Pṛthivi

views updated

Pṛthivi (‘the extended one’). The Hindu manifestation of the earth, the womb of Agni (Śatapatha Brāhmana 7. 4. 1. 8), the Mother in whose womb the embryonic earth is formed. She is sometimes joined with the sky as Dyāvā-Pṛthivi, and remains associated with agriculture. In later Hinduism, she is Bhūdevī, the consort of Viṣṇu.

More From encyclopedia.com