Week 11 Storytelling: A Message from Mother Earth

To whom it may concern:

Take what you can from this earth, but remember to do so in moderation. You, yourself, come from this earth, and from this earth you will return. So take care of the ground you walk on for it will be your place of rest for your material self.

King Vena was a human, just as you are. He, however, did not heed any warnings and plundered Mother Earth ruthlessly, angering her until she transformed to a cow and ran away. All the plants, animals, and the rest of nature mourned the loss of Mother Earth. Rishis (or sages) were enraged at the natural imbalance, and plotted against King Vena in hopes of returning their beloved Mother Earth. They picked up a blade of grass and chanted their magical hymns onto it to turn it into a potent missile. With this magical weapon, they terminated the ignorant king, however, Mother Earth did not come back.

At this point, the rishis decided to purify the king’s body, removing all savageness from the corpse. In this body, the new king Prithu was born. This new king was supposed to be help heal all the wrongs of the former king Vena. As his first item of business, King Prithu went out to find Mother Earth and milk her to give food for his people. However, she was still upset with Vena’s horrible deeds and did not trust mankind, so she refused to give Prithu any milk from her udders.

Like his father, Prithu was quick to be angered and threatened to shoot Mother Earth with an arrow.

“If you kill me,” said Mother Earth, “then all of nature will be destroyed and so will all life.”

Unlike his father, Prithu was more considerate. He wanted to feed his people, but he respected the decision of Mother Earth.

“I cannot provide nourishment to humanity without domesticating nature.” Prithu argued. “As king, I must feed and care for my people.”

Mother Earth pondered for a while, astonished by the new king’s sense of reason. “Okay,” she said, “you have proved your worth, King Prithu. You and humanity may profit from my fruits. However, there are conditions you must follow. Take what you can from this earth, but remember to do so in moderation.”

Prithu excitedly accepted her offer and promised to institute the laws of dharma (or rightness) as well. He promised not to be like his father and to protect Mother Earth and nature by monitoring humanity’s use of her.

From this day forth, Prithu became the first responsible king of the earth, entrusted by Mother Earth herself. His work is endless, and I fear that humanity is slowing falling into the depths of King Vena’s shadow. So to whom it may concern, you, yourself, come from this earth, and from this earth you will return. So take care of the ground you walk on for it will be your place of rest for your material self. Take what you can from this earth, but remember to do so in moderation

- Mother Earth

Mother Earth

Author's Note: This story was inspired by the Hindu story of Prithu and Mother Nature. I wanted to use this as a message to everyone in our world today to take care of the earth because this your home. If you destroy the earth, everything living in it (including you) will perish. Since the Industrial Revolution, pollution and care for the earth has quickly declined, and now we're facing the consequences of melting ice glaciers, a diminishing ozone layer, and slow extinction. Our generation has done well to try to spread the word, but action must occur for us to help heal the earth once more.

Bibliography: Devdutt Pattanik's "Seven Secrets of Vishnu"