Shloka 82
वेन-पृथु-प्रादुर्भावः, राजधर्मः, पृथिवीदोहनम्
Vena–Pṛthu Episode and the Milking of Earth
तत उत्सारयाम् आस शैलाञ् छतसहस्रशः धनुष्कोट्या तदा वैन्यस् तेन शैला विवर्धिताः
tata utsārayām āsa śailāñ chatasahasraśaḥ dhanuṣkoṭyā tadā vainyas tena śailā vivardhitāḥ
Then Vainya (King Pṛthu) drove back the mountains in hundreds of thousands, striking and forcing them away with the very tip of his bow; by that mighty ordering, the mountain ranges were set into their proper form and growth.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How mountains and terrain were regulated by Pṛthu’s power to establish habitable order.
Teaching: Historical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Power is dharmic when it restrains excess and establishes right measure—‘driving back’ disorder so the world can sustain life.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Use strength (authority, resources, skills) to set boundaries and create structure that benefits the community, not personal domination.
Vishishtadvaita: The world’s morphology is purposeful within the Lord’s cosmic order; human rulers participate as instruments in maintaining that ordered plurality.
Lakshmi Presence: Bhumi
FAQs
It portrays Pṛthu as the archetypal ruler who imposes order on the world—taming and arranging nature so society can flourish under dharma.
By showing that true sovereignty is not mere conquest but the capacity to regulate and stabilize the world’s conditions—using power to establish order and welfare.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇa frames such world-ordering kingship as aligned with Vishnu’s sustaining principle—royal authority becomes a vehicle of the Supreme’s maintenance of cosmic order.