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Concept
Prithu
Summary
Prithu (Sanskrit: पृथु, Pṛthu, lit. "large, great, important, abundant") is a sovereign (chakravarti), featured in the Puranas. According to Hinduism, he is an avatar (incarnation) of the preserver god—Vishnu. He is also called Prithu, Prithi and Prithvi Vainya, literally, "Prithu — the son of Vena". Prithu is "celebrated as the first consecrated king, from whom the earth received her (Sanskrit) name, Prithvi." He is mainly associated with the legend of his chasing the earth goddess, Prithvi, who fled in the form of a cow and eventually agreed to yield her milk as the world's grain and vegetation. The epic Mahabharata, Vishnu Purana, and the Bhagavata Purana describe him as a part-avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu.
The birth of Prithu is without female reproduction. Thus being a ayonija ("born without (the participation) of the yoni"), Prithu is untouched by desire and ego and can thus control his senses to rule with dharma.
The Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana and Harivamsha and Mānava Purana tells the story of Prithu: King Vena, from the lineage of the pious Dhruva, was an evil king, who neglected Vedic rituals. Thus the rishis (sages) killed him, leaving the kingdom without an heir and in famine due to the anarchy of Vena. So, the sages churned Vena's body, out of which first appeared a dark dwarf hunter, a symbol of Vena's evil. He had coppery hair, red eyes and a short stature. As he was very meek, the sages asked him to "Nishidha" (sit). Hence, he was called Nishadha, the founder of a race having his name. Since the sins of Vena had gone away as the dwarf, the body was now pure. On further churning, Prithu emerged from the right arm of the corpse.
The sages then began to knead the dead body’s right hand. And a shining man came out because of the kneading. This was Prithu. As he was born, a divine bow, arrows and armour fell on him from the skies. Everyone was happy at Prithu’s birth. Even Vena no longer had to go to the hell that one has to go to if one does not have a son.
Official source
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