The Sky Father and Earth Mother: the Basis of All Indo-European Religions, Part Sixteen, the Vedic Earth Mother

Pṛthivī Mātā is the Vedic Earth Mother, a descendant of the Indo-Iranian reflex, *Pr̥thwī, who also gave rise to the Iranian Zam, the PIE ancestor being *pl̥th₂wih₂. Pṛthivī Mātā personifies the earth in the Vedic and later Hindu traditions. She is paired with the Sky Father, Dyaus Pitar and is invoked as the stable, fertile and life-sustaining ground of existence. The etymology of Her name is 'Broad Earth, Mother'.

The Etymological Chain in Detail

. PIE *pl̥th₂wih₂    'Broad One'

. Proto-Indo-Iranian *pr̥thwí‑    'Broad One'

.Vedic Sanskrit Pṛthivī  'Broad Earth'

.Vedic formula Pṛthivī Mātā  'Broad Earth Mother'

The Vedic formula version of Her name is used repeatedly in the Rig Veda and the Atharvaveda for hymns, sacrifices and in cosmological passages, a fixed, traditional name used in ritual poetry, invocations and prayers for fertility, stability and protection. The formula preserves a prehistoric Indo-European pattern preserved in the following traditions:

. Greek Gaia 'Earth Mother'

. Norse Jörð 'Earth Mother'

. Baltic Žemė 'Earth'

. Slavic Mati Syra Zemlya 'Moist Mother Earth'

In the hymns of the Rig Veda the Earth is praised as the 'broad sustaining mother', along with the Sky Father. who are 'parents of the gods' ( Dyāvā‑Pṛthivī) and upholders of the law, the supporters of gods and man, invoked alongside the Maruts (sons of Rudra and companions of Indra), and the universal mother and the receiver of the dead (a function shared with other Indo-European Earth Mothers).

In rituals Pṛthivī Mātā functions as the ritual ground, the maternal protector of the sacrificer, the receiver of offerings and bodies, the stabilising deity, the witnesser of the rite, the supporter of the fire (Agni), and the cosmic foundation of order (ṛta).

She is invoked in fire rituals because the bricks of the altar rest on Her body, Agni is born on the Earth, the sacrificer stands upon Her, and She receives the clarified butter, which falls or spills upon Her. In atmospheric rites to Indra and the Maruts, because they are invoked upon the 'broad earth', She acts as a counter-balance to the storm gods, thus protecting the sacrificer. She is invoked to gently receive the dead, to provide a resting place for the ancestors and to be a protector of the dead. In fertility and prosperity rites She is invoked for rain, the fertility of the crops and cattle, the prosperity of the clan,seasonal renewal and the stability of the household. In these rites She is paired with Dyaus (the sky), Sūrya (the sun) and Āpas (the waters).

The following are prime epithets of the Earth Mother to be found in the Rig Veda:

. Pṛthivī Mātā    'Broad Earth, the Mother'

. Urvi   'Wide, spacious one'

. Mahī  'Great, vast one'

. Bhūmi  'Earth, ground, soil, the physical surface of the Earth'

. Medinī 'Fertile, rich Earth'

. Aṅganā 'Broad expanse'

. Sthirā 'Firm, stable Earth'

. Dhārayantī 'Earth, who supports all beings'

. Janitrī  'Mother, begetter'

. Dhārayitrī  'Supporter, bearer'

. R̥tāvṛdhā 'Strengthener of cosmic order (ṛta)'

. Sūnṛtā 'Kind, gracious, benevolent'

. Urvī Pṛthivī  'Wide and broad Earth'

. Śivā Pṛthivī 'Auspicious, kindly Earth'

. Śaṃsā Earth invoked for blessing

. Aṅgirasī Earth associated with the Angiras seers

. Vasu‑dā  'Earth who gives wealth'

. Kṣamā  'Patient, enduring Earth'

. Mṛdu‑Pṛthivī  'Gentle Earth'

. Laghvī  'Light upon the body'

. Vasu‑dā  'Earth who gives wealth'

The Earth Mother is frequently associated with animal symbols, such as the boar, serpent, cow and mare. She is also symbolised by stone, clay, mountains and valleys. In the Vedic period She had no anthropomorphic form; this only changed in the later Hindu period, where the goddess is depicted as a goddess seated on a lotus, a woman arising from the earth or as a queenly figure seated by Varāha, the boar incarnation of  Viṣṇu, who rescues the Earth from the cosmic waters. Vedic religion avoided the use of idols as early Indo-European religions did not view or depict the gods in anthropomorphic form, the gods being see as to vast to occupy human form. Instead they were invoked through ritual formulae, epithets and natural phenomena.

If we wish to understand the religion of the Indo-Aryans we must recognise that Hinduism is a corruption of their original Indo-European religion by non-Aryan peoples, whom they encountered and to some extent fused with. This helps to account for the many bizarre and racially and spiritually alien gods and religious practices. It is only in the Rig Veda that we can understand the genuine and true gods of the Indo-Aryans.