Nishāda
Nishāda
Grammar: masculine noun.
Meaning: a people; here woodcutters, also called Bhillas and Bhīlas.
In the scriptures: Sūta tells the ṛshis of them in the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa. The Nishādas cut wood in the forest and sold it in the city, and some came to Kāśīpurī. One thirsty woodcutter among them came to the āśrama of Śatānanda, heard of the Satyanārāyaṇa vrata and told his companions. They vowed to spend that day’s wood money on the pūjā with their kinsfolk, and that day they got four times the money of earlier days. They told their women, worshipped Bhagavān Satyanārāyaṇa, heard the kathā, distributed the prasāda and took it. By the power of the pūjā they gained wealth and excellent jñāna-dṛshṭi on earth, enjoyed bhogas as they wished, and at the end reached the Vaishṇava-dhāma, rare even for yogīs (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapter 27). The kathā of the Bhīlas is among those heard at the pūjā (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapter 25).
Related terms: Satyanārāyaṇa Vrata · Kathā
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapters 25, 27