Nikumbha (Mahātmā of Kāśī)

Nikumbha

Nikumbha has other meanings too: see all meanings of Nikumbha.

Nikumbha is the mahātmā by whose śāpa the kshetra of Kāśī stayed empty for a thousand years.

The śāpa on Kāśī

The Brahma Purāṇa tells, in the line of Dhanvantari, that Divodāsa, son of Bhīmaratha, a dhārmika king, ruled the city of Kāśī. In his time the rākshasa Kshemaka made Vārāṇasī empty, and by the śāpa of the mahātmā Nikumbha, Kāśī-kshetra had to stay deserted for a thousand years. Divodāsa rebuilt the beautiful city, ruined by the śāpa, on the bank of the Gomatī.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 11

Sources

• Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 11