Nīlādri, also called Nīlācala, is the sacred mountain in the north where the immortal crow Kākabhuśuṇḍi has kept his āśrama (hermitage) for about twenty kalpas (ages of the world). The mountain clears the mind of anyone who comes near it. A great banyan tree marks the middle of the āśrama, and beneath it Kākabhuśuṇḍi sits and tells the Rāmakathā (the story of Bhagavān Rāma) to an assembly of haṃsas (swans) and other birds.

Garuḍa came here, sent by Bhagavān Śiva, and heard the whole Rāmāyaṇa. Bhagavān Śiva himself had come to this mountain after the death of Satī and heard the Rāmakathā from Kākabhuśuṇḍi.

Location and sacred character

Nīlādri lies to the north of the place where Bhagavān Śiva met Garuḍa on the path to Alakāpurī, the city of Kubera. Bhagavān Śiva sent Garuḍa there with these words: “To the north of this region is a mountain called Nīlādri. Near it lives a pure-souled, virtuous and blessed being named Kākabhuśuṇḍi. That holy being tells the Rāmāyaṇa without a pause. Go to that Rāma-bhakta (devotee of Bhagavān Rāma) and hear the divine story of Bhagavān Rāma.”

The mountain has a special power. As Garuḍa came near, the very sight of the holy peak began to dissolve the clouds of māyā (illusion) that covered his mind. The nearness of the mountain cleared his inner sight.

This agrees with the vara (boon) that Lomaśa Maharshi gave to Kākabhuśuṇḍi: “May no māyā or moha (delusion) arise within a yojana of your āśrama.” So the cleansing power of the mountain reaches a yojana around the āśrama.

The source for this section is the Tulasī Rāmāyana, Uttara Kāṇḍa, in the meeting of Garuḍa and Kākabhuśuṇḍi.

The great banyan tree and the assembly of birds

The āśrama is centred on a great vaṭa (banyan) tree on the peak of Nīlādri. Beneath this tree an assembly of birds, haṃsas and other kinds, sits at all times in good order. Kākabhuśuṇḍi tells the Rāmakathā to this assembly without a break, with great devotion.

When Garuḍa arrived, the whole company of birds stood up to receive the king of birds. Kākabhuśuṇḍi himself bowed to Garuḍa with great humility and welcomed him formally: “O Rājākula! Your auspicious arrival has made our dwelling holy. We are blessed with the good fortune of your darśana (sight).”

There is also a sacred lake near Nīlādri. Garuḍa bathed in it before he went to the āśrama.

The source for this section is the Tulasī Rāmāyana, Uttara Kāṇḍa, in the meeting of Garuḍa and Kākabhuśuṇḍi.

Kākabhuśuṇḍi’s twenty kalpas here

Lomaśa Maharshi gave Kākabhuśuṇḍi his vara on Mount Meru. The boons were firm Rāmabhakti (devotion to Bhagavān Rāma), freedom from māyā within a yojana of his āśrama, and the power to choose the time of his own death. After that, Kākabhuśuṇḍi took the ṛshi’s leave and came to this āśrama on Nīlādri. He told Garuḍa:

Soomāruga iruvadikal pammulanundi nenu yāśramamulo nivasiñcu cunnānu

This means: “For about twenty kalpas I have been living in this āśrama.”

In those twenty kalpas Kākabhuśuṇḍi has lived in this āśrama, chanting and telling the glory of Sītānātha (Bhagavān Rāma, the husband of Sītā) without a pause. He leaves only at each Rāmāvatāra (each coming of Bhagavān Rāma as an avatāra). Then he goes to Ayodhyā in the form of a small crow, takes darśana of the childhood play of Bāla Rāma, and returns to his life of Rāmakathā-pravacana (telling the story of Bhagavān Rāma).

The source for this section is the Tulasī Rāmāyana, Uttara Kāṇḍa, in the account of the boon from Lomaśa.

Bhagavān Śiva’s visit to Nīlādri

Long before Garuḍa came, Bhagavān Śiva himself came to this mountain. After the death of Satī and the Daksha-yajña (Daksha’s fire ritual), Bhagavān Śiva wandered in deep grief through mountains and forests. During this wandering he met Kākabhuśuṇḍi on Nīlādri and heard the Rāmakathā from him.

This is the account that Bhagavān Śiva later told to Pārvatī. The story that Bhagavān Śiva told Pārvatī is the frame narrative of the Uttara Kāṇḍa. So Nīlādri is the starting point of the line by which the Uttara Kāṇḍa was handed down:

Kākabhuśuṇḍi
Bhagavān Śiva
Pārvatī
Yājñavalkya
Bharadvāja

The source for this section is the Tulasī Rāmāyana, Uttara Kāṇḍa, in the account of Bhagavān Śiva telling the story to Pārvatī.

Sources

Tulasī Rāmāyana, Uttara Kāṇḍa, the meeting of Garuḍa and Kākabhuśuṇḍi
Tulasī Rāmāyana, Uttara Kāṇḍa, the boon from Lomaśa
Tulasī Rāmāyana, Uttara Kāṇḍa, Bhagavān Śiva telling the story to Pārvatī