Naimiṣāraṇya (Sanskrit: नैमिषारण्य, romanized: Naimiṣāraṇya, lit. 'Naimisha forest'), also referred as Naimisha (Sanskrit: नैमिष) is a sacred forest frequently mentioned in Puranic literature, as well as both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. It is regarded to be the place where the Puranas had been narrated for the first time, before a large gathering of sages. The ancient forest corresponds to modern day Nimsar, situated along the Gomati river in the Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh, India.
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👉 Naimisha Forest in the context of Ugrasrava Sauti
Ugrashravas Sauti (Sanskrit: उग्रश्रवस् सौति, also Ugraśravas, Sauti, Sūta, Śri Sūta, Suta Gosvāmī) is a character in Hindu literature, featured as the narrator of the Mahābhārata and several Puranas including the Shiva Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Harivamsa, Brahmavaivarta Purana, and Padma Purana, with the narrations typically taking place before the sages gathered in Naimisha Forest. He is the son of Lomaharshana (or Romaharshana), and a disciple of Vyasa, the author of the Mahābhārata. Ugrashravas is a bard of Puranic literature.
The entire Mahābhārata epic is structured as a dialogue between Ugrasravas Sauti (the narrator) and sage Saunaka (the narratee). The narration (Bharata) of the history of Bharata kings by sage Vaisampayana to Kuru king Janamejaya is embedded within this narration of Ugrasravas Sauti. Vaisampayana's narration (Jaya) in turn contains the narration of Kurukshetra War by Sanjaya, to Kuru king Dhritarashtra. Thus Mahābhārata has as a Story within a story structure.
In this Dossier
Naimisha Forest in the context of Adi Parva
The Adi Parva ("Book of the Beginning") is the first of the eighteen parvas (books) of the Indian epic Mahabharata. "Ādi" (आदि) in Sanskrit means "first". Adi Parva traditionally has 19 parts and 236 adhyayas (chapters). The critical edition of Adi Parva has 19 parts and 225 chapters.
Adi Parva describes how the epic came to be recited by Ugrasrava Sauti to the assembled rishis at the Naimisha Forest after first having been narrated at the sarpasatra of Janamejaya by Vaishampayana at Taxila. It includes an outline of contents from the eighteen books, along with the book's significance. The history of the Bhāratas and the Bhrigus are described. The main part of the work covers the birth and early life of the princes of the Kuru kingdom and the persecution of the Pandavas by Dhritarashtra.