The Prithvi Sukta – A Vedic Salutation to Bharat Mata

To recite this hymn today is to revive a worldview where Ganga is not just a river but a goddess, where forests breathe epics, where mountains guard the soul of a civilization. Without these, temples become cold monuments. With them, every stone sings.

- AMIT KALLA

As an artist, poet, and educator, I have walked through temple ruins and fading frescoes, where ancient stones whisper stories shaped by time. In those moments, amidst sculptures worn by wind and centuries, I've felt a deeper pulse — not of history alone, but of the land itself. That silent rhythm, timeless and enduring, finds its clearest voice in the Prithvi Sukta of the Atharvaveda (12.1).

This sacred hymn is more than a poetic offering — it is a profound salutation to the Earth, the Matrbhu, our Motherland. Like the Himalayas in its steadiness and the Ganga in its flow, the Prithvi Sukta embodies the living spirit of Bharata thought. Here, Earth is not a passive setting for human activity but a sacred presence — Bhu Devi, the divine embodiment of Dharma and cosmic balance.

The chants of the Prithvi Sukta do not treat the Earth as inert matter; she is the stage, the play, the sound, the silence — witness and womb of every civilization. She cradles temples and forests, welcomes rivers, bears witness to pilgrimages and wars alike, and still offers herself to the rising sun each morning. This is not poetic embellishment — it is ta, the natural order, spoken as truth by the ancient is.

In the hymn, the seer addresses Earth not with demands, but with reverence, calling her Vasudha, Bhuma, and Prithvi. He does not seek wealth, but her virtues — her strength, patience, and moral firmness. It is a song of belonging, not of control.