Location of the Naimisa Forest

Location of the Naimisa Forest (naimisaranya) [naimisaranyasyavasthitih] / By Mm. Dr. V. V. Mirashi, M.A., D.Litt. ; Nagpur / 27-34

[ prastutalekhe naimisaranyasyavasthitivisaye samksiptah paricaya uparvanato- 'sti, tasya sthitivisaye naikavidhani matanyudahrtani samalocitani ca | vedetihasapuranadipupalabhyamana nirdesa api vivecanapurahsaram samahrtah, 4 sradhunika vicara api vicarartha prastutah | naimisaranyasyavasthanam kvaciduttara- pradese sulatanapura mandalantargatameva lekhakamahodayah nisciyate | atra visesatah ramayane ( uttarakande ) nirdistah sriramakrto'svamedhayajnah, tadvarnana- param dhiranagaviracitam kundamalanamakam natakam pramanatvena grhitam vartate | tatsaksyadharena valmikerasramadanatidure naimisam bhavitumarhati | srasramasca daksinatamasagamga samgamaparsve sthita asit | tata uttarasyam disi ayodhyataca daksinabhimukhe kvacit vimsatikrosabhyantaram sambhavyate | tena nisaranamna prasiddham sthanam tu na samyamarhati sratidurasthatvadasramatah | mahabharate'pi ( aranya 85, 2-5, 13, 1 ) pandavah kamyakavanat ( kamana ) purvadisi prayata na tuttaradisi yatra nisarasthanam madhye samapatet | kramasca tatra naimisam, prayagah, gaya iti bhavati | tatha hi gayasamipe purvasyameva kutracit naimisaranyam bhavitum sakyate | sratah sultanapuraksetra eva tasya sthitih sambhavyata iti nibandhakrtam matam | ] Several references to the Naimisa forest occur in the Vedic works, the Epics and the Puranas. In the Kathaka Samhita of the Black Yajurveda (X, 6) we read 'Naimisya vai sattram-asata' (the resident of Naimisa performed a sacrifice). The people of this forest called Naimisiya or Naimisya are also mentioned in the pancavimsa Brahmana (25, 6, 4 ) and the Kausitaki Brahmana (26, 5). The Sankehayana Brahmana mentions & great sacrifice performed in the Naimisa forest. The last recension of the Mahabharata was compiled in the Naimisaranya. lomaharsanaputra ugrasravah sautih pauraniko naimisaranye saunakasya kulapate- rdvadasavarsike satre- sukhasinanabhyagacchadbrahmarsin samsitavratan | vinayavanato bhutva kadacit sutanandanah ||

28 puranam - PURANA tamasramamanupraptam naimisaranyavasinam | citrah srotum kathastatra paribanrustapasvinah || [Vol. X, No. 1 The Asvamedha sacrifice of Rama was performed in the Naimisa forest on the bank of the Gomati. jha tesam dvijamukhyanam vakyamadbhutadarsanam | asvameghasritam srutva bhrsam prito'bhavattada || vijnaya karma tattesam ramo laksmanamabravit | X x tathaiva talavacanastathaiva natanarttakah | yajnavatasca sumahan gomatya naimise vane || There are numerous references to the Naimisa forest in the Puranas, which describe how Suta narrated various legends to Saunaka in that forest. Narada is said to have been honoured by the sages when he visited the Naimisaranya. The Padmapurana mentions the twelve-year sacrifice which was performed in the Naimisa forest.³ 2 The Naimisa was also regarded as a sacred region. The Mahabharata states that it contained several tirthas or holy places.' The name of the forest is said to have been derived from the fact that the nemi (circumference) of the dharmachakra was shattered there. This is, of course, a fanciful derivation. Though there are thus numerous references to the Naimisaranya there are very few which state its location. We have seen above that the Ramayana mentions that it was situated on the Gomati. This is also supported by the Brahmandapurana (I, 2, 9). The Vayupurana (1, 14-15), however, states that the great sattra of the sages of the Naimisaranya was in Kuruksetra on the Drisadvati. The same Purana, however, states elsewhere, that it was on the Gomati. Dr. Kane tries to reconcile the two varying statements by supposing that Gomati is only an adjective." 1. Ramayana (N. S. P. ed.), Uttarakanda, 91, 8-9; 15. 2. Padmapurana, Uttarakhanda, 77-78. 3. Ibid., VI, 219, 1-12. 4. Aranyaka parvan (Cr. ed.), 3, 3. 5. Vayupurana, 2, 9. 6. History of Dharmasastra, IV, p. 783 (List of Tirthas). B

Jan., 1968] LOCATION OF THE NAIMISA FOREST 29 He means by this that the Sattra was really performed on the Drisadvati,, but the river is called Gomati because it abounded in cows. This is hardly convincing and is opposed to the clear statements in the Ramayana and the Brahmandapurana cited above. The Naimisaranya is identified with Nimsar on the Gomati, a railway station of that name on the North-eastern Railway, 20 miles from Sitapur and 45 miles north-east of Lucknow. The similarity in the two place-names lends colour to the identification. Besides, this place is situated on the Gomati as stated in the Ramayana and some Puranas. So this identification is generally accepted. There are, however, some considerations which throw doubt this identification. In the Mahabharata, Aranyakaparvan (85, 2-5) Dhaumya mentions it to Yudhisthira, while enumerating the tirthas in the eastern directions :- purvam pracim disam rajan rajarsiganasevitam | ramyam te kathayisyami yudhisthira yathasmrti || tasyam devarsijustayam naimisam nama bharata | yatra tirthani devanam supunyani prthaka prthak || yatra sa gomati punya ramya devarsisevita ! yajnabhumisca devanam samitram ca vivasvatah || Dhaumya says further that in the same direction there lies the holy tirtha Gaya which he describes as follows:- tasyam girivarah punyo gayo rajarsisatkrtah | sivam brahmasaro yatra sevitam tridasarsibhih || mahanadi ca tatraiva tatha gayasiro'nagha | yatraso kirtyate viprairaksayyakarano vatah || yatra dattam pitrbhyo 'nnamaksayyam bhavati prabho | 7. Nando Lal Dey, The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India, P. 135. 8. Aranyakaparvan, 85, 3-5. 9. Loc. cit., 6-9.

30 puranam - PURANA sa ca punyanala yatra phalgunama mahanadi | bahumulaphala capi kausiki bharatarsabha | visvamitro 'bhyagadyatra brahmanatvam tapodhanah | || **[Vol. X, No. 1 In this passage Dhaumya mentions the holy hill called Gaya, the place called Gayasiras, where offerings made to the pitris become inexaustible, the great and holy river Phalgu and the aksaya-vata, which leave no doubt that the holy tirtha Gaya is meant. The Naimisa forest was thus situated in the east and lay not very far from Gaya. This situation of the Naimisaranya is also supported by another passage of the Great Epic. In the Aranyakaparvan, 93, 1 f. the tirtha-yatra of the Pandavas is described. During their exile they were living first in the Kamyaka-vana. The epic describes this place as situated on the Sarasvati in the Maru country.10 Cunningham identified Kamyaka with Kamoda near Kuruksetra. But it is more likely to be modern Kaman, the headquarters of a tahsil of the same name in the former State of Bharatpur. I have shown that its ancient name Kamyaka occurs in a stone inscription of the 10th century A. D., which I have edited in the Epigraphia Indica." From the Kamyakavana the Pandavas proceeded in the east and reached the Naimisaranya in due course : te tatha sahita vira vasantastatra tatra ha | kramena prthivipala naimisaranyamagatah || tatastirthesu punyesu gomatyah pandava nrpa | krtabhisekah pradadurgasca vittam ca bharata | tena devan pitrnvipramstarpayitva punah punah | kanyatirthe'svatirthe ca gavam tirthe ca kauravah || 10. Aranyakaparvan, 6, 3- tatah sarasvatikule samesu marudhanvasu | kamyakam nama dadrsurvanam munijanapriyam || 11. Ep. Ind.. XXIV. p. 335. Pd onoisedi

| Jan., 1968] LOCATION OF THE NAIMISA FOREST valakotyam vrsapasthe giravusya ca pandavah | bahudayam mahipala cakruh sarve'bhisecanam || prayage devayajane devanam prthivipate | usuraplutya gatrani tapascatasthuruttamam || gangayamunayoscaiva samgame satyasangarah | vipapmano mahatmano viprebhyah pradadurvasu || tapasvinanajustam ca tato vedim prajapateh | jagmuh pandusuta rajan brahmanaih saha bharata || tatra te nyavasan virastapascatasthuruttamam | santarpayantah satatam vanyena havisa dvijan || tato mahidharam jagmurdharmajnenabhisatkrtam | rajarsina punyakrta gayenanupamadyute || saro gayasiro yatra punya caiva mahanadi | actorda om maharsijustam supunyam tattirtham brahmasarottamam || 31 This passage describes in order the Naimisaranya, Prayaga and Gaya. This shows that the Naimisaranya was situated in the same direction as and not very far from Prayaga and Gaya. Neither of these two passages from the Mahabharata would suit the identification of the Naimisaranya with Nimsar, which lies 45 miles north-west of Lucknow ; for it is not in the vicinity of Prayaga and Gaya. Besides, if the Pandavas had to reach Nimsar from their habitation in the Kamyakavana (modern Kaman), they would have proceeded to the north and not to the east as stated in the Mahabharata. The Naimisaranya cannot, therefore, be located near Nimsar, notwithstanding the similarity in the two place-names. The Ramayana, Uttarakanda (canto 92 f.) tells us that Rama performed the Asvamedha sacrifice in the Naimisaranya. He asked Laksamana to invite Sugriva and other princes for the sacrifice and to put up a large number of tents in the Naimisa forest on the bank of the Gomati for their reception. At his

32 puranam - PURANA [Vol. X., No. 1 invitation the sage Valmiki also came to the Naimisaranya to attend the sacrifice, accompanied by his disciples including Kusa and Lava. A few huts were put up in a part of the forest for their residence.12 naimise vasatastasya sarva eva naradhipah | aninyurusaharamsca tan ramah pratyapujayat || * X upakarya maharhasca parthivanam mahatmanam | sanuganam narasrestho vyadidesa mahabalah || x varttamane tathabhute yajne ca paramadbhute | sasisya ajagamasu valmikirbhagavanrsih || sa drstva divyasamkasam yajnamadbhutadarsanam | ekanta rsisamghatascakara utanasubhan || X This description of the Asvamedha in the Ramayana shows that it was performed in a place not very far from both Ayodhya and the hermitage of Valmiki. This is also corroborated by the description in the Kundamala, a Sanskrit play of Dhiranaga, who probably flourished in the 9th or 10th century A. D. We are told in the second Act of this play that a messenger of Rama had come to the hermitage of Valmiki. It was therefore announced that the great sacrifice Asvamedha was going to be performed (in the Naimisa forest) not far from that place (i. e. the hermitage of Valmiki). All were therefore asked to repair to the sacrificial place without delay.13 (nepathye ) bho bho asramavasino janah | srnvantu bhavantah-- ito natiduram mahakraturasvamedhah pravarttate sambhrtani yajnopakaranani sannipatitasca nanadesasrama- vasino vasisthatreyaprabhrtayo mahamunayah | kevalam bhagavato valmikeragamanamudi- 12. Uttarakanda, 92, 4, 8, 93, 1-2. 13, Kundamala (ed. by K. K. Dutta ), p. 32. 1010

Jan., 1968] LOCATION OF THE NAIMISA FOREST 33 ksamano nadyapi yajnadiksam pravisati maharajah | agatasca valmikitapovanavasina mupanimantranartham ramadutah | tasmannaiva parilambitavyam | tirthodakani, samidhah, | paripurnarupan darbhankuranavihatan parigrhya sadyah agre bhavantu munayo munikanyakasca kurvantu mangalavalinutananganesu || In the next (III) Act we learn that the delicate Sita had reached by evening the site of the sacrifice together with her young sons Kusa and Lava. We are not told how many days it took them to reach the place of the sacrifice, but from the trend of the description they could not have been many. In a verse of the fourth Act we are told that the kings of the Iksvaku family retire to the Naimisa forest in the evening of their life after entrusting the cares of the family to their sons.15 From all these descriptions it seems clear that the Naimisa forest lay not very far from both Ayodhya and the hermitage of Valmiki. 17 But where was the hermitage of Valmiki? It is usually located at Bithur, 14 miles from Cawnpur,16 but I have shown elsewhere that this location is not correct.¹ According to the Ramayana (1. 2, 3), it was situated on the bank of the Tamasa and lay not far from the Ganga.18 There are two rivers of the name Tamasa flowing in the Uttar-Pradesh, one of which joins the Ganga from the north and the other from the south. I have shown elsewhere 19 in detail that the Tamasa on which Valmiki's 14. Ibid., p. 34. 15. See anakamekadhanusa bhuvanam vijitya punyaidivah kratusatai viracayya margam | iksvakavah sutanivesita rajyabhara nihsreyasaya vanametadupasrayantah | Kundamala IV, 5. 16. Nundo Lal Dey, The Geographical Dictionary, p. 20. 17. See my article on this in Studies in Indology, Vol. 1. (second ed.). 18. See sa muhurta gate tasmindevalokam munistada | jagama tamasatiram jahnavyastvaviduratah | 19. Studies in Indology, Vol. I (Second ed.). Ramayana 1. 2. 3. 5

34 puranam - PURANA [Vol. X., No. 1 hermitage was situated is the southern Tamasa, now called Tons, 'which rises in the former Mahiyar State, on the south of Nagaudh and, running through the north part of Rewah flows into the Ganges about eighteen miles to the south-east of Allahabad. 20 The site of the hermitage of Valmiki was near the confluence of this Tamasa and the Ganga. The Naimisaranya, where the Asvamedha sacrifice was being performed, may have been situated almost due north of this place on the bank of the Gomati, which flows about 60 miles on the north as the crow flies. This forest was probably included in the modern Sultanpur district. Its distance from Ayodhya may have been about 40 miles. If the Naimisaranya is identified with Nimsar, 40 miles nothwest of Lucknow, its distance from the hermitage of Valmiki would be more than 160 miles as the crow flies. Such a long distance is not in consonance with the description in the Epics and the Kundamala as shown above. As the Naimisaranya was about 40 miles from Ayodhya it is not unlikely that the kings of Ayodhya retired to it in the last period of their life and Rama performed his Asvamedha sacrifice there. There is, of course, now no place in this district known to me, the name of which bears resemblance to Naimisaranya. This is not surprising in view of the long period of time which separates the Vedic and Epic periods from the modern age. The foregoing discussion must have made it plain that the Naimisaranya was not identical with modern Nimsar, 45 miles northwest from Lucknow, but was probably situated on the Gomati somewhere in the Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.21 20. Fleet, C. I. I, Vol. III., p. 126. 21. After this article was sent for publication, Shri A. S. Gupta has kindly informed me that the two sacrifices mentioned in the Vayupurana were not identical. The Sacrifice performed in the Naimisa forest on the bank of the Gomati (referred to in the Vayupurana, II, 7 f.) belonged to the reign of Pururavas, at which Vayu was the speaker, which that performed on the Drisadvati (not in the Naimsa forest) (referred to in the Vayupurana 1, 14-15) was in the time of king Asima Krsna and then Suta Lomahargana was the speaker. This has removed the discrepancy pointed out by Dr. Kane and further strengthened the identification suggested in the present article.