Text 8
rājño jīvatu deho ’yaṁ
prasannāḥ prabhavo yadi
tathety ukte nimiḥ prāha
mā bhūn me deha-bandhanam
rājñaḥ — of the King; jīvatu — may again be enlivened; dehaḥ ayam — this body (now preserved); prasannāḥ — very much pleased; prabhavaḥ — all able to do it; yadi — if; tathā — let it be so; iti — thus; ukte — when it was replied (by the demigods); nimiḥ — Mahārāja Nimi; prāha — said; mā bhūt — do not do it; me — my; deha-bandhanam — imprisonment again in a material body.
“If you are satisfied with this sacrifice and if you are actually able to do so, kindly bring Mahārāja Nimi back to life in this body.” The demigods said yes to this request by the sages, but Mahārāja Nimi said, “Please do not imprison me again in a material body.”
The demigods are in a position many times higher than that of human beings. Therefore, although the great saints and sages were also powerful brāhmaṇas, they requested the demigods to revive Mahārāja Nimi’s body, which had been preserved in various perfumed balms. One should not think that the demigods are powerful only in enjoying the senses; they are also powerful in such deeds as bringing life back to a dead body. There are many similar instances in the Vedic literature. For example, according to the history of Sāvitrī and Satyavān, Satyavān died and was being taken away by Yamarāja, but on the request of his wife, Sāvitrī, Satyavān was revived in the same body. This is an important fact about the power of the demigods.