Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 25
Pṛthu Mahārāja Milks the Earth (Bhūmi-dugdha) and Organizes Human Settlement
वटवत्सा वनस्पतय: पृथग्रसमयं पय: । गिरयो हिमवद्वत्सा नानाधातून् स्वसानुषु ॥ २५ ॥
vaṭa-vatsā vanaspatayaḥ pṛthag rasamayaṁ payaḥ girayo himavad-vatsā nānā-dhātūn sva-sānuṣu
The trees made a calf out of the banyan tree, and thus they derived milk in the form of many delicious juices. The mountains transformed the Himālayas into a calf, and they milked a variety of minerals into a pot made of the peaks of hills.
FAQs
This verse states that trees yield different saps and mountains yield various minerals—portrayed as ‘milk’ drawn from the Earth—showing that nature supplies abundance when cosmic order is restored.
In the Earth-milking imagery, a ‘calf’ stimulates the flow of a specific yield; the Himalayas represent the mountains’ own principle that draws out minerals and metals from the Earth.
It encourages seeing nature as sacred and regulated by dharma: responsible leadership and ethical living support sustainable prosperity rather than exploitative extraction.