Thoughts on priThvi - bhudevi and how Hindus look at land and sacred geography of India - march 25th 2021 twitter

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This line of kālidāsa from kumārasambhava shows how Hindus looked at the word “Prthvi”.

उत्तर दिशा में हिमालय नामक देवताओं की आत्मा पर्वतों का राजा है, जो पूर्व और पश्चिम दिशा में स्थित दोनों समुद्रों में पृथ्वी के मानदण्ड की तरह प्रविष्ट होकर खड़ा है.

pRthvī is not just a generic word for planet earth or land. It is also a specific word for India (land from himālayas to the (two/three) oceans is one rāshTra - पृथिव्यै समुद्रपर्यन्ताया एकराळिति). Interestingly, one of the coolest regal epithets was of sātavāhana emperors found near paiTHaN (their first capital - which later moved to downstream of godāvarī) is त्रिसमुद्रतोयपीतवाहन. tri-samudra-toya-pīta-vāhana - one who’s mount/horse has drunk the water of all three seas. This motif of “land until the oceans” is oft seen in Hindu polity time and again.

It also reflects on decisions by Hindu polity at the heights of its imperium (various points in history) of not going outside this sacred land for permanent conquests and settlements. The original of “my horse drank the water of so and so river/sea/town/well” is used quite regularly even in 18th century CE Hindu polity. Horses from bhīmā river (Pune region) drinking water of yamunā (Delhi) and Sindhu (Attock) is often heard in conversations of that era. It has also acquired a different (and naughty) meaning in colloquial speak.

“बारागाव/बारा विहिरींचे पाणी प्यालेला” is a popular phrase in Marathi. It literally means one who has drunk water of 12 towns/wells. An experienced person. Alternatively, well here can also mean as, how to put it delicately, well, vagina.

So the phrase still refers to an “experienced man” ie a philanderer. 😀  Drinking water from some water source refers to fulfilling one’s trishNā - thirst / desire. To “upabhog (completely enjoy?). Ability upabhog at will. The phrase vīrabhogyā vasundharā refers to this too. To “bhog” and to protect vasundharā is the duty of a “bhupati” (vishNu/ king)