Shloka 21
Pṛthu Mahārāja Milks the Earth (Bhūmi-dugdha) and Organizes Human Settlement
यक्षरक्षांसि भूतानि पिशाचा: पिशिताशना: । भूतेशवत्सा दुदुहु: कपाले क्षतजासवम् ॥ २१ ॥
yakṣa-rakṣāṁsi bhūtāni piśācāḥ piśitāśanāḥ bhūteśa-vatsā duduhuḥ kapāle kṣatajāsavam
Then the Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, ghosts, and flesh-eating piśācas made Rudra—Bhūtanātha, an expansion of Lord Śiva—their calf, and they milked out blood-brewed drinks, storing them in a vessel of skulls.
There are some types of living entities in the form of human beings whose living conditions and eatables are most abominable. Generally they eat flesh and fermented blood, which is mentioned in this verse as kṣatajāsavam. The leaders of such degraded men known as Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, bhūtas and piśācas are all in the mode of ignorance. They have been placed under the control of Rudra. Rudra is the incarnation of Lord Śiva and is in charge of the mode of ignorance in material nature. Another name of Lord Śiva is Bhūtanātha, meaning “master of ghosts.” Rudra was born from between Brahmā’s eyes when Brahmā was very angry at the four Kumāras.
FAQs
In this verse, such beings are described as flesh-eaters who, aligned with Bhūteśa (Śiva), draw from the Earth a drink compared to blood-born liquor, reflecting their tamasic dispositions.
Bhūteśa means “lord of the Bhūtas (ghostly beings).” Here Śiva is named because those beings accept him as their guiding ‘calf’ while extracting their desired share from the Earth.
The Bhagavatam illustrates that nature yields results according to one’s consciousness and desires—purifying goals lead to nourishing outcomes, while degraded aims yield correspondingly harmful results.