Shloka 8
Pṛthu Mahārāja Milks the Earth (Bhūmi-dugdha) and Organizes Human Settlement
नूनं ता वीरुध: क्षीणा मयि कालेन भूयसा । तत्र योगेन दृष्टेन भवानादातुमर्हति ॥ ८ ॥
nūnaṁ tā vīrudhaḥ kṣīṇā mayi kālena bhūyasā tatra yogena dṛṣṭena bhavān ādātum arhati
Por haber estado almacenadas durante tanto tiempo, las semillas de grano dentro de mí se han deteriorado sin duda. Por ello, debes disponer de inmediato que se extraigan mediante el proceso estándar recomendado por los śāstras y los ācāryas.
When there is a scarcity of grain, the government should follow the methods prescribed in the śāstra and approved by the ācāryas; thus there will be a sufficient production of grains, and food scarcity and famine can be checked. Bhagavad-gītā recommends that we perform yajña, sacrifices. By the performance of yajña, sufficient clouds gather in the sky, and when there are sufficient clouds, there is also sufficient rainfall. In this way agricultural matters are taken care of. When there is sufficient grain production, the general populace eats the grains, and animals like cows, goats and other domestic animals eat the grasses and grains also. According to this arrangement, human beings should perform the sacrifices recommended in the śāstras, and if they do so there will no longer be food scarcity. In Kali-yuga, the only sacrifice recommended is saṅkīrtana-yajña.
FAQs
This verse shows Bhūmi-devī explaining that vegetation has diminished over time and that a qualified ruler like Pṛthu, endowed with yogic insight, can draw out and restore nature’s bounty for the welfare of all.
In the narrative of Canto 4, Chapter 18, the Earth personified addresses Pṛthu to acknowledge the depletion of resources and to affirm his qualification to extract and redistribute prosperity in a dharmic way.
Resources decline when neglected; the Bhagavatam’s lesson is to combine insight, responsibility, and ethical leadership to restore balance—taking only what is needed and ensuring sustainable welfare for all.