13.117
durva, dhanya, dila sirse, kaila bahu asise, cirajivi hao dui bhai
dakini-sankhini haite, sanka upajila cite, dare nama thuila ’nimai’
SYNONYMS
durva—fresh grass; dhanya—paddy; dila—gave; sirse—on the head; kaila—did; bahu—with much; asise—blessing; cira-jivi—live long; hao—become; dui bhai—two brothers; dakini-sankhini—ghosts and witches; haite—from; sanka—doubt; upajila—grew; cite—in the heart; dare—out of fear; nama—name; thuila—kept; nimai—Lord Caitanya’s childhood name, derived from the nima (nimba) tree.
She blessed the newly born child by placing fresh grass and paddy on His head and saying, “May You be blessed with a long duration of life.” But being afraid of ghosts and witches, she gave the child the name Nimai.
PURPORT
Dakini and Sankhini are two companions of Lord Siva and his wife who are supposed to be extremely inauspicious, having been born of ghostly life.
It is believed that such inauspicious living creatures cannot go near a nima tree.
At least medically it is accepted that nima wood is extremely antiseptic, and formerly it was customary to have a nima tree in front of one’s house.
On very large roads in India, especially in Uttar Pradesh, there are hundreds and thousands of nima trees.
Nima wood is so antiseptic that the Ayurvedic science uses it to cure leprosy.
Medical scientists have extracted the active principle of the nima tree, which is called margosic acid.
Nima is used for many purposes, especially to brush the teeth.
In Indian villages ninety percent of the people use nima twigs for this purpose.
Because of all the antiseptic effects of the nima tree and because Lord Caitanya was born beneath a nima tree, Sita Thakurani gave the Lord the name Nimai.
Later in His youth He was celebrated as Nimai Pandita, and in the neighborhood villages He was called by that name, although His real name was Visvambhara.