Pratiwi Kusuma

Prithvi or Prithvi Mata ( Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, ', also पृथिवी, ', "the Vast One") is the Sanskrit name for the earth, as well as the name of a devi (goddess) in Hinduism and some branches of Buddhism. In the Vedas, her consort is Dyaus Pita, the sky god. Her counterpart later in Puranas, is known as Bhumi, Varaha's wife.

As ''Pṛthvī Mātā'' ('Mother Earth') she is complementary to Dyaus Pita ('Father Sky'). In the '' Rigveda'', Earth and Sky are primarily addressed in the dual as Dyavapṛthivi. She is associated with the cow. Prithu, an incarnation of Viṣṇu, milked her in cow's form.

Despite strong historical Hindu influence, the name is also used for national personifications of country Indonesia, where in certain points have been internally referred to as " Ibu Pertiwi" (in Indonesian).
It has 28 names in Sanskrit

Buddhism

In Buddhist texts and visual representations, Pṛthvī is described as both protecting Gautama Buddha and as being his witness for his enlightenment. Prithvi appears in Early Buddhism in the Pāli Canon, dispelling the temptation figure Mara by attesting to Gautama Buddha's worthiness to attain enlightenment. The Buddha is frequently depicted performing the bhūmisparśa or "earth-touching" mudrā as a symbolic invocation of the goddess.

In Chinese Buddhism, she is considered one of the Twenty-Four Protective Deities (二十四諸天 Èrshísì zhūtiān) and is usually enshrined in the Mahavira Hall of Buddhist temples along with the other devas.

''Pṛthvī Sūkta''

The ' (or ') is a hymn of the ''Atharvaveda'' (12.1).

Epithets

See also

*Vasudhara
* Phra Mae Thorani

References

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Further reading

* ''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' () by Anna Dallapiccola
* ''Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions'' () by David Kinsley

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Classical elements
Earth goddesses
Hindu goddesses
Mother goddesses
Rigvedic deities
Locations in Hindu mythology
Hindu cosmology