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| 'Padma Guardian Spirit''? |
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| 'Shanka guardian spirit'? |
'Sri Ram asked Agastya--'Who was Ravana -- the tormentor of
deities? I am anxious to know about the origin of his whole clan."
Sage Agastya replied--Vishrava
was the grandson of Lord Brahma. His father was sage Pulastya. Vishrava had two
wives--Mandakini and Kaikasi. Mandakani's son was Kubera while Kaikasi was the
mother of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishan. Kubera ruled over Lanka. One day,
Kubera, came to see his parents boarded on his aircraft--Pushpak Viman. After
he returned to Lanka, Ravana, who was very much impressed by Kubera's royal
appearances asked Kaikasi--"Who was this fellow? From where did he acquire
such an amazing aircraft."
Kaikasi revealed to Ravana that
the guest was none other than his step-brother Kubera. She said--"Kubera
is the son of your step mother--Mandakini. He has made his mother proud by his
conduct but I am ashamed of you, because of your inconsequential existence. You
are no better than a worm."
Ravan decided to prove his
mother wrong by acquiring insurmountable power and authority. Ravana went to
the forest and performed an austere penance for ten thousand years by standing
on one foot. He fixed his gaze at the sun and never for a moment did he remove
his gaze from it. Kumbhakarna and Vibhishan also engaged themselves in austere
penance. At last, Lord Brahma became pleased and blessed Ravana with a vast
kingdom. Ravan then started tormenting his step-brother Kumbhakarna. He
snatched Kubera's Pushpak Viman and drove him out of Lanka. Ravan then turned
his attention towards the deities and drove them out of heaven. The deities
went to seek the help of Lord Brahma who in turn took them to Lord Shiva. Even
Lord Shiva was clueless about the means by which the indomitable Ravana could
be subdued. Ultimately all of them including Lord Shiva went to Lord Vishnu and
sought his help'...
'In the context of Hindu mythology, Nidhi, that is, a treasure,
constituted of nine treasures (nawanidhi) belonging to Kubera (also spelt as Kuvera), the god of wealth.
According to the tradition, each nidhi is personified as having a guardian
spirit, and some tantrikas worship them. The nature and characteristics of
nidhis have remained largely unexplained and have not been fully understood.
According toAmarakosha, the nine nidhis are:
-
mahapadma "great lotus flower"
- padma
"lotus flower"
- shankha
"conch"
- makara
"crocodile"
-
kachchhapa "tortoise"
- mukunda
"a particular precious stone"
- kunda
"jasmine"
- nila
"sapphire"
- kharva
"dwarf"
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