Shloka 8
Nimi’s Disembodied Liberation and the Rise of the Mithilā (Videha) Dynasty
राज्ञो जीवतु देहोऽयं प्रसन्ना: प्रभवो यदि । तथेत्युक्ते निमि: प्राह मा भून्मे देहबन्धनम् ॥ ८ ॥
rājño jīvatu deho ’yaṁ prasannāḥ prabhavo yadi tathety ukte nimiḥ prāha mā bhūn me deha-bandhanam
If you are pleased with this sacrifice and truly have the power, please restore Mahārāja Nimi to life in this very body. The demigods agreed, but Nimi said, “Do not bind me again in the prison of a material body.”
The demigods are in a position many times higher than that of human beings. Therefore, although the great saints and sages were also powerful brāhmaṇas, they requested the demigods to revive Mahārāja Nimi’s body, which had been preserved in various perfumed balms. One should not think that the demigods are powerful only in enjoying the senses; they are also powerful in such deeds as bringing life back to a dead body. There are many similar instances in the Vedic literature. For example, according to the history of Sāvitrī and Satyavān, Satyavān died and was being taken away by Yamarāja, but on the request of his wife, Sāvitrī, Satyavān was revived in the same body. This is an important fact about the power of the demigods.
FAQs
This verse shows Nimi praying not for bodily continuation but for freedom from identification with the body, highlighting liberation as release from bodily bondage.
Even after the sages agreed to restore his body, Nimi expressed disinterest in bodily attachment, revealing a liberated, renounced outlook amid the narrative of his body’s revival.
Perform duties responsibly while remembering you are the soul, not the body—reducing anxiety, ego-clashes, and fear by grounding identity in spiritual practice and devotion.