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Mysteries of the Vedas (Caitanya Chandra Dasa)

The appearance of Pṛthu Maharaja (Srimad

Bhagavatam #56)
By killing Vena, the Brāhmaṇas stopped his policy of suppressing sacrifices and the worship
of the Supreme Lord. However, this led to another problem: the rise of thieves and criminals.

Caitanya Chandra Dasa

By killing Vena, the Brāhmaṇas stopped his policy of suppressing sacrifices and the
worship of the Supreme Lord. However, this led to another problem, which was the rise of
thieves and criminals who started plundering the citizens unopposed. It is described that
the running of all these thieves formed dust storms around the kingdom, suggesting they
had organized themselves in large hordes and were systematically plundering and killing.
The save the citizens, the Lord appeared as Pṛthu Maharaja.

It was improper for the Brāhmaṇas to get involved in political affairs and start fighting
these gangs, even if with curses, but at the same time, they couldn't just ignore the plea of
the citizens.

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The descendants of Dhruva Mahārāja - Srimad Bhagavatam #55

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💬 Text of the lesson

Lesson 56: The appearance of Pṛthu Maharaja (chapter 4.15 and 4.16)

By killing Vena, the Brāhmaṇas stopped his policy of suppressing sacrifices and the
worship of the Supreme Lord. However, this led to another problem, which was the rise of
thieves and criminals who started plundering the citizens unopposed. It is described that
the running of all these thieves formed dust storms around the kingdom, suggesting they
had organized themselves in large hordes and were systematically plundering and killing.
The save the citizens, the Lord appeared as Pṛthu Maharaja.

It was improper for the Brāhmaṇas to get involved in political affairs and start fighting
these gangs, even if with curses, but at the same time, they couldn't just ignore the plea of
the citizens:

"The great sages began to think that although a brāhmaṇa is peaceful and impartial because he is
equal to everyone, it is still not his duty to neglect poor humans. By such neglect, a brāhmaṇa’s
spiritual power diminishes, just as water kept in a cracked pot leaks out." (SB 4.14.41)

This verse reveals a very important principle: having the power to protect implies a duty to
do so. An armed policeman who fails to protect an innocent person from being attacked is
liable to be punished for negligence. In the highest sense, protection means to distribute
transcendental knowledge and engage people in Krsna consciousness. Every Vaishnava is
also a Brāhmaṇa in qualification, and the duty of such Brāhmaṇas is to share their spiritual
knowledge and try to bring people to Krsna consciousness. As Prabhupada mentions, "If
they do not do something to relieve the distressed condition of human society, it is said that due to
such neglect their spiritual knowledge diminishes."

Often, Vaishnavas and other transcendentalists prefer to live in isolation, cultivating their
own spiritual practice without caring for the suffering conditioned souls, but Prahlāda
Mahārāja said that he did not want liberation alone. He wanted to deliver all fallen souls.

The sages thus decided to act on the situation. They decided that the lineage of Dhruva
Maharaja should not be stopped, because children there were prone to be great devotees of
the Lord. Because of Sunīthā, the lineage was spoiled, and Vena was born, which was a
catastrophe. Now, a solution had to be found.

How to revive a lineage where the last descendant had just been killed? With current
medical technology, it would be impossible, but the Brāhmaṇas knew a way: all bodies are
produced from material elements, and thus by manipulating the material elements in a
dead body, it is possible to produce a new body. This is a very specific, subtle art that is lost
nowadays, but that was known to these powerful Brāhmaṇas present at the time.

Since the body of Vena was preserved by Sunīthā, the Brāhmaṇas decided to use it to
produce the body of a saintly king who could continue the seminal lineage of Dhruva
Maharaja.
First of all, the body of Vena had to be purified of all contamination. Therefore, they first
used the specific technique to produce a dwarf called Bāhuka, who embodied all the
contamination of Vena and became the patriarch of the Naiṣāda race, hunters who live in
the forests and hills.

After purifying the body of Vena in this way, the Brāhmaṇas churned it again to produce a
true descendant of Dhruva Maharaja:

"The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, thus the brāhmaṇas and the great sages again
churned the two arms of King Vena’s dead body. As a result, a male and female couple came out of
his arms. The great sages were highly learned in Vedic knowledge. When they saw the male and
female born of the arms of Vena’s body, they were very pleased, for they could understand that the
couple was an expansion of a plenary portion of Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The great sages said: The male is a plenary expansion of the power of Lord Viṣṇu, who maintains
the entire universe, and the female is a plenary expansion of the goddess of fortune, who is never
separated from the Lord. Of the two, the male will be able to expand his reputation throughout the
world. His name will be Pṛthu. Indeed, he will be the first among kings.
The female has such beautiful teeth and beautiful qualities that she will actually beautify the
ornaments she wears. Her name will be Arci. In the future, she will accept King Pṛthu as her
husband. In the form of King Pṛthu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has appeared through a
part of His potency to protect the people of the world. The goddess of fortune is the constant
companion of the Lord, and therefore she has incarnated partially as Arci to become King Pṛthu’s
queen." (SB 4.15.1-6)

When Krsna personally expands Himself, appearing in many forms with the same physical
features (like He did during the rasa dance and to marry the 16,108 queens in Dvārakā),
these expansions are called prakāśa. When He expands in forms that are different in
appearance (like Lord Balarāma or the different forms of Vishnu), these forms as called
vilāsa.

When the Lord partially manifests His qualities and opulences, like in the forms of Mahā-
Vishnu, Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu, and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Vishnu, as well as Matsya and other
avatāras, these forms are called partial incarnations. The Lord also manifests in forms that
take charge of the three material modes as Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva, these are called
qualitative incarnations. Finally, the Lord can empower a jīva to perform wonderful
activities, such as in the case of Vyāsadeva, Paraśurāma, Nārada Muni, and the four
Kumāras. These empowered incarnations are called śaktyāveśa, or empowered incarnations.
The śaktyāveśa incarnations are also called āveśa or kalā (part of a plenary expansion, part
of a potency or partial incarnation of a plenary expansion). They manifest just a fragment of
the Lord's opulences, but because the Lord is unlimited, even a fragment of His potency
makes them unlimitedly powerful, just as in the case of Paraśurāma annihilating all
Kṣatriyas 21 times. In practice, the difference between different types of incarnations is
more technical, since they are all manifestations of the same absolute Lord. Technically
speaking, there is a difference between a leg, a hand, and a finger, but in the case of the
Lord, any part is a good as any other, and this is appreciated by pure devotees.

This point is further explained by Srila Prabhupada in chapter eight of Teachings of Lord
Caitanya and in his purport to SB 4.15.6:

"The Lord then pointed out that there is no limit to the saktyavesa-avataras and that they cannot be
counted. However, some can be mentioned as examples. The saktyavesa incarnations are of two
kinds--direct and indirect. When the Lord Himself comes, He is called saksat, or a direct saktyavesa-
avatara, and when He empowers some living entity to represent Him, that living entity is called an
indirect or avesa incarnation. Examples of indirect avataras are the four Kumaras, Narada, Prthu
and Parasurama. These are actually living entities, but there is specific power given to them by the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. When a specific opulence of the Supreme Lord is invested in
specific entities, they are called avesa-avataras. The four Kumaras specifically represent the
Supreme Lord's opulence of knowledge. Narada represents the devotional service of the Supreme
Lord. Devotional service is also represented by Lord Caitanya, who is considered to be the full
representation of devotional service. In Brahma the opulence of creative power is invested, and in
King Prthu the power for maintaining the living entities is invested. Similarly, in Parasurama the
power for killing evil elements is invested. As far as vibhati, or the special favor of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, is concerned, it is described in the Tenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita that a
living entity who appears to be especially powerful or beautiful should be known to be especially
favored by the Supreme Lord. Examples of direct or saksad-avataras are the Sesa incarnation and
the Ananta incarnation. In Ananta the power for sustaining all planets is invested, and in the Sesa
incarnation the power for serving the Supreme Lord is invested." (ToLC ch. 8)

"In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that whenever one sees an extraordinary power, he should conclude
that a specific partial representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present. There are
innumerable such personalities, but not all of them are direct viṣṇu-tattva plenary expansions of the
Lord. Many living entities are classified among the śakti-tattvas. Such incarnations, empowered for
specific purposes, are known as śaktyāveśa-avatāras. King Pṛthu was such a śaktyāveśa-avatāra of
the Lord. Similarly, Arci, King Pṛthu’s wife, was a śaktyāveśa-avatāra of the goddess of fortune." (SB
4.15.6 purport)
King Pṛthu is an empowered incarnation of the ruling power of the Lord invested with the
potency for maintaining all living entities, who appeared to restore proper ruling after all
the disturbances of the reign of Vena. As the Lord empowered Pṛthu to rule with full power
and authority, Laksmi Devi empowered Arci with all good qualities to be his queen.

As Prabhupada describes in his purport to 4.15.2: "The method adopted by the great sages and
scholars, who were learned in Vedic knowledge, was perfect. They removed all the reactions of King
Vena’s sinful activities by seeing that King Vena first gave birth to Bāhuka, described in the previous
chapter. After King Vena’s body was thus purified, a male and female came out of it, and the great
sages could understand that this was an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu. This expansion, of course, was not
viṣṇu-tattva but a specifically empowered expansion of Lord Viṣṇu known as āveśa."

Some commentators describe King Pṛthu as appearing in the Cākṣuṣa Manvantara (the 6th
in the sequence), but this is not in line with the description of the Srimad Bhāgavatam,
which describes Pṛthu as appearing in the first Manvantara, as a descendant of Dhruva
Maharaja and an ancestor of the Pracetas. It's described that later Pṛthu Maharaja milked
the Earth using Svāyambhuva Manu as a calf, which makes it clear that he was still present.

Pṛthu was born not as a child, but as an already a grown-up. He was thus quickly installed
on the throne to solve the chaos created during the rule of Vena. During his enthronement,
all the demigods were present, including Brahmā and Shiva. Lord Brahmā recognized Pṛthu
as an empowered incarnation by noting the presence of the lines of Lord Vishnu's palm on
his right hand and impressions of lotus flowers on the soles of his feet.

All the principal demigods, the predominant deities of the planets, rivers, seas, hills,
mountains, etc., as well as representatives of the different races that inhabit the universe,
offered gifts to the king. The Lord Himself was present in the enthronement as Lord Hari
(or Upendra) and presented the king with a partial form of His sudarśana chakra. It's
described that later (in the 6th Manvantara), Lord Hari appeared from Diti and Kaśyapa
Muni, but this is not contradictory, since all the forms of the Lord are eternal. Lord Hari
also appeared on the back of Garuḍa to save Gajendra from the jaws of the crocodile.

As norm in important universal events, professional reciters were engaged in offering

prayers and glorifying the qualities of Pṛthu Maharaja. However, showing his humility, he
said:

"O gentle reciters, offer such prayers in due course of time, when the qualities of which you have
spoken actually manifest themselves in me. The gentle who offer prayers to the Supreme Personality
of Godhead do not attribute such qualities to a human being, who does not actually have them." (SB
4.15.23)

In his purports, Prabhupada emphasizes that we should not accept an ordinary man as an
incarnation of God, as is common nowadays. Even though Pṛthu Maharaja was in fact an
empowered incarnation of the Lord and had already been accepted by all demigods and
important personalities as such, he refused to accept glorification based on qualities he
hadn't yet manifested. This is just another example of the divine qualities of a great ruler.

The professional reciters, however, didn't stop glorifying the king. On the contrary, they
were further encouraged by his gentleness and sincere display of humility and by the great
sages who were present. These prayers, described in chapter 4.16, explain more about the
qualities of King Pṛthu and his rule, as well as the qualities of a saintly leader. They are not
based on the imagination of the reciters, but on instructions they received from the great
sages who were present. Here are the main points:

a) The Lord appeared as Pṛthu through His internal potency. Even though appearing from
the dead body of Vena, Pṛthu is not a product of this material world. Just as other
empowered incarnations, he carries the divine potency of the Lord, who is fully
independent and can appear anywhere. The reciters considered themselves incapable of
fully describing the glories of the Lord, but went ahead in an attempt to purify themselves.
Similarly, although we are unable to offer prayers to the Lord, our duty is to try our best in
order to purify ourselves. Even though demigods like Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva cannot
adequately glorify the Lord, we should not stop our glorification.

b) Although considering themselves incapable, the reciters declared that they would try to
speak according to instructions received from authoritative sages and scholars. This is
actually the greatest qualification. Every conditioned soul is imperfect, therefore, it is
impossible for any imperfect person to glorify the Lord. However, we can speak in
accordance with the predecessor ācāryas, and when we are successful in that, we can speak
with perfect knowledge, even from an imperfect platform. This applies both in offering
prayers to the Lord and when teaching Krsna consciousness to others. Even if completely
unable to speak anything, we can ask people to chant Hare Krsna.

c) King Pṛthu will be the perfect ruler, engaging everyone in religious duties and punishing
the atheists who reject the Vedic system. In this way, he will be the true friend of the
citizens, since without God consciousness, no one can be happy.
d) In the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna mentions that by cooperation between men and demigods,
prosperity will reign for all. By inducing people on Earth to perform sacrifices, Pṛthu
Maharaja will maintain the demigods, and when the demigods later refuse to cooperate
with him, he will perform their functions by his own potency, sending proper rainfall.

e) In a proper government, the resources collected through taxes are not just used to
maintain the administrative machine, but are accumulated and used to support the citizens
in times of need, like famine or flood. Pṛthu Maharaja would perform this principle
perfectly, and thus he is compared to the sun, who evaporates water and returns it during
the rainy season.

f) Just as the planet is trampled by all kinds of people and animals but continues to
maintain all, King Pṛthu would maintain all inhabitants of his kingdom with all necessary
resources, even at the cost of his own comfort. Even though some citizens would break the
laws of the state, he would be tolerant and look after their welfare.

g) Repeating the predictions of great sages, the reciters predicted that in the future, Pṛthu
would replace Indra in sending rain when he would become unreliable in his duties, and
thus protect the citizens from drought. Being the incarnation of the ruling power of the
Lord, nothing was impossible for him.

h) When people are able to understand what policies the government will adopt, or how
much money is available in the treasury, there is always space for business or political
speculation. Pṛthu Maharaja would thus keep both a complete secret, even though keeping
sufficient funds for all eventualities, different from modern governments, which are
drowned in debts and enter into crisis under the smallest instability. In this way, Pṛthu's
government would be perfectly stable, no one would be able to take unfair advantage, and
there would be no covetousness.

i) How could an incarnation of Krsna come from the dead body of a sinful king like Vena?
The analogy given is that he appeared just as fire coming out of wood. Just as fire is
simultaneously pure and powerful, no one would be able to overcome its strength.

j) Pṛthu Maharaja would be able to perfectly understand what was going on in his
dominions and take appropriate measures, and no one would be able to understand what
kind of system of espionage he was using. Often, leaders can be tricked and manipulated by
flattery and other games, but this also would fail with him, since he would remain neutral
in both glorification and vilification. In punishing criminals, he would also be completely
neutral, punishing or not exclusively based on guilt without intrigues, and he would spread
his influence everywhere in his dominions just as the sun shines everywhere without
impediment.

k) The authority of Pṛthu would not be based just on power. Rather, the citizens themselves
would willingly accept his rule and remain fully satisfied due to his practical activities.
What are these practical activities and qualities that would satisfy the citizens?

"The King will be firmly determined and always situated in truth. He will be a lover of the
brahminical culture and will render all service to old men and give shelter to all surrendered souls.
Giving respect to all, he will always be merciful to the poor and innocent.
The King will respect all women as if they were his own mother, and he will treat his own wife as the
other half of his body. He will be just like an affectionate father to his citizens, and he will treat
himself as the most obedient servant of the devotees, who always preach the glories of the Lord.
The King will consider all embodied living entities as dear as his own self, and he will always be
increasing the pleasures of his friends. He will intimately associate with liberated persons, and he
will be a chastising hand to all impious persons." (SB 4.16.16-18)

l) Pṛthu was not just a powerful king and an empowered incarnation, but a pure devotee as
well. The reciters thus predicted that even while ruling, he would be able to see everything
through the lens of perfect knowledge, understanding that the basic principle of all
material activities is ignorance of our real self, and thus that all material varieties are
meaningless. Based on this understanding, he would be fully detached in his ruling and
thus act as a perfectly impartial king.

m) The reciters concluded by describing the activities of Pṛthu Maharaja, which will be
described in more detail in the next chapters. He would travel all over the Earth in his
chariot at great speed, just like the sun, receiving tribute from all other kings; he would be
respected by his queens just as Nārāyaṇa Himself; he would milk the Earth, extracting all
kinds of desirable things; he would break mountains all over the world using just his bow,
increasing the amount of arable land; he would terrify all rogues and thieves, who would
remain scattered just like insignificant animals terrified by a lion; the would attempt to
perform 100 aśvamedha sacrifices at the source of the river Sarasvatī, and envious of the
feat, Indra would steal sacrificial horse in the last sacrifice, preventing it from being
completed. Finally, Pṛthu Maharaja would meet the four Kumāras and receive spiritual
instructions from them.

After describing all these glories and activities, the reciters concluded:
"No one will be able to disobey the orders of Pṛthu Mahārāja. After conquering the world, he will
completely eradicate the threefold miseries of the citizens. Then he will be recognized all over the
world. At that time, both the suras and the asuras will undoubtedly glorify his magnanimous
activities." (SB 4.16.27)

Just as his ancestors, Pṛthu Maharaja was the emperor of the whole Bhu-Mandala. The
system was that each tract of land was ruled by a different king, who would be responsible
for maintaining religious principles, with the emperor overseeing the administration of all
smaller states. If at any point there were discrepancies in the management, the emperor
would take charge of the management of the respective state and later install a suitable
king. This system continued all the way up to the reign of Maharaja Yudhiṣṭhira and
Parīkṣit Maharaja.

Mahārāja Pṛthu Becomes Angry at the Earth (chapter 4.17)

Two parts of the pastime of Pṛthu Mahārāja that may sound incomprehensible at first are
his chasing of the Earth, when the planet was not producing food grains, and his milking of
the Earth. At first, these two descriptions may sound metaphorical, at best. How could
Pṛthu chase the planet in space using his chariot, hoping to destroy it with his arrows, and
what would he do even if he could effectively destroy the Earth? How could the Earth
become a cow and not only run from the king, but later be milked by him?

The first point to understand in this context is the concept of predominating deities
explained in the Vedas. We tend to see all material energies and planets as mechanical
forces or dead matter. This is the fruit of modern scientific thinking, which sees the world
as something that appears by chance and is run by mechanical physical laws.

The Vedas, however, give a different account. The scriptures explain that everything is
connected with different energies of the Lord. Just as Krsna has an impersonal aspect (the
Brahmajyoti), despite being ultimately a person, all his different potencies appear to be
impersonal when we just study the energy, but ultimately reveal themselves as persons. The
material energy itself is personified in the form of Pārvatī, the consort of Lord Shiva. We
have thus many energetic manifestations, in the form of many planetary systems and the
universe in itself, and a person who controls these energies.

Simultaneously, all the different forces that operate in the universe have their predominant
deities, just like a country is governed and represented by a president. We can imagine
these predominating deities more or less like demigods who control particular energies and
natural manifestations and assume duties connected with them. These predominant deities
have the power to assume any form they desire. The personality controls the energy, but it
is not exactly the same as the energy, just like a president is not the same as the country he
rules.

We can see this in the pastime of Parīkṣit Maharaja meeting with Dharma and Kali in the
first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. Dharma appeared as a bull who was being beaten by
Kali, the predominant deity of the age we live. Bhūmi, the Earth, was also present in the
form of a cow.

Different from the eternal potencies of the Lord, who are eternal, these predominating
deities of planets and material forces are jīvas, who assume their posts due to manifesting
certain sets of qualifications. Just as Indra becomes responsible for controlling the rain,
other qualified souls take charge of controlling the different energies and manifestations
that keep the universe working. They have their personal forms that are distinct from the
planets or energies they manage, just as a president has his personal body, distinct from the
country.

In this way, Pṛthu Mahārāja interacts in these pastimes with Bhūmi, the predominating
deity of Bhu-Mandala (the extended Earth), who is threatened by him for not properly
performing her duties, and is later milked by the kind, offering different desirable objects.

Having heard the description of the activities of King Pṛthu by the professional reciters
described in chapter 4.16, Vidura wants to hear more details on these pastimes:

"Vidura inquired from the great sage Maitreya: My dear brāhmaṇa, since mother earth can appear
in different shapes, why did she take the shape of a cow? And when King Pṛthu milked her, who
became the calf, and what was the milking pot?
The surface of the earth is by nature low in some places and high in others. How did King Pṛthu
level the surface of the earth, and why did the King of heaven, Indra, steal the horse meant for the
sacrifice?
The great saintly King, Mahārāja Pṛthu, received knowledge from Sanat-kumāra, who was the
greatest Vedic scholar. After receiving knowledge to be applied practically in his life, how did the
saintly King attain his desired destination?
Pṛthu Mahārāja was a powerful incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s potencies; consequently any narration
concerning his activities is surely very pleasing to hear, and it produces all good fortune. As far as I
am concerned, I am always your devotee as well as a devotee of the Lord, who is known as
Adhokṣaja. Please therefore narrate all the stories of King Pṛthu, who, in the form of the son of King
Vena, milked the cow-shaped earth." (SB 4.17.3-7)

The description starts right at the beginning of the ruling of Pṛthu Mahārāja. Because Vena
had stopped the performance of sacrifices, the Earth had stopped producing food grains,
and by the time Pṛthu came to power, there was a full-blown famine. The citizens became
skinny due to starvation and approached the king in search of relief.

After deliberating over the causes of the situation, he came to the conclusion that Bhūmi
herself was the culprit, because she was not performing her duty of delivering food grains
to feed the population, despite accepting her shares of the offerings in the sacrifices he was
executing. With this in mind, he drew his bow, with an arrow directly pointed to the planet,
aiming to kill Bhūmi, the predominating deity, for her offense.

Bhūmi immediately understood the danger. The king was not in the mood for joking. To
save herself, she immediately became visible in the form of a cow and started running from
him. She thought that the king would not try to kill a cow and thus she would be saved, but
Pṛthu easily understood the plot and kept on the pursuit. She ran here and there in outer
space trying to escape the king, but being empowered by the potency of the Lord, Pṛthu
continued chasing her everywhere, even in outer space. The only way to save herself was to
submit to the king and beg for mercy.

Religious principles dictate that women, children, brāhmaṇas, and elders should receive all
protection. Apart from that, a person who voluntarily surrenders should not be harmed.
Bhūmi was a woman, and now she had decided to submit to the king, therefore, she prayed:

"I am very poor and have not committed any sinful activities. I do not know why you want to kill
me. Since you are supposed to be the knower of all religious principles, why are you so envious of me,
and why are you so anxious to kill a woman? Even if a woman does commit some sinful activity, no
one should place his hand upon her. And what to speak of you, dear King, who are so merciful. You
are a protector, and you are affectionate to the poor." (SB 4.17.19-20)

She also argued that the Earth is just like a vessel floating in space, which shelters all
people and objects. In the Vedic cosmological model of the universe, the lower part of the
universe is covered by the Garbhodaka ocean, where Lord Vishnu lies on the bed of Lord
Ananta. This cosmic ocean occupies the lower half of the universe, and the other half
contains ether, where all the planets and stars are situated on their respective orbits by the
power of Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa (what we call gravity). When these orbits are disturbed, the
planet falls into the Garbhodaka ocean, and everything sinks, just like when the Earth had
submerged into the cosmic ocean and had to be rescued by Lord Varāha. If the king were to
kill her, the planet would also be lost, and all the population, together with the king
himself, would be lost in space.

Pṛthu Mahārāja, however, countered this argument by informing her that as an incarnation
of the ruling power of the Lord, he had the potency to maintain everyone by his own power,
without depending on her or anyone else. Despite receiving her share in the yajñas, just like
all demigods, she was not performing her duty of producing grains to maintain the people,
and this was a direct challenge to the authority of the king. If she was not prepared to
immediately follow his orders, he would not hesitate to kill her or any other offender.
Taking the form of a cow or anything else would not save her. In fact, as an emergency, the
king was ready to kill her and use her meat to feed the citizens. As he said:

"Any cruel person — be he a man, woman or impotent eunuch — who is only interested in his
personal maintenance and has no compassion for other living entities may be killed by the king.
Such killing can never be considered actual killing. You are very much puffed up with pride and have
become almost insane. Presently you have assumed the form of a cow by your mystic powers.
Nonetheless I shall cut you into small pieces like grain, and I will uphold the entire population by
my personal mystic powers." (SB 4.17.26-27)

As Prabhupada comments in his purport to text 25, although meat eating is prohibited, in
situations of emergency when there is absolutely no other food available, meat eating can
be allowed as a temporary measure during the famine. Pṛthu Mahārāja was ready to adopt
this principle if Bhūmi would not start feeding the population.

It's described that at this moment, the king looked exactly like Yamarāja, his power of rule
absolute. At this point, Bhūmi fully surrendered, offering prayers that go from text 29 to the
end of the chapter.

It may sound strange that Bhūmi addresses Pṛthu as the Supreme Lord when he is a
saktyāveśa avatāra and not a direct incarnation, but this distinction is just technical. The
Lord is present in the form of Pṛthu Maharaja, having invested him with His energy, and
Pṛthu acts as a representative of the Lord, according to His desire. Therefore, having Pṛthu
Maharaja go after her is the same as being chased by the same Lord Vishnu who lifted her
out of the ocean. Bhūmi thus prays for deliverance.
"My dear Lord, You are always unborn. Once, in the form of the original boar, You rescued me from
the waters in the bottom of the universe. Through Your own energy You created all the physical
elements, the senses and the heart, for the maintenance of the world. My dear Lord, in this way You
once protected me by rescuing me from the water, and consequently Your name has been famous as
Dharādhara — He who holds the planet earth. Yet at the present moment, in the form of a great
hero, You are about to kill me with sharpened arrows. I am, however, just like a boat on the water,
keeping everything afloat. My dear Lord, I am also the creation of one of Your energies, composed
of the three modes of material nature. Consequently I am bewildered by Your activities. Even the
activities of Your devotees cannot be understood, and what to speak of Your pastimes. Thus
everything appears to us to be contradictory and wonderful." (SB 4.17.34-36)

Why exactly was Pṛthu Maharaja threatening to kill Bhūmi, who is his servant? Bhūmi
herself answers the question by stating that the activities of the Lord and his pure devotees
are bewildering. Because we often don't understand what they plan to achieve, their
activities may at first appear to defy logic, but later we can see the wonderful results of such
activities. The pastime of Pṛthu Maharaja chasing Bhūmi leads to all inhabitants of the
universe obtaining what they desire.

As Srila Prabhupada mentions in his purport to text 36: "The activities of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead in His various forms and incarnations are always uncommon and
wonderful. It is not possible for a tiny human being to estimate the purpose and plans of such
activities; therefore, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has said that unless the Lord’s activities are accepted as
inconceivable, they cannot be explained."

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