Shloka 22
Pṛthu Mahārāja Milks the Earth (Bhūmi-dugdha) and Organizes Human Settlement
तथाहयो दन्दशूका: सर्पा नागाश्च तक्षकम् । विधाय वत्सं दुदुहुर्बिलपात्रे विषं पय: ॥ २२ ॥
tathāhayo dandaśūkāḥ sarpā nāgāś ca takṣakam vidhāya vatsaṁ duduhur bila-pātre viṣaṁ payaḥ
Thereafter cobras, hoodless snakes, great serpents, scorpions, and other venomous beings made Takṣaka their calf; they milked poison from the earth as their milk and stored it in the hollows of serpent holes.
Within this material world there are various types of living entities, and the different types of reptiles and scorpions mentioned in this verse are also provided with their sustenance by the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The point is that everyone is taking his eatables from the planet earth. According to one’s association with the material qualities, one develops a certain type of character. Payaḥ-pānaṁ bhujaṅgānām: if one feeds a serpent milk, the snake will simply increase his venom. However, if one supplies milk to a talented sage or saint, the sage will develop finer brain tissues by which he can contemplate higher, spiritual life. Thus the Lord is supplying everyone food, but according to the living entity’s association with the modes of material nature, the living entity develops his specific character.
FAQs
In Canto 4, Chapter 18, the Bhāgavatam describes that serpents and Nāgas made Takṣaka their calf and drew the Earth's milk as poison, showing how different species obtain different essences from the same Earth.
Takṣaka is presented as a prominent serpent leader; by making him the 'calf,' the serpent beings align their nature with poison, and thus the Earth yields an essence suitable to their disposition.
The same source can produce different outcomes depending on one's nature and intention—cultivate sāttvika habits and devotion so that what you draw from the world becomes nourishing rather than harmful.