Nidrā Devī

Nidrā Devī is the devī of sleep. She is the divine power that shows itself as deep, restful slumber.

In the Rājya Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa she appears in the account of the daily routine (dina-caryā) of Bhagavān Rāma. When Rāma wakes, he first offers a prayer to Nidrā Devī and only then turns to his own worship. Sleep is understood as a devī whose gift of rest is to be received with thanks before the day’s worship begins.

Nidrā in the tradition

The tradition knows Nidrā as a śakti, a divine power. She is linked with the tāmasic side of the guṇas (the three qualities of nature), but not in any bad sense. Sleep is the kind drawing in of awareness into the subtle body. It gives rest, renewal, and the calming of the day’s troubles.

Nidrā is sometimes named as Mahāmāyā, or linked with Yoganidrā. Yoganidrā is the cosmic sleep of Bhagavān Viṣṇu on the serpent Śeṣa during the pralaya (the dissolution of the world). In this sense Nidrā is the power by which even the Infinite rests.

In Rāma’s morning routine

The Rājya Khaṇḍa describes the dawn of Rāma. On waking, Rāma does not begin his pūjā at once. First he offers a short prayer to Nidrā Devī. He thanks the devī for the gift of sleep that has just ended. Then he turns to his own worship. This order shows that every experience, sleep included, comes through a devī or deva who presides over it, and deserves to be honoured.

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa thus begins Rāma’s morning with thanks: first to Nidrā for the rest of the night, then to Bhagavān Rāma for existence itself. After that comes the full round of dhyāna (meditation), snāna (bathing), homa (fire offering) and the duties of the sabhā (the royal court). (Chapter 19)

Sources

• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Rājya Khaṇḍa, Chapter 19