The Story of Dyaus and Prithvi from Vedas

There is a general opinion regarding the Dyaus (Heaven) and the Prithivi (Earth),that they are treated as the most ancient deities of the Aryans, thus they are spoken of in the hymns of the Rig-Veda as the parents of  the  other  gods.  They are described as the greatest, the wisest and the most energetic ones. They are promoted for the righteousness, and are worshiped with lavish gifts by their worshipers.

Where as in some another place they are said to have made all creatures, and through their favor immortality is conferred upon their offspring. Not only are they the creators, but also the preservers of all the creatures; and are beneficent, benevolent and kind to all.

In some other passages the Dyaus (Heaven) and the Prithivi (Earth) are said to have been formed by Indra, who is declared to transcend them in greatness, which they follow as a chariot follows the horse. They are described as bowing down before him; as trembling with fear on account of him; and as being subject to his control. Again, they are said to have been formed by Soma; and in other verses other deities are said to have made them. This confusion of thought respecting the origin of the gods led very naturally to the question being asked in other hymns,……….. 

How have they been produced?

Who are the sages that knows?

There seemed to be considerable ground for the opinion that Indra gradually superseded Dyaus in the worship of the Hindus soon after their settlement in India. As the praises for the newer god were sung, the older one was forgotten; and in the present day, while Dyaus is almost unknown, Indra is still worshiped, though in the Vedas both are called the god of heaven. It may be distinctly shown that Indra took the place of the god of heaven, who, in the Vedas, is invoked in the vocative as Dyauspitar (Father of Heaven). This is proved by the fact that this phrase is exactly reflected in the Latin, Jupiter and the Greek Zeū-pater as a religious formula, fixed, like many others, before the separation of the languages. When the people who knew Sanskrit left the common country, from them, as well as for other kindred tribes, the brilliant radiance of heaven appeared to them, in consequence of the climate that prevailed in India. On account of being having the holiest thing, and they settled in sultry India. Where the glow of the heavens were destructive, and only its rain operates beneficially, this aspect of the Deity must have appeared the most adorable, so that the epithet Pluvius, in a certain sense, absorbed all the other characteristics of Dyauspitar. This found its expression in the name In-dra, in which we unhesitatingly recognize a word (which arose in some local dialect, and was then diffused with the spread of the worship) standing for Sind-ra, which again was derived from Syand, to drop. The conceptions which had been attached to Dyaus were then transferred to Indra. The opinion that Indra has taken the place of Dyaus is now pretty generally believed, and I believe the above explanation appears natural.

About Prithivi we also hear in the Vishnu Purāna about her birth. There was a king named Venā, who was notorious for his wickedness and his neglected his religious duties. When the rishis/ sages of that age could bear with his impiety no longer, they slew him. However then a worse evil happened; anarchy prevailed, and they felt that a bad king was better than none at all. Upon this they rubbed the thigh of Venā, when there came forth a black dwarf, who’s appearance was just like a negro or  completely dark person. Immediately after his birth the dwarf asked, “What am I here to do?” He was then been told, “Nisīda” (sit down), and from this his descendants are called “Nisidis” unto this day. The corpse was now pure, as all sin had left it in the body of this black dwarf. The right arm was then rubbed, and from it there came a beautiful shining prince, who was named as Prithu, and he reigned in the place of his father. The then during his reign there was a terrible famine. As the Earth would not yield her fruits, great distress prevailed. Then Prithu said, “I will slay the Earth, and make her yield her fruits”. Terrified at this threat, the Earth assumed the form of a cow, and was pursued by Prithu, even to the heaven of Brahmā. At the length, weary with the chase, she turned to him and said, “do you know the sin of killing a female, that you are trying to slay me?” The king replied that “when the happiness of many is secured by the destruction of one malignant being, the slaughter of that being is an act of virtue and righteousness”. On this the Earth, said “if! In order to promote the welfare of your subjects, you put an end to me, hence the best of monarchs, will it lead to the support of people at a large”? Overcome at the length, the Earth declared that all vegetable products were old, and destroyed by her, but that at the king's command she would restore them as developed from her milk. “Do you, therefore, for the benefit of mankind, give me that calf by which I may be able to secrete milk. Make also all places level, so that I may cause my milk, the seed of all vegetation, to flow everywhere all around”.

Prithu acted upon this advice. Before his time there was no cultivation, no pasture, no agriculture, no highways for merchants; all these things of civilization originated in the reign of Prithu. Where the ground was made level, the king induced his subjects to take up their abode. He therefore having made Swayambhuva Manu the calf, milked the Earth, and received the milk into his own hand, for the benefit of mankind. Hence proceeded all kinds of corn and vegetables upon which people now subsist. By granting life to the Earth, Prithu was as her father, and she thus derived the patronymic appellation Prithivi.
The commentator observes that by the calf, or Manu in that character, is typified the promoter of the multiplication of progeny; Manu, as will be seen in the account of the Creation, being regarded by some of the Purānas as the first parent of mankind. This legend, with considerable variation, is found in most of the Purānas; Soma, Indra, Yama, and others taking the place of Manu as the calf, where Prithu is regareded as the milker by the rishis, Mitra, and many others. These are all probably subsequent modifications of the original simple allegory, which typified the earth as a cow, who yielded and supplied to every class of beings the milk that they desired, or the object of their wishes."

It should be noticed that, later in the Vishnu, Prithivi is said to have sprung from the foot of Vishnu.

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