Overpopulation in Mahabharata (1)

Text
Mahābhārata 1.58.35-46, 1.59.3:
When she (= the Earth) was thus tyrannized by the grand Asuras, bloated with power and strength, Earth came to Brahmā as a supplicant. Neither the wind, nor the elephants, nor the mountains, O king, were able to support Earth so forcefully overrun by the Dāvanas. Therefore, Earth, sagging under her burden and brutalized with fear, sought refuge with the God who is the grandfather of all beings. … then himself, maker of the creatures, gave orders to all the Gods: ‘To throw off the burden of Earth’, he said, ‘you must each be born with a part of yourselves on her to halt them.’ … And so the celestials in succession descended from heaven to earth, for the destruction of the enemies of the Gods and the well-being of all the world.

Sources (list of abbreviations) (source links will open in a new browser window)
Mahābhārata 1.58.35-46
Mahābhārata 1.59.3

Bibliography

Amar Annus

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