30 verses
Maitreya said: After praising Pṛthu, whose lips were trembling in anger, the frightened earth again spoke, after fixing her mind by her intelligence.
O Lord! Control your anger and understand what I say. An intelligent person takes the essence from all things, just as the bee takes honey from the flower.
O master (abhibho)! Though I am low, still you should hear my words. If something valuable exists in my words, take that alone, and not the other things.
The sages who have seen the truth have acknowledged methods for attaining human benefit in this life and the next, and put them into practice.
Milk is obtained by milking the full udder of the cow, not from a strained or torn udder. Therefore take all the food situated in me by the proper method. To express this, she shows the proof of the method. Methods have been acknowledged by the sages for this life, such as agriculture, and for next life, such as sacrifices, and have been put into practice (prayuktāḥ).
The inexperienced person, having faith, who applies these methods previously shown, easily attains the desire results.
Avaraḥ means inexperienced. Upeyān means the results of the practice.
The goals of a fool who, ignoring the authorized methods, acts independently, and attempts repeatedly, are not fulfilled.
I see that all the plants created previously by Brahmā are being enjoyed by the sinners who have no sense control.
The topic is now discussed in six verses.
Not protected and respected by kings like you in this place filled with thieves, I have devoured all of the plants so that sacrifice can be performed in the future.
With Vena in mind, she also scolds his son, Pṛthu. She is unprotected because no sacrifices are being performed, and she is not respected because irreligion has spread. After that (atha), when Vena died, the place became full of thieves. If I had not devoured all the plants, then how could I possess them now? I have done this for the sacrifices that you will start again in the future.
These plants have been situated within me for a long time in a subtle state. By the method I will explain you should take them out.
Kṣīnāḥ means situated in a subtle form. Dṛṣtena yogena means by the process I will explain.
dogdhāraṁ ca mahā-bāho bhūtānāṁ bhūta-bhāvana annam īpsitam ūrjasvad bhagavān vāñchate yadi
O courageous King! O mighty-armed King! Nourisher of the living beings! If you want the desire foods producing strength, arrange for a calf so that I, being affectionate, will produce desired milk suitable for the living beings, and also arrange a pot and a milkman.
Dohanam is a milk pot. Dhokṣye means I will fulfill. Urajsvat means giving strength.
O King! O lord! Make me level so that the auspicious water falling by Indras grace will remain for you when the rainy season has passed.
Apartau means even when the rainy season has passed.
Considering the beneficial words of the earth, the King, making Svāyambhuva the calf, milked out all the plants into his hands.
As well, other intelligent persons took the essence in all conditions as the earth had explained. Thus others milked the earth who was devoted to Pṛthu, according to their desires.
This verse introduces related topics to illustration of the earths words (verse 2). Just as Pṛthu accepted the essence of the earths words, and doing that achieved his desired results, so others also, being intelligent did the same thing. The principle is that the intelligent take the essence in the words of all people at all times. They again obtained all the items taken away from everyone because of the absence of dharma during the reign of Vena and when there was no King. Fifteen verses describe what other people obtained. Pṛthu-bhāvitām means the earth inspired by Pṛthu. The earth desired to give everything to Pṛthu. She became completely devoted to Pṛthu. Bhāvita is the causative base of bhū, with a possessive meaning.
O Vidura! Making Bṛhaspati the calf, the sages obtained from the earth milk in the form of pure Vedic verses, with the senses as the pot.
Devīm is earth. The senses, receiving the Vedas by voice, mind and ears were the pot.
The devatās, making Indra the calf, produced nectar with power of mind, senses and body as the milk, in a pot of gold.
Soma means nectar. Vīrya is mental power, oja is sense power and bala is bodily strength. This was the milk.
The sons of Diti, the demons, making Prahlāda, best of the demonic family, the calf, produced liquor in an iron pot.
Surā and āsava mean liquor.
The Gaandharvas and Apsarās, making Viśvāvasu the calf, produced sweet, beautiful songs as the milk, with a lotus as the pot.
Madhu means sweet. Another version has gānam (songs) instead of gāndharvam.
The Pitṛs, the devatās of funeral rites, making Aryamā the calf, with faith produced offerings to the ancestors as the milk, in a pot of unbaked clay.
Kāvyam means food for the Pitṛs. Āma-pātre means in pot of unbaked clay.
The Siddhas, making Kapila the calf, produced siddhis such as aṇima as the milk and the Vidyādharas produced knowledge of flying in the sky as the milk, with the sky as a pot.
Saḍklapanā-mayīm siddhim means siddhis such as aṇima. The sky was the pot. Vidyām means knowledge of flying in the sky.
The Kimpuruṣas and others, made Maya the calf, produced the astonishing trick of disappearing at will as the milk.
Anye means the Kimpuruṣas and other beings. They produced the astonishing trick of disappearing at will (dhāraṇā-mayīm).
The Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, ghosts and Piśācas, eaters of flesh, making Śiva the calf, produced liquor made of blood in a skull.
Bhūteśaḥ is Śiva. They produced liquor made from blood.
The snakes without hood, scorpions and snakes with hoods, making Takṣaka the calf, produced poison as the milk with their mouths as the pot.
Ahayaḥ are snakes without hoods. Daṇòa-śūkāḥ are scorpions. Sarpāḥ are snakes with hoods.1 The Nāgas were the offspring of Kadru. Bila-pātre means in their mouths.
kravyādāḥ prāṇinaḥ kravyaṁ duduhuḥ sve kalevare suparṇa-vatsā vihagāś caraṁ cācaram eva ca
The cattle, making Nandī the calf, produced grass as the milk. Carnivorous animals, making the lion their calf, produced the flesh of other living beings as the milk with the forest as the pot. The birds, making Garuòa the calf, produced insects and fruit as the milk, with their stomachs as the pot.
Yavasam means grass. Govṛṣam means Śivas bull. The animals made the lion the calf. Kravyam is meat. Suparṇaḥ is Garuòa. Caram means insects. Acaram means fruits.
The trees, making the banyan tree the calf, produced sap as the milk. The mountains, making Himalayas the calf, produced various minerals with the plateau as the pot.
All other living beings, making their chief person the calf, produced various things as milk in their respective pots from the yielding earth who was dedicated to Pṛthu.
This verse summarizes all other beings not mentioned. They made the head of their species the calf.
O Vidura! In this way Pṛthu and others who eat food milked different milks, their desired foods, from the earth with different pots and different calves.
This verse summarizes. They milked their desired food (svannam) as different milks. Dohaḥ means the pot.
Pṛthu, the King, became fond of the earth, suppler of all foods, and out of affection made her is daughter. He was affectionate to his daughter.
It was inappropriate to take her as a wife, since he milked her for food with his own hands. It was inappropriate to take her as his mother, since he threatened to punish her with his arrows in his hand. Finally, when affection appeared, he took suitably her as his daughter.
The King crumbled the mountains to dust with the tip of his bow. Powerful Pṛthu made the earth planet almost flat.
The Supreme Lord, son of Vena, the father of the progeny, supplier of maintenance, made houses for the citizens here and there on this planet, suitable to the people.
He produced villages, towns, cities, forts of various types, cowherd villages, cow sheds, military installations, mines, and agricultural mountain villages.
Grāmas are villages without markets. Puras have markets. When a pura becomes large it is a pattana. He made various forts. Bṛhaspati says audakaṁ pārvataṁ vārkṣam airiṇaṁ dhānvanaṁ tathā: a fortress can be protected by water, mountains, trees, barren land or desert. Ghoṣāṇ means the places of the cowherds. Vrajān means places for cows. Śibirān means for soldiers. Ākarān means mines for producing gold and silver. Kheṭa means agricultural villages near the mountains.
Before the time of Pṛthu there was no arrangement of town and villages. People lived here and there as they liked without fear.
Thus ends the commentary on the Eighteenth Chapter of the Fourth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
In the Eighteenth Chapter, after milking the earth in the form of a cow, everyone receives their desired milk using different calves and pots.