Shloka 39

वेन-पृथु-प्रादुर्भावः, राजधर्मः, पृथिवीदोहनम्

Vena–Pṛthu Episode and the Milking of Earth

Devanagari script

मथ्यमाने च तत्राभूत् पृथुर् वैन्यः प्रतापवान् दीप्यमानः स्ववपुषा साक्षाद् अग्निर् इव ज्वलन्

Transliteration

mathyamāne ca tatrābhūt pṛthur vainyaḥ pratāpavān dīpyamānaḥ svavapuṣā sākṣād agnir iva jvalan

Translation

मथन होते ही वहाँ प्रतापी वेनपुत्र पृथु प्रकट हुआ। वह अपने तेज से दीप्त था, मानो साक्षात् अग्नि ज्वलित हो उठी हो।

Word by Word

मथ्यमानेwhile (it) was being churned

चand

तत्रthere

अभूत्appeared; came to be

पृथुःPṛthu

वैन्यःson/descendant of Vena

प्रतापवान्mighty; splendid

दीप्यमानःshining

स्ववपुषाwith his own form/splendor

साक्षात्manifestly; as if in person

अग्निःfire

इवlike

ज्वलन्blazing

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Pṛthu

Vena

Agni (fire)

FAQs

What is the significance of Pṛthu’s emergence during the churning in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames Pṛthu as a manifest, divinely sanctioned sovereign whose very appearance—radiant like fire—signals the return of order and dharma after Vena’s unrighteous rule.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the idea of legitimate kingship here?

Through the imagery of “manifestation” during churning, Parāśara presents kingship as grounded in tejas (spiritual-political potency) and providential order, not merely heredity—Pṛthu arises as the corrective force within the lineage.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu in this context even when not named in the verse?

In the Vishnu Purana’s worldview, such dharma-restoring manifestations occur under Vishnu’s supreme governance of cosmic order; the king’s blazing tejas functions as a sign of that higher, sustaining sovereignty.