Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 4 Chapter 18:19-32

Book 4: Chapter 18

Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 4: Chapter 18: Verses 19-32 King Prthu milks goddess Earth in the form of a cow The Siddhas (another class of heavenly beings) made a calf of the sage Kapila and obtained in the (concave) cup of the welkin mysterious powers (of becoming as small as an atom and so on), powers which could be exercised by mere will; while the demigods such as the Vidyadharas used the same sage for their calf and the same pot and obtained the art of treading the air. Others (such as the Kimpurusas, an order of swift and quickly-moving superhuman beings), who were adept in conjuring tricks, made a calf of Maya (the great demon architect and conjurer) and obtained the magic art of those wonderful beings who can disappear (in an instant to the astonishment of the spectators)-an art which could be exhibited by mere wish or thought. (Similarly) the Yaksas, the Raksasas (the night-wandering ogres), the ghosts, the detestably ugly fiendish creatures known as Pisacas, all of whom feed on raw flesh, made a calf of Rudra (the Lord of the ghosts), and drew the beer of blood in a skull for a pot. Even so the serpents with and without hood, the snakes and other poisonous creatures (such as the scorpions) made a calf of Taksaka (the chief of the snakes and serpents) and drew poison in their mouth for the vessel. The (graminivorous) beasts made a calf of the Bull of Lord Siva and obtained the grasses for milk in the vessel of the forest. Again, the (ferocious) flesh-eating beasts with sharp teeth made use of the lion (the king of beasts) as the calf and got flesh for milk in the pot of their body. The birds made a calf of Garuda (their king) and got mobile creatures (such as moths and insects) as well as immobile creatures (fruits etc.) for milk. With the Banyan for the calf the trees got different kinds of saps for milk. The mountains used the Himalaya as the calf and obtained the various minerals (for milk) in the basins of their ridges. Earth is a wish-yielding cow. Now that she had been (tamed and) made available for milking by king Prthu, all the species of living beings milked her each with its own chief as the calf and obtained milk in various forms and held it in their own vessel (suitable for it). In this way, O descendant of Kuru, king Prthu and others, who sought food for themselves to eat, milked the cow and got different kinds of milk in the form of their own food with different calves and cups (to hold it). Thereafter king Prthu became pleased with goddess Earth, who now yielded all the objects of one's desire, and fondly accepted her as a daughter, feeling paternal love for her. Prthu (the son of Vena), the almighty king of kings, crushed the crests of mountains with the ends of his bow and mostly levelled the surface of the terrestrial globe. Lord Prthu (the son of Vena), who was a father to his subjects and provided them with the means of subsistence, next planned with due regard to propriety dwellings (for human beings) at different places all over the earth, and he founded villages, towns and cities, built castles and forts of every description, designed abodes for cowherds and pens for cattle, contrived camps and cantonments and taught how to dig mines. He (also) provided houses for farmers and cultivators and raised hamlets on hill-sides. Before (the advent of) Prthu people had no idea of different kinds of human dwellings like villages and towns on this globe. Now they began to live comfortably (in rural and urban conditions) with a sense of security of life and property in every part of the earth. Thus ends the eighteenth discourse forming part of the Story of Prthu's Conquest, in Book Four of the great and glorious Bhagavata-Purana, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Samhita.