नृग
[nrga] IAST: NṚGA
A king born in the dynasty of वैवस्वत मनु .
Descended from विष्णु thus: ब्रह्मा -- मरीचि -- कश्यप -- विवस्वान् -- वैवस्वत मनु -- महाबाहु -- प्रसन्धि -- क्षुप -- नृग .
नृग was the younger brother of इक्ष्वाकु . From नृग was born सुमति , from him the king called ज्योतिस् , from ज्योतिस् वसु and from वसु प्रतीक .
नृग became chameleon
नृग was an extremely righteous and generous King. Once, at पुष्कर he gifted away thousands of cows to brahmins. There was a brahmin called पर्वत living near पुष्कर . He too was given a cow and it was after that the brahmin named अनारत came. By then there remained no cow to be gifted. अनारत came after पर्वत had gone into the forest after leaving the cow at the pond ( पुष्कर ). नृग had forgotten the fact that the cow had already been gifted away to पर्वत and finding it there owner-less he gave it to अनारत , who went away with the cow very much pleased. The King and his ministers also returned to the palace.
A very short time afterwards पर्वत returned to the pond and felt very sorry to miss his cow. He searched for it here and there and at last found it at अनारत 's house. Quarrel ensued between the two, पर्वत alleging that अनारत had stolen his cow while the latter contended that it had been given to him by the King. Now, it was decided that the question should be submitted for arbitration to the King, and the contending parties went to the capital to see the King. At the palace they asked the gate-keepers to tell the King about their arrival. But, they did not tell the King, nor did he come.
Angered at this the ब्रह्मिन्स् cursed that नृग be converted into a chameleon and live as such for a thousand years. The King heard about the curse and ran up to the ब्रह्मिन्स् and requested for absolution from it. The ब्रह्मिन्स् then said that after one thousand years महाविष्णु would incarnate as श्री कृष्ण and that at his touch नृग , the chameleon would resume his former form as King. According to this curse नृग was born as a chameleon in a neglected well at द्वारका . One day साम्ब and others who happened to go near the well tried their best to take the chameleon out of it, to no purpose. At last कृष्ण with his attendants came and took it out of the well. At कृष्ण 's touch it resumed its form as King नृग , and related the story of his curse to the onlookers, who stood there wondering.
Other information
After his death नृग lived in यम 's court worshipping him. [mh-2-8-8 ] .
नृग once conducted a यज्ञ on the banks of the river पयोष्णी in वराहतीर्थ at which इन्द्र drank सोम so much as to get intoxicated, and the ब्रह्मिन्स् danced with pleasure at the very liberal gifts made to them. [mh-3-8-5 ] .
नृग was a King very dear to इन्दिअन्स् . [mh-6-9-7 ] .
कृष्ण granted salvation to नृग who changed, at his touch, from chameleon to his former form as King नृग . [mh-13-70-29 ] .
He did not eat flesh. [mh-13-70-29 ] .
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