MOTHER EARTH: A CROSS-DAR?ANIC ANALYSIS OF THE BH?MI S?KTA FROM ATHARVA VEDA

The Bh?mi S?kta of the Atharva Veda is frequently invoked in contemporary discourse as evidence that ancient Indian thought regarded Earth as a living entity. This paper argues that such readings commit a category error. Through a comparative analysis using Ny?ya realism, S??khya cosmology, and Ved?nta metaphysics, the study demonstrates that the hymn consistently treats Earth as ontologically foundational, ethically significant, and cosmologically ordered, but not biologically alive or conscious. Personification functions as normative and pedagogical rhetoric rather than empirical assertion. The paper situates the Bh?mi S?kta within philosophy of nature, environmental ethics, and philosophy of science, showing its compatibility with modern ecological understanding without collapsing into animism or proto-Gaian literalism.