With blazing arrows shining like fire, radiating an intense energy, and standing unshaken in his resolve, King Vainya—who was endowed with immense yogic power and greatness, and was invincible even to the immortals—stood before the goddess Earth. She, unable to find refuge anywhere else, approached Vainya alone. This goddess, always revered throughout the three worlds, appeared before him with her palms joined in supplication. She spoke to Vainya, “O King, do you not consider it unrighteous to kill a woman? Without me, how will you sustain your people? The worlds exist within me; by me, the universe is supported. Without me, O best of kings, all the people would perish. If you desire the welfare of your people, O protector of the earth, you ought not to kill me. Hear my words: all undertakings reach completion only when begun in the proper way. Even if you kill me, O King, you will not be able to protect the people. I will become the source of food; abandon your anger, O radiant one. It is said that women are inviolable, even among a hundred animal species. Knowing this, O protector of the earth, you should not abandon righteousness.” Hearing the many words of the goddess, the king—great-minded, self-controlled, and righteous—suppressed his anger and replied to the Earth, “Whoever kills for the sake of one—be it himself or another, whether it is one life or many—that person incurs sin, whether he wishes it or not. But if, by the death of one, many can obtain happiness, then in such a beneficial act, there is no sin—not even the shadow of sin. Therefore, for the sake of the people, I will slay you, O Earth, if today you do not act according to my word for the good of the world. If you turn away from my command, I shall slay you with an arrow and myself become renowned here by sustaining the people. Therefore, O best upholder of righteousness, accept my words: always revive the people—you are indeed capable, there is no doubt. Become my daughter; in this way, this is a great means. I restrain you now for the sake of righteousness, O awe-inspiring one.” Thus addressed, the virtuous Earth replied to Vainya, “So it is, O King. I will do this without doubt. Let a calf be given to me, by which, O affectionate one, I may yield my essence; and make me uniform everywhere, O best of the righteous, just as milk flows everywhere, so may I be everywhere.” Then Vainya, with the tip of his bow, cleared away all the layers of stone that covered the earth, and by doing so, the mountains were removed. In earlier Manvantaras, the Earth was uneven by nature, and her even and uneven places arose from her own being. In those ancient times, before the Cākṣuṣa Manvantara, there was no division of cities or villages; there were no crops, no cattle-keeping, no agriculture, nor trade routes. All this came into being only in the Vaivasvata Manvantara. Wherever the land was even, people dwelt there. Their food was fruits and roots, it is said; from the time of Vainya onward, new forms of sustenance appeared in this world. Yet, even Vainya struggled, for the plants were lost. Then the Lord, appointing the Cākṣuṣa Manu as a calf, and using a vessel, milked the Earth herself for crops from her own surface. By this act, Vainya—known as Prithu—provided crops for the people. With Cākṣuṣa Manu as the calf and the earth as the vessel, the people were nourished and lived by that food. Again, praised by the sages, the Earth was milked. This time, Soma was the calf, and Brihaspati the milker. The vessel was the Vedic metres, beginning with the Gayatri; the milk was austerity and the eternal Brahman. Once more, praised by the hosts of gods led by Purandara (Indra), and using a golden vessel, the gods milked out ambrosia. By this nectar, the gods led by Indra live. Praised by the Nagas, the Earth was milked for poison as milk; Vasuki was the milker, and the powerful sons of Kadru were the calves. For the Nagas and all serpents, their food, conduct, and strength always depend on that essence—they are fierce, great-bodied, and mighty. Again, in a vessel of shell-lac, the Earth was milked for hidden treasures; Vaishravana was made the calf, along with the Yakshas and virtuous beings. Jatunahbha, the father of the jewel-lord and a great-souled son of a Yaksha, was the milker. By this, the Yakshas and their kin were sustained. The earth was milked again by the rākṣasas and piśācas, with Kubera, endowed with Brahma, as their milker. The powerful rākṣasa Sumālī milked blood as the milk, using a skull as the vessel, and the rākṣasas made it vanish; by this, the rākṣasas are sustained in every way. The earth was milked again by the gandharvas and the hosts of apsarases, using a lotus as the vessel, with Citraratha as the calf, and they drew forth pure fragrances. Viśvāvasu, the pure and radiant son of a sage and king of the gandharvas, was the milker. The mountains, too, praised the Earth and milked her; medicinal herbs of many forms and various gems were extracted. For them, Himavat was the calf, Meru the milker, and a mountain served as the vessel—thus, the mountain was established. Trees and plants, praising the Earth, milked her using a palāśa leaf as the vessel; their milk was the cut and sprouting shoots. The flowering mountain was the wish-fulfilling cow, the illustrious plakṣa tree the calf; the Earth, giver of all desires, was the milker for all beings, past and future. Thus, the Earth is the nourisher, the creator, the supporter of all. She was milked for the benefit of the worlds by Prithu, as we have heard. She is the foundation and womb of all that moves and does not move.