Story of Niśākara

A great muni, who attained Svarga after passing through many lives. His story is given below:—

There was a great ascetic and erudite scholar in all branches of knowledge called Kośakāra, son of muni Mudgala. Kośakāra’s wife was Dharmiṣṭhā, daughter of Vātsyāyana. To them was born a son, an idiot and a deaf and dumb child, whom they forsook at the gates of the mother’s house. At the same time an evil-minded Rākṣasa woman called Śūrpākṣī, who was in the habit of lifting children came there with a lean child. She replaced Dharmiṣṭhā’s child with the lean one and returned with it to the Śālobharaparvata where her blind husband asked her what she had brought for his food. She told him about the changelling child with her when he said as follows "Return the child at once to where it was found. The child’s father is a great man of knowledge and wisdom and when he hears about your action, he will curse us. So, return the child and bring the child of some one else." As soon as she heard these words of her husband she rose up in the sky in great alarm.

Hearing the cries of the Rākṣasa child left at their gates Dharmiṣṭhā and her husband came out, and the child which, in its colour and shape resembled their child exactly, Kośakāra said thus: "Oh! Dharmiṣṭhā! this must be some ghost. Some one is lying here in the same form as our child to hoodwink and cheat us." Saying so he tied the child to the ground by chanting mantras with darbha grass in his hands.

At the same time Śūrpākṣī came there in invisible form. She threw Dharmiṣṭhā’s child from a distance into the courtyard. Kośakāra took his child. But all the attempts of the Rākṣasī to lift her child from the ground failed. The grief-stricken Rākṣasī reported the matter to her husband.

As soon as Śūrpākṣī left the place the magnanimous Kośakāra handed over the Rākṣasa child to his wife. He brought up his own child by feeding it on cow’s milk, curd, juice of sugar-cane etc. Both the children grew up to seven years of age. The Rākṣasa boy was named Divākara and the other child Niśākara. Both the children were invested with the sacred thread in due course of time. Divākara learned the Vedas, but Niśākara did not, and he was despised by all. His father pushed him into a neglected well and covered its mouth with stone.

Niśākara lived in the well for many years. The fruits of a cluster of plants in the well served as his food. Some ten years afterwards when Niśākara’s mother found the mouth of the well closed with a big stone she asked as to who did so, and from the well came the answer, "Mother, it was father who covered this well with that stone." Alarmed at this the mother asked who was within the well, and she was answered, "Your son, Niśākara." Then she argued that her son was named Divākara and that she had no son called Niśākara. But, Niśākara told her about his past life and what had happened to him during the present life, upon which the mother rolled away the stone and Niśākara came out of the well and prostrated before his mother. He then went home with his mother. Questioned as to how and why these things happened by Kośakāra his son Niśākara described his previous life as follows:—

Father, you would please hear about the reason why I became dumb and idiotic. In my previous life I was born in a noble family, my father being called Vṛṣākapi and mother Mālā. My father taught me all the Śāstras and the Vedas. I became conceited over my unique learning and erudition and began doing evil acts. Conceit led to avarice, and I lost all my scholarship. I became indiscreet. Having thus become a fool, I began committing sins. I had to hang myself to death on account of my association with others' women and stealing others' money. I, therefore, fell into the Raurava hell. After a thousand years some sin remained attached to me as a result of which I was born as a tiger, and a King trapped and took me to his city When I was caged Śāstras about Dharma, Artha and Kāma came up in my mind.

One day the King went out wearing only one piece of cloth and with a club in his hands. Then his wife Ajitā, a unique beauty came to me, and because of my taste in my previous life sexual desire arose in my heart. I told her about my feelings. She also felt like me. So, she unchained me and I approached her in great passion and seeing me thus the King’s servants tied me to a peepal tree and thrashed me to death.

My soul again returned to hell. After a thousand years I was born as a white ass in the house of a brahmin named Agniveśya, who had many wives. Then all knowledge and wisdom were reflected in my mind. My duty was to carry the brahmin women on my back. One day the brahmin’s wife Vimati of Navarāṣṭra started for her father’s home mounted on my back. Half-way home she dismounted and went to a stream to bathe. The exquisite beauty of that lady with wet clothes upset me, and I ran up to her on the stream, pushed her into the water and myself fell upon her. Then a person came and tried to tie me down. I escaped from his grips and ran southwards. While thus running the saddle slipped into my mouth and I fell down. And, within six days I died thinking about her. Thus I fell again into hell. My next birth was as a parrot. A hunter caged me in the forest and he sold me to a Vaiśya merchant, who put me up in the women’s quarters. The young women fed me on rice and fruits. One day the wife of the Vaiśya merchant hugged me to her breast and petted me. Her touch kindled in me sexual feelings and I embraced her with my wings. In my hurry about the affair I slipped down and got crushed between the doors. Thus I fell again into hell.

Afterwards I was born as an ox in a camp of a Caṇḍāla. One day he yoked me to his cart and started for the forest in it with his wife. On the way she sang a song, and mentally excited by it I looked back. At once I slipped my feet, fell down and died. Again I returned to hell.

After another one hundred years I was born as your (Kośakārad) son in this house. All facts about my previous lives linger in my memory and now I am free from evils and am a virtuous person. I am going to the forest for tapas. Let the good boy, Divākara live here as house-holder. Niśākara thus did tapas for many years and attained Vaikuṇṭha (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 91).

There is no definite evidence in the Purāṇas to establish that the Niśākara, the protector of Sampāti and the Niśākara mentioned above were the same person.