But a state without a ruler soon degenerated into lawlessness and the suffering of the people continued. The family line of the saintly King Anga should not be stopped thought the sages. They decided to churn by their special power the legs of the dead king (whose body had been preserved), whereupon a dwarf was born. He was known as Nisada and his descendants were called the Naisadas. They inhabited the hills and forests and became hunters and fishermen. But Nisada had served the purpose of removing the evil from Vena's body so that a righteous king could be produced. This time the sages churned the arms of Vena's body and a couple was born. The male, Prithu, was an incarnation of Vishnu. He wore armour and carried weapons when he was born. The extremely beautiful female, Arci, was an incarnation of Lakshmi (Vishnu's consort). With great pomp the sages arranged for the coronation of Prithu and Arci. All the Gods and deities and living beings attended the coronation and showered Prithu with gifts. The sages then blessed Prithu and extolled his virtues so that the people would realise that they were under good leadership and thus feel safe.
After Prithu had ruled for some time, the citizens approached him and said that they were starving because the earth refused to yield crops. Instead it gobbled up their seeds. Prithu took up his bow and fixed an arrow on it directed at the earth. As the earth saw him, she turned into cow and fled, afraid like a deer chased by a hunter. No matter where she went, Prithu was there. Realising that it was impossible to escape, she returned to Prithu and lamented, "Your Majesty is indeed there for the protection of the living. How then could you want to kill a sinless female like me when no one should ever strike a woman even if she is sinful? The people of the world live on me. If I am not there where will they go?"
