Nimi, Son of Dattātreya
Nimi was the son of the great avadhūta ṛshi Dattātreya, and so the grandson of Atri Maharshi. His own son Śrīmanta was a wealthy tapasvin (one who does tapas). When Śrīmanta died after a thousand years of tapas, Nimi was overcome with grief. He performed the funeral and ancestor rites on his own. Then he feared he had done wrong. He meditated on his forefather Atri, who appeared, comforted him and taught him the whole śrāddha-vidhi (the rule of the śrāddha). This is how the śrāddha first came to the world of human beings through Nimi.
This is a different Nimi from Nimi Mahārāja of Videha, the Ikshvāku king who traded śāpas with Vasishṭha and founded the dynasty of Mithilā. He is also different from the Nimi of the Nava Yogīśvara account in the Bhāgavata. This Nimi belongs to the line of the ṛshi Atri and has no link with Mithilā.
Lineage
Nimi comes from the ṛshi Atri, one of the great first ṛshis, through Atri’s famous son Dattātreya. Nimi himself is called a man of great tapas (tapo-dhana). His son was Śrīmanta, a tapasvin of great wealth and attainment. So the line runs Atri, Dattātreya, Nimi and Śrīmanta. This places Nimi in the Ātreya line of ṛshis, with no link to the Ikshvāku dynasty of Videha to which the other, better-known Nimi belongs (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 91).
The death of Śrīmanta
Śrīmanta did tapas for a thousand years, an austerity beyond the power of an ordinary human. At its end his body, bound like every body to kāla-dharma (the law of time), gave way and died. Nimi grieved as any father would. He performed the usual rites of purification for the body, but his grief pressed on him without relief (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 91).
Nimi’s own rite
On the fourteenth day (caturdaśī), still full of sorrow, Nimi arranged rich food, bedding and seats. He rose in the hour before dawn, still lost in grief. But as he sat with his mind gathered, his sorrow gave way to wider thought, and his mind turned to deep reflection. He decided in his mind which roots, fruits and foods were fit to be offered. On the amāvāsyā (new-moon day) he invited seven eminent brāhmaṇas. With his own hands he set their seats in a ring, going to the right (pradakshiṇa).
He seated the seven brāhmaṇas together for the meal and served them unsalted rice of cāma grain. He laid dūrvā grass on the seats with its tips pointing south, and also under the feet of the brāhmaṇa guests. With śraddhā (faith) and inner purity (śuci), Nimi offered piṇḍas (rice balls) to Śrīmanta. He called Śrīmanta’s name and gotra, and used dūrvā with tips pointing south (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 91).
Nimi’s fear
After this rite Nimi, though counted among the greatest munis, was seized by fear. He feared he had committed dharma-saṅkara. He thought that the śrauta rite, rightly offered to the pitṛ-devatās (the devas of the ancestors) in general, had been taken by him, on his own wish, for the personal purpose of mourning his son. He blamed himself: “What have I done that no muni before me has done? Why should the brāhmaṇas not burn me with their śāpa for this?” (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 91).
Atri appears and teaches
In his distress Nimi turned his mind in meditation to Atri, the founder of his line. The moment he did so, Atri Maharshi, rich in tapas, appeared before him. He saw his grandson sunk in grief. Atri was free of all disturbance, and he comforted Nimi with words that eased his heart:
“Tapodhana! Nimi! Have no fear. This pitṛ-yajña is nothing other than the dharma that Brahmā himself found long ago. This very dharma that you have now given a form was set up by Brahmā. For who but Brahmā could lay down the rule that belongs to śrāddha? My child, I shall teach you the highest rule of śrāddha, set up by Brahmā himself. Receive it from me and practise it.”
Atri then gave Nimi the whole śrāddha-vidhi. It includes:
- the karaṇa (the first offering) into Agni, which comes first with its mantra
- the order of offerings to Agni, Soma and Varuṇa
- the honouring of the Viśvedevas, who share the homa portion with the pitṛs
- the calling of Vaishṇavī and Kāśyapī as the bearers of the waters meant for the pitṛs
- the stotra (praise) to Varuṇa when the water is fetched
- the closing praise of Agni and Candra
He named the many Viśvedevas as those fit to receive a portion of the śrāddha. He also set out the foods that are forbidden and the kinds of women whose presence spoils the rite. When he had taught the whole rule, Bhagavān Atri, rich in tapas, went away to the divine sabhā (assembly) of Brahmā (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 91).
The next chapter of the Anuśāsana Parva tells why Agni receives the first portion of the śrāddha.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 91–92