Prithvi (Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, pṛthvī, also पृथिवी, pṛthivī, "the Vast One"), also rendered Pṛthvī Mātā, is the Sanskrit name for the earth, as well as the name of a devi (goddess) in Hinduism of the earth and some branches of Buddhism. In the Vedas, her consort is Dyaus, the sky god. Her Puranic equivalent is known as Bhumi, the consort of Varaha.
As Pṛthvī Mātā ('Mother Earth') she is complementary to Dyaus Pita ('Father Sky').[1] In the Rigveda, the earth and the sky are primarily addressed dually as Dyavapṛthivi.[2] She is associated with the cow; Prithu, an incarnation of Vishnu, milked her in the form of a cow.
In Buddhist texts and visual representations, Pṛthvī is described as both protecting Gautama Buddha and as being his witness for his enlightenment. Prithvi appears in Early Buddhism in the Pāli Canon, dispelling the temptation figure Mara by attesting to Gautama Buddha's worthiness to attain enlightenment.[3] The Buddha is frequently depicted performing the bhūmisparśa or "earth-touching" mudrā as a symbolic invocation of the goddess. [4]