Study a Verse

• 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.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Longing and conflict → Detachment and justice. Dynastic episodes explore personal desire and force.

Chapters 13–17 of Canto 9: Nimi, Purūravā and Paraśurāma. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 13: The Dynasty of Mahārāja Nimi

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When the sacrifice was over, the priests prayed for Nimi’s life to all the demigods who had come to the arena of yajña, but Mahārāja Nimi refused to take birth again in a material body because he considered the material body obnoxious. The great sages then churned Nimi’s body, and as a result of this churning, Janaka was born.