Naimisaranya – Legends

Naimisaranya – Legends

Naimisaranya:

The word Naimis has been spelt in two ways - Naimis and Naimish. The Vayu Purana and the Bhrammanda Purana state that that Brahmma sent out a manomaya wheel (chakram) after worshipping Shiva, and that this wheel after moving around reached Naimisaranya where its rim was shattered, and that the sages following this wheel bright as the sun, stopped at Naimisaranya and settled here and so did several of the sacred Theerthams (rivers). Naimi means Chakkara and Naimish means the place where the Chakkara landed. Aaranya means forest. Since Naimi, the Chakkara which landed on Aaranya the forest, the place is called as Naimisaranya.

Creation of Vajrayudha:

Indra, the king of the devas, was once driven out of Devaloka by an asura named Vritra. The asura was the recipient of a boon whereby he could not be killed by any weapon that was known till the date of his receiving the boon and additionally that no weapon made of wood or metal could harm him. Indra, who lost all hope of recovering his kingdom went to seek the aid of Vishnu. Vishnu revealed to Indra that only the weapon made from the bones of the sage Dadhichi would defeat Vritra. Rishi Dadhichi had the strongest bones like diamonds as per the boon of Lord Shiva. 

Indra and the other devas therefore approached the sage, whom Indra had once beheaded, and asked him for his aid in defeating Vritra. Dadhichi acceded to the devas' request but said that he wished that he had time to go on a pilgrimage to all the holy rivers before he gave up his life for them. Indra then brought together all the waters of the holy rivers to Naimisaranya, thereby allowing the sage to have his wish fulfilled without a further loss of time.

Dadhichi is then said to have given up his life by the art of yoga after which the devas fashioned the Vajrayudha from his spine. This weapon was then used to defeat the asura, allowing Indra to reclaim his place as the king of Devaloka. Rishi Dadhichi Kund is located 20 kms away from Naimisaranya, the place where Rishi Dadhichi gave off his bone in spinal at the request of Lord Indra. 

Nabhi Gaya:

Gayasura underwent severe penance and worshipped Lord Vishnu.  Lord was pleased at the devotion and appeared before him to provide boons. But, Gayasura was arrogantly refused any boons from Lord. Furthermore, he declared himself as the strongest. This infuriated Lord Vishnu and set out his discus to cut off the demon. The body parts of Gayasura cut into three pieces, head part fell on the sacred land Badri which is came to be known as Shiro Gaya, the middle portion fell on the sacred land Naimisaranya came to be known as Nabhi Gaya and the final part fell on Gaya widely known as Gaya Kshetram / Charana Gaya. Gayasura realized his superciliousness and prayed to Lord. The compassionate Lord blessed Gayasura and the body parts fallen on the Earth lingered as sacred lands to pay homage to ancestors.

Brahma suggested this place to sages for penance:

As per legend, when sages along with Sownaka Rishi were planning to perform penance, Brahma, the god of creation, brought out a ring from Darbha grass. He asked the sages to perform penance at the place where the ring fell, which is believed to be Naimisaranya. The sages performed penance and at the end of it, Vishnu appeared to the sages and accepted their offerings. It is believed that the forest still has Vishnu and all sages as trees.

Lord Balarama visit to Naimisaranya:

Lord Balarama visited this sacred land and found Sage Suka completely immersed in the teachings of sacred scriptures.  Lord Balarama was hurt and hit Sage Suka. Due to this Lord Balarama was afflicted with the sin for being inconsiderate. In order to get rid of the sin, he visited many sacred lands and finally arrived in Naimisaranya. On this land, he served Sages & Rishis by extending help in smooth functioning of Yagnas and Yagas without any disruption from the demons.

Swayam Vyaktha Kshetrams:

This Kshetram is said to be one of the 8 Swayam Vyaktha Kshetrams. The other Swayam Vyaktha Kshetrams are Sri Rangam, Srimushnam, Salagramam, Thothadri (Vaanamamalai), Tirupathi, Pushkaram and Badri.

Thapovanams:

This Naimisaranya Kshetram is said to be regarded as Thapovanam. There are 9 Thapovanams. They are Dandakaranyam, Saindhavaranyam, Jambhukaranyam, Pushkararanyam, Utpalaranyam, Badrikaranyam, Gurujangalaranyam, Aruputharanyam and Naimisaranya.

Sage Narada visit to Naimisaranya:

Sage Narada is believed to have searched for the best theertha (water body) in three worlds. He went to Kailasa, the abode of Shiva, then to Parkadal, the abode of Vishnu and finally landed in the water body in the Naimisaranya Forest.

Annihilation of the entire army of Danavas:

The Varaha Purana says that Lord Vishnu destroyed the entire army of Danavas at this place in one Nimisha, with his fierce weapon discus. Hence, the place got the name Naimisaranya.

Reference of this place in Ain I Akbari:

A more recent work the Ain I Akbari describes Nimkhar as a large fort and a religious resort with the Bhramavartakundh tank with a strong current, which ejects anything that is thrown into it. This work also speaks of a natural stream held in reverence. It also speaks of the sand taking the natural shape of Shiva.

Vyasa Gaddi & Suka Gaddi:

Maharishi Veda Vyasa categorized the sacred Veda into four major categories such as Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana. Also, Maharishi Veda Vyasa composed eighteen Puranas on this sacred land. There are sacred shrines known as Vyasa Gaddi, Suka Gaddi are the places where Maharishi Veda Vyasa and Sage Suka imparted the knowledge on scriptures and Veda to Sages.

Lord Vishnu resides here in the form of forest:

This is one of the Abodes of Lord Vishnu on Earth surrounded by quite lot of Sages and Rishis. Lord Vishnu and all the sages dwells as Aranya (woods) here, thus this sacred land has got its name ‘Naimisaranya’.

People worshipped Lord Vishnu here:

Lord Indra, Maharishi Veda Vyasa, Maharishi Narada, Sudharma, Sage Suka, All deities & Sages, Balarama and Gayasura worshipped Lord Vishnu here.

Sri Shankaracharya visit to Naimisaranya:

This place has also been visited by Sri Shankaracharya

Residence of Suthar and Surdas:

Famous poet, Surdas and Suthar, the author of 18 puranas is believed to have lived here and presented his sayings to the sages.