Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 4 Chapter 14:35-46

Book 4: Chapter 14

Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 4: Chapter 14: Verses 35-46 The story of king Vena The sages having left each for his own hermitage, the sorrowing Sunitha (Vena's mother) preserved the (dead) body of her son by means of spells and other devices. Having, on one occasion, bathed in the waters of the river Saraswati and offered oblations into the sacrificial fires, and squatting on the river bank, those sages held discourses about the Lord. They saw at that time evil portents appearing, which caused terror to the world, and said (to one another), No evil may befall the earth on account of thieves and dacoits, masterless as she is." While the sages were thus reflecting, a large volume of dust was raised by thieves running in every direction and practising spoliation wherever they went. They then perceived the mischief wrought by those that looted the property of the people and were disposed to kill one another, now that Vena (their ruler) was dead. They also came to know that the state had grown weak due to anarchy and that thieves and dacoits had gained in strength. Though powerful enough (to arrest the mischief), the sages did not stop the people (responsible for looting etc.), inasmuch as they were alive to the evil (in the form of violence etc., involved in counteracting the mischief). (They, however, said to themselves :) "If a Brahmana, who looks upon all with the same eye and is tranquil (by nature), ignores the afflicted, the spiritual energy stored even by him (through penance) will run out like water from a broken jar. The line of the royal sage Anga (Vena's father) too must not get extinct. For in this race have appeared monarchs (solely depending on Lord Kesava (Visnu) and possessed of unfailing prowess." Having thus resolved, the sages churned with great velocity the thigh of the deceased emperor, wherefrom arose a dwarfish man, dark as a crow, with exceptionally short limbs and particularly short arms and legs, large jaws, a flat nose, blood-shot eyes and red hair. To him, who was bent low and meek too, and who said, "What shall I do ?" the Brahmanas said, "Sit down !" That is why, dear child, he came to be known by the name of Nisada. Since he took upon himself the terrible sins of Vona even while being born, his progeny, the Naisadas, partook of his nature and took up their abode on mountains and in woods. Thus ends the fourteenth discourse entitled `The Appearance of Nisada",forming part of the Narrative of Prthu, in Book Four of the great and glorious Bhagavata-Purana, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Samhita.