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iaka, Amara Sinlia, /S'anku, Yetala-bha/^/a, Gha/^a-karpara, Kali-dasa, Yaraha-mihira, Yararuchi. The date of Yikramaditya is by no means settled. Bhau Daji endeavours to identify Yikrama with Harsha Yikramaditya, who lived in the middle of the sixth century. NIDAGHA. A Brahman, son of Pulastya, who dwelt " at Yira-nagara, a large handsome city on the banks of the Devika river " (the Gogra). He was a discij^le of the sage ^ibhu, and when iiibhu went to visit his discij^le, Nidagha entertained him reverentially, iitbhu instructed him in divine knowledge until he learned to " behold aU things as the same with himself, and, perfect in holy knowledge, obtained final liberation." JSTID ANA-SUTRA. An old work upon the metres of the Yedas. NIDHI. * A treasure.' Nine treasures belonging to the god 222 NIDRA—NIMT. Kuvera. Each of tliem is personified or has a guardian spirit, which is an object of worship among the Tantrikas. The nature of these Nidliis is not clearly understood. See a note by Wilson on verse 534 of the Megha-diita, Collected Works, iv. 379. Their names are Kachchhapa, Mukunda, ISTanda (or Kunda), Kharba, ]Makara, Xila, ^ankha, Padma, and Maha-padma. The Xidliis are called also JSTidhana, ISTikara, and ^S'evadlii. NIDRA. ' Sleep.' Sometimes said to be a female form of Brahma, at others to have been produced at the churning of the ocean. KIGHAiVrU, NIGHAiV^rUKA. A glossary, especially of synonyms and obsolete and obscure Yedic terms. There was at least one work of this kind before the days of Yaska. Bee iS^irukta. XIKASHA. A female demon, the mother of Ravawa. The mother of the carnivorous imps called Pisitasanas, or by their metronymic JSTaikusheyas and Kikashatmajas. KIKUMBHA. I. A Rakshasa who fought against Rama. He was son of Kumbha-karwa. 2. An Asura who, according to the Hari-vansa, received the boon from Brahma that he should die only by the hands of Vish7iu. He was king of Sha^-pura and had great magical powers, so that he could multiply himself into many forms, though he commonly assumed only three. He car- ried off the daughters of Brahma-datta, the friend of K?'ish?2a, and that hero attacked him and killed him under different forms more than once, but he was eventually slain outright by Kr/sh?za, and his city of Sha^pura was given to BrahmJi- datta. NILA, ' Blue.' I. A mythic range of mountains north of Meru. 2. A mountain range in Orissa. 3. A monkey ally of Rama. 4. A Pa7if?ava warrior killed by Aswatthaman." NILA-KAN7TIA. ' Blue tliroat.' An epithet of AS'iva. See ^S'iva. NIML Son of Iksliwaku, and founder of the dynasty of INIitliila, He was cursed by the sage Vasish/ha to lose his cor- poreal form, and he retorted the imprecation ujDon the sage. ]jotli abandoned the bodily condition. Yasish/ha was born again as the issue of ^litra and Yaru?za, but " tlio corpse of Nimi was preserved from decay by being embalmed with fra- grant oils and resins, and it remained as entire as if it were NIRNAYA-SINDHU—NISHADA. 223 immortal. " The gods were willing to restore liim to bodily life, but Nimi declined, declaring that the separation of soul and body was so distressing that he would never resume a corporeal shape and become liable to it again. " To this desire the gods assented, and Nimi was j^laced by them in the eyes of all living creatures, in consequence of which their eyelids are ever opening and shutting." — Vishnu Pur ana. A wink of the eye is called nimisha, and the legend was probably built upon the resemblance of the two w^ords. Il^IRiVAYA-SINDHU. A work on religious ceremonies and law by Kamalakara. It has been printed at Bombay and Benares. NIRi^/TI. 'Death, decay.' Death personified as a god- dess ; sometimes regarded as the wife and sometimes as the daughter of A-dharma. One of the Rudras. NIRUKTA. ' Etymology, glossary.' One of the Vedangas. The Nirukta is devoted to the explanation of difficult Vedic words. The only work of the kind now known to us is that of Yaska, who was a predecessor of Pa7^ini ; but such works were no doubt numerous, and the names of seventeen writers of Niruktas are mentioned as having preceded Yaska. The Nirukta consists of three parts : — (i.) Israigha?-/uka, a collection of synonymous words ; (2.) Naigama, a collection of words peculiar to the Vedas ; (3.) Daivata, words relating to deities and sacri- fices. These are mere lists of words, and are of themselves of little value. They may have been compiled by Yaska himself, or he may have found them ready to his hand. The real Nirukta, the valuable portion of the work, is Yaska's commentary which follows. In this he explains the meaning of words, enters into ethnological investigations, and quotes passages of the Vedas in illustration. These are valuable from their acknowledged antiquity, and as being the oldest known examples of a Vedic gloss. They also throw a light upon the scientific and religious condition of their times, but the extreme brevity of their style makes them obscure and difficult to understand. The text of the Nirukta has been published by Roth. NISHADA. A mountain tribe dwelling in the Vindhya mountains, said to have been produced from the thigh of Yena, ; the Bhils or foresters, and barbarians in general (See Yena.) Any outcast, especially the offspring of a Brahman father and *S'iidra mother. 224 NISHADHA—OM. NISHADHA. I , A mythic range of mountains lying soiitli of Meru, but sometimes described as on the east. It is north of the Hima-laya. 2. The country of Nala, probably the Bhil country. NISH JIGRL In the i?ig-veda, the mother of Indra. NIaS'UMBHA. An Asura killed by Durga. See >S'umbha. NiTI-MANJARl A work on ethics by Dya Dwiveda, exemplified by stories and legends with special reference to the Yedas. Some specimens are given in the Indian Antiquary, vol. V. NITI-aS'ASTRAS. Works on morals and polit}^, consisting either of proverbs and wise maxims in verse, or of stories and fables inculcating some moral precept and illustrating its effects. These fables are generally in prose interspersed with pithy maxims in verse. NIVATA-KAVxiCHAS. ' Clothed in impenetrable armour.' A class of Daityas descended from Prahlada, " whose spirits were purified by rigid austerity." According to the Mahil- bharata they were 30,000,000 in number, and dwelt in the depths of the sea. They were destroyed by Arjuna. NitJ-SINHA. The Nara-sinha or man-lion incarnation. See Avatara. Ni^J-SIXHA PURAATA. See Pura??a. Ni^/-SINHA TAPANI. An Upanishad in which Yishwu is worshipped under his form Nri-sinha. Published with the com- mentary of /Sankaracharya in the Bihliotheca Inclica. NYAYA. The logical school of philosophy. See Darsana. ]SrYAYA-DAR>SAXA, NYAYA-SUTRA-V7?/TTL Works of Gotama on the Xyaya pliilosophy. They have been printed. Oi)R,A. The country of Orissa A man of that country. OM. A word of solemn invocation, affirmation, benediction, and consent, so sacred that when it is uttered no one must hear it. The word is used at the commencement of prayers and re- ligious ceremonies, and is generally placed at the beginning of books. It is a compound of the three letters a, u, m, which are typical of the three A^edas ; and it is declared in the XJpanishads, where it first appears, to have a mystic power and to be worthy of the deepest meditation. In later times the monosyllable re- presents the Hindu triad or union of the three gods, a being Vish?iu, w /S'iva, and m Brahma, This monosyllable is called Udgitha, OMKARA—PAHLAVA, 225 OMKAEA. The sacred monosyllable Om. Name of one of the twelve great lingas. 8ee, Linga. OSHADHI-PRASTHA. 'The place of medicinal herbs.' A city in the Himalaya mentioned in the Kumara-sambhava. OSHI'HA-KARTVAKAS. A people whose lips extended to their ears, mentioned in the Maha-bhilrata. PAD A. The Pada text of the Yedas, or of any other work, is one in which each word {pada) stands separate and distinct, not joined with the next according to the rules of sandhi (coali- tion). See Pa/ha. PADMA, PADMAYATL A name of Lakshmi. PADjMAVATI. Name of a city. It would seem, from the mention made of it in the drama Malati Madhava, to lie in the Vindhya mountains. PAD MA -K ALP A. The last expired kalpa or year of Brahma. PADMA- PUR AJVA, PADMA-PURAYA. This Pura^ia generally stands second in the list of PuraTias, and is thus de- scribed : — " That which contains an account of the period when the world was a golden lotos (padma), and of all the occurrences of that time, is, therefore, called Padma by the wise.