- Truth, greatness, universal order [rita],
strength, consecration, creative fervor [tapas],
spiritual exaltation [brahma], the sacrifice,
support the earth. May this earth, the mistress
of that which was and shall be, prepare for us a
broad domain! - Th e earth that has heights, and slopes, and great
plains, that supports the plants of manifold virtue,
free from the pressure that comes from the midst
of men, she shall spread out for us, and fi t herself
for us! - The earth upon which the sea, and the rivers
and the waters, upon which food and the tribes
of men have arisen, upon which this breathing,
moving life exists, shall afford us precedence in
drinking! - Th e earth whose are the four regions of space,
upon which food and the tribes of men have
arisen, which supports the manifold breathing,
moving therein, shall aff ord us cattle and other
possessions also!... - Th e broad earth, which the sleepless gods ever
attentively guard, shall milk for us precious honey,
and, moreover, besprinkle us with glory!... - Th y snowy mountain heights, and thy forests, O
earth, shall be kind to us! Th e brown, the black,
the red, the multi-colored, the fi rm earth, that
is protected by Indra, I have settled upon, not
suppressed, not slain, not wounded. - Into thy middle set us, O earth, and into thy navel,
into the nourishing strength that has grown up
from thy body; purify thyself for us! Th e earth is
the mother, and I the son of the earth; Parganya is
the father; he, too, shall save us!... - Upon the fi rm, broad earth, the all-begetting
mother of the plants, that is supported by [divine]
law, upon her, propitious and kind, may we ever
pass our lives!... - Agni (fi re) is in the earth, in the plants, the waters
hold Agni, Agni is in the stones; Agni is within men,
Agnis [fi res] are within cattle, within horses.... - Upon the earth men give to the gods the sacrifi ce,
they prepared oblation; upon the earth mortal
men live pleasantly by food. May this earth give us
breath and life, may she cause me to reach old age!
23. The fragrance, O earth, that has arisen upon
thee, which the plants and the waters hold, which
the Gandharvas and the Apsaras have partaken
of, with that make me fragrant: not anyone shall
hate us!...
25. Th at fragrance of thine which is in men, the
loveliness and charm that is in male and female,
that which is in steeds and heroes, that which is in
the wild animals with trunks [elephants], the luster
that is in the maiden, O earth, with that do thou
blend us: not any one shall hate us!
26. Rock, stone, dust is this earth; this earth is
supported, held together. To this golden-breasted
earth I have rendered obeisance.
27. Th e earth, upon whom the forest-sprung trees ever
stand fi rm, the all-nourishing, compact earth, do
we invoke.
28. Rising or sitting, standing or walking, may we not
stumble with our right or left foot upon the earth!
29. To the pure earth I speak, to the ground, the soil
that has grown through the brahma [spiritual
exaltation]. Upon thee, that holdest nourishment,
prosperity, food, and ghee, we would settle down,
O earth!...
36. Th y summer, O earth, thy rainy season, thy
autumn, winter, early spring, and spring; thy
decreed yearly seasons, thy days and nights shall
yield us milk....
42. To the earth upon whom are food, and rice and
barley, upon whom live these fi ve races of men, to
the earth, the wife of Parganya, that is fattened by
rain, be reverence!...
46. Th e serpent, the scorpion with thirsty fangs, that
hibernating torpidly lies upon thee; the worm,
and whatever living thing, O earth, moves in the
rainy season, shall, when it creeps, not creep upon
us: with what is auspicious (on thee) be gracious
to us!...
52. Th e earth upon whom day and night jointly, black
and bright, have been decreed, the broad earth
covered and enveloped with rain, shall kindly place
us into every pleasant abode!...
53. Heaven, and earth, and air have here given me
expanse; Agni, Sûrya, the waters, and all the gods
together have given me wisdom....
Hymn to Goddess Earth, ca. 600 b.c.e.
Asia and the Pacifi c50 agriculture: primary source documents