Prithvi

In the Vedic corpus Prithvi functions as the terrestrial half of a primary cosmic pairing with the sky deity Dyaus; together Dyavaprithivi are invoked as universal parents and upholders of ṛta (cosmic order). In Vedic cosmogonic hymns Prithvi appears as manifest matter formed during creation and as the maternal ground from which vegetation and life derive. Over time in later Hindu literature she is largely identified or merged with Bhūmi (bhūmi = soil), and elements of her character are woven into narratives involving major gods (for example in later associations with Vishnu's myths). In Buddhist accounts summarized in the sources she appears in the scene of the Buddha’s enlightenment, where an earth‑goddess figure receives testimony to the Buddha’s right to attain enlightenment, marking her incorporation into Buddhist cosmological storytelling.

The sources supplied do not give a detailed anthropomorphic iconography but characterize Prithvi through epithets and functional imagery: she is 'the Vast One' or 'the Broad One' (etymological field emphasizing breadth and expanse), described as firm, stable, and nurturing. Vedic hymns address her as a motherly, all‑nourishing presence (Viśvadhāyā), the broad, firm expanse that bears plants, trees and creatures. Funerary hymns evoke her lap and garment as maternal coverings for the dead, reinforcing an image of enveloping, maternal earth rather than a narrowly defined visual form.

Prithvi's primary functions in the sources are sustaining life and providing fertility: she is invoked as the source of plants, forests and herbs and is repeatedly praised as generous and all‑nourishing. She upholds and supports everything that exists—described as steady, stable and all‑supporting in Vedic hymns—and is petitioned for prosperity, forgiveness and protection. Cosmogonically she is treated as the material principle or 'manifest matter' implicated in creation. Behaviorally she acts in complementary relation to Dyaus: the sky fertilizes the earth (rain) while Prithvi bears forth growth. In funerary ritual texts she receives the dead—hymns ask that the deceased return to her lap and be lightly covered like a child—showing a mortuary role. The Vedic corpus contains variant portrayals of her mobility: many verses stress immovability and firmness, while some hymns allow for movement, reflecting textual diversity within the Vedas.