoy She becomes soft-like a tuft the praise of her worshippers. 187 188. of wool of sheep. Evidently a reference to the soft earth after ploughing and moistening, and she is established in the waters. 189 she is purified by the attack of cows, by digging, etc. and by the 190 besmearing of coudung," a clear reference to the field fertilized by cowdung. The Vedic Aryans looked upon Bhumi too as a personification of the earth. The people invoked her for bestowing liberally on them, and also for granting them auspicious gifts. They also worshipped her for giving them protection from any troubles or suffering. They considered her to be the mother of everything in general. She has a few attributes for example, (1) extensive, (11) mistress of everything, (111) mother of everything, (iv) bestower of auspicious gifts, (v) giver of protection, (vi) the great receptacle, etc. common to Prthivi, the great f 183 Rigveda V : 41:15. 184 Rigveda VII : 37:7. 185 Vajasaney-samhita XXII : 10. 186 Taittiriya-brahmana II : 218:6. 185 Rigveda X : 18:10. 189 Gopatha-brahmana I : 38. 180 Sadvimsa-brahmana VI : 1014. 187 Rigveda V 1 41:15.

$ 116 goddess of the earth. of Prthivi, the earth has, however, one distinctive feature : while Prthivi is the entire earth Bhumi is land insomuch as it is cultivable land. Hence the concept appears after the Aryans had picked up the art of agriculture from the indigenous people. Bhumi, in some respects, an alter ego Bhumi is mentioned a few times in the later Vedic literature # 2 192 She gives happiness to her devotees, and she sustains life 191 and supports all living beings She is the mother of the people. She is the root of the soul, and is raised up by Krana in his beings 192 194 incarnation of the boar having a hundred handsIt is obvious that the people looked upon Bhumi as another manifestation of Prthivi, a goddess who gave them sustenance, and also happiness. She was regarded by them as their mother. It can be seen that she underwent some changes in the Upanisadic period, when she became a somewhat abstract goddess for example, she was thought to be the root of the soul, etc. Throughout she is held to be a minor goddess of the Vedic Pantheon. 191 Mahanarayana-upanishad I : 38. 192 ASS III : 14:14, Satyashadha-srauta-sutra I : 218122. 193 Chandogya-brahmana III : 15:1. 194 Mahanarayana-upanishad I : 38.