The Kings Vena and Prithu

Some generations further down from Dhruva, there was a king called Vena. Vena was not a good king at all. he announced that there would be no sacrifices on earth. There was absolutely no reason for praying to Vishnu, wasn’t King Vena superior to even Vishnu? The sages tried to persuade the King to change his ways, but Vena was not in a mood to listen.

The sages therefore decided that Vena should die. They chanted mantras over a straw and killed Vena with the straw. The problem however was that who would rule the kingdom in Vena’s place? Vena did not have any children. The sages then began to knead the dead king’s thighs. After the kneading, a dwarf who looked like a short pillar came out of the thighs.

What shall I do?, asked the dwarf.

“Sit,” said the sages and dwarf came to be called nishada from the word for sitting. Later, the sons of Nishada came to live in the Vindhya mountains.