Nirṛta — Regent of the South-West

Nirṛta — Regent of the South-West  

The regent of the south-western direction is Misery (Nirṛta). Misery is the son of Vision (Kaśyapa) and Fragrance (Surabhi). He is also one of the eleven Rudras (Padma Purāṇa, Sṛṣṭi khāṇḍa, ch. 40).

He is the lord of elves (nairṛta), ghosts (bhūta), and night-wanderers (Rākṣasa) and also the lord-of- the-directions (Dikpāla).

People worship him to gain victory over their enemies. In Vāstu his direction is the place of the rubbish heap or re-cycling bins as he presides over decay and rot.

A legend says that once there was a virtuous king of the criminal tribe of the Śabara named Yellow- Eye (Piṅgākṣa). One day in the forest he heard people crying for help. He ran and found travellers being looted by a group of savages (dasyu).

He fought them and was killed — being killed in the defence of strangers is equal to a Vedic Yajña and as a reward he attained godhood and was made the regent of a direction.

The nairṛtas are the descendants of Nirṛta and are represented as a kind of elf associated with Kubera.

NIRṚTI -Goddess of Misery

NIRṚTI -Goddess of Misery

Nirṛti, the Goddess of Misery is a sinister goddess representing suffering, poverty, disease, and death.

As the Embodiment of all sins, she appeared at the time of the churning of the ocean before the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī. Hence she is the older sister of Lakṣmī known as Alakṣmī.

Her abode is the sacred fig tree, the Pipal, where, every Saturday, Lakṣmī comes to visit her. To her realm belong gambling, prostitution, sleep, poverty, disease, and all the forms of trouble.

She is the wife of Sin (Adharma), the son of Varuṇa. Her sons are Death (Mṛtyu), Fear (Bhaya), and Terror (Mahā-bhaya).

In this world all those who are born with a handicap, in the families of thieves or evildoers, and yet are virtuous and kind are especially protected by Nirṛti.