कोपमेनं महाराज त्यज दारुणमेव हि । प्रसन्ने त्वयि राजेंद्र तदा स्वस्था भवाम्यहम्
O great King, abandon this terrible anger; when you are calm, O lord of kings, then I will be at ease.
एवमुक्तस्तया राजा पृथुर्वैन्यः प्रजापतिः । तामुवाच महाभागां धरित्रीं द्विजसत्तमाः
Thus addressed by her, King Pṛthu, son of Vena and lord of the people, spoke to the greatly fortunate Earth, O best of twice-born.
पृथुरुवाच- हते चैव महापापे एकस्मिन्पापचारिणि । लोकाः सुखेन जीवंति साधवः पुण्यदर्शिनः
Pṛthu said: When a great sinner, a single evildoer, is slain, the worlds and the virtuous who see righteousness live in happiness.
तस्मादेकं प्रहर्तव्यं पापिष्ठं पापचेतनम् । तस्मात्त्वां हि हनिष्यामि सर्वसत्त्वप्रणाशिनीम्
Therefore, the most wicked, evil-minded one should be struck down; thus, I will kill you, who bring destruction to all beings.
त्वया बीजानि सर्वाणि लुप्तान्येतानि सांप्रतम् । ग्रासं कृत्वा स्थिरीभूत्वा प्रजां हत्वा क्व यास्यसि
By you, all seeds have now been destroyed; having consumed them and become steady, after killing the people, where will you go?
हते पापे दुराचारे सुखं जीवंतिसाधवः । तस्मात्पापं प्रहंतव्यं सत्यमेवं न संशयः
When the wicked and immoral are slain, the virtuous live happily; therefore, the wicked must be destroyed—this is the truth, without doubt.
पालितव्यं प्रयत्नेन यस्माद्धर्मः प्रवर्द्धते । भवत्या तु महत्पापं प्रजासंक्षयकारकम्
One must protect with effort, for from that righteousness grows; but through you, a great sin has arisen, causing the destruction of the people.
एकस्यार्थेन यो हन्यादात्मनो वा परस्य वा । लोकोपतापकं हत्वा न भवेत्तस्य पातकम्
If, for the sake of one, whether oneself or another, one kills a source of suffering for the world, there is no sin in that slaying.
सुखमेष्यंति बहवो यस्मिंस्तु निहते शुभे । वसुधे निहते दुष्टे पातकं नोपपातकम्
Many will attain happiness when the wicked one is slain; when the evil Earth is killed, there is no sin, nor any secondary fault.
प्रजानिमित्तं त्वामेव हनिष्यामि न संशयः । यदि मे पुण्यसंयुक्तं वचनं न करिष्यति
For the sake of the people, I will surely kill you—there is no doubt—if you do not act according to my righteous command.
जगतोऽस्य हितार्थाय साधु चैव वसुंधरे । हनिष्ये त्वां शितैर्बाणैर्मद्वाक्यात्तु पराङ्मुखीम्
For the welfare of this world, O Earth, and for righteousness, I will strike you with sharp arrows, for you have turned away from my command.
स्वीयेन तेजसा चैव पुण्यां त्रैलोक्यवासिनीम् । प्रजां चैव धरिष्यामि धर्मेणापि न संशयः
With my own power, I will uphold the virtuous beings who dwell in the three worlds, and I will sustain the people through righteousness—of this there is no doubt.
मच्छासनं समास्थाय धर्मयुक्तं वसुंधरे । इमाः प्रजा आज्ञया मे संजीवय सदैव हि
O Earth, abiding by my righteous command, always revive these people by my order.
एवं मे शासनं भद्रे अद्य यर्हि करिष्यसि । ततः प्रीतोऽस्मि ते नित्यं गोपायिष्यामि सर्वदा
O blessed one, when you carry out my command today in this way, then I will always be pleased with you and will forever protect you.
त्वामेव हि न संदेह अन्ये चैव नृपोत्तमाः । धेनुरूपेण सा पृथ्वी बाणांचितकलेवरा
There is no doubt that you alone, and other excellent kings as well, in the form of a cow, O Earth, have bodies marked by arrows.
उवाचेदं पृथुं वैन्यं धर्माधारं महामतिम् । धरण्युवाच-। तवादेशं महाराज सत्यपुण्यार्थसंयुतम्
She, the Earth, then spoke these words to Prithu, son of Vena, the upholder of righteousness and great wisdom: 'O great king, your command, united with truth and virtue—'
प्रजानिमित्तमत्यर्थं विधास्यामि न संशयः । उद्यमेनापि पुण्येन उपायेन नरेश्वर
'—for the sake of the people, I will certainly carry out to the utmost, without doubt, with effort and with righteous means, O lord of men.'
समारंभाः प्रसिद्ध्यंति पुण्याश्चैवाप्युपक्रमाः । उपायं पश्य राजेंद्र येन त्वं सत्यवान्भवेः
'Righteous undertakings and virtuous actions become renowned; consider, O king, the means by which you may remain true to your word.'
धारयेथाः प्रजाश्चेमा येन सर्वाः प्रवर्द्धये । संलग्नाश्चोत्तमा बाणा ममांगे ते शिलाशिताः
'By which you may support these people and cause them all to flourish; sharp, stone-tipped arrows are embedded in my body.'
समुद्धर स्वयं राजंश्छल्यंति भृशमेव ते । समां कुरु महाराज तिष्ठेन्मयि यथा पयः
'O king, remove them yourself, for they pain me greatly; make me level, O great king, so that I may hold water as before.'
सूत उवाच-। धनुषोग्रेण ताञ्छैलान्नानारूपान्गुरूंस्तथा । उत्सारयंस्ततः सर्वां समरूपां चकार सः
The Suta said: With his mighty bow, he drove out those various great stones, and then made all the land level.
तदाप्रभृति ते शैला वृद्धिमापुर्द्विजोत्तमाः । तस्या अंगात्स्वयं बाणान्स्वकीयान्नृपनंदनः
From that time, O best of twice-born, those stones increased; the son of the king then personally removed his own arrows from her body.
समुद्धृत्य ततो वैन्यः प्रीतेन मनसा तदा । गर्ताश्च कंदराश्चैव बाणाघातैः समीकृताः
Then Vainya, with a joyful mind, removed them, and by the blows of the arrows, the pits and ravines were made level.
एवं पृथ्वद्यंसमां सर्वां चकार पुण्यवर्द्धनः । समीकृत्य महाभागो वत्सं तस्या व्यकल्पयत्
Thus the virtuous Prithu made the entire surface of the earth level; having leveled it, the illustrious one provided her with a calf.
मनुं स्वायंभुवं पूर्वं परिचिंत्य पुनः पुनः । अतीतेष्वथ सर्वेषु मन्वंतरेषु सत्तमाः
Reflecting again and again on Manu Svayambhuva of old, and on all the past Manus, O best of beings—
विषमत्वं गता भूमिः पंथा नासीच्च कुत्रचित् । समानि विषमाण्येवं स्वयमासन्द्विजोत्तमाः
The earth had become uneven, and there was no path anywhere; thus, O best of twice-born, the level and the uneven existed together.
पूर्वं मनोश्चाक्षुषस्य प्राप्ते चैवांतरे तदा । जाते पूर्वविसर्गे च विषमे च धरातले
Formerly, at the coming of the Cākṣuṣa Manu and at the beginning of the previous creation, the earth's surface was uneven.
ग्रामाणां च पुराणां च पत्तनानां तथैव च । देशानां क्षेत्रपन्नानां मर्यादा न हि दृश्यते
There were no boundaries to be seen for villages, towns, cities, lands, or fields.
कृषिर्नैव न वाणिज्यं न गोरक्षा प्रवर्तते । नानृतं भाषते कश्चिन्न लोभो न च मत्सरः
There was neither agriculture nor trade, nor was cattle-rearing practiced; no one spoke falsehood, nor was there greed or envy.
नाभिमानं च वै पापं न करोति कदा किल । वैवस्वतस्य संप्राप्ते अंतरे द्विजसत्तम
No one ever acted with pride or committed sin at any time, O best of twice-born, during the interval before Vaivasvata's arrival.