The great sage Vasisht is known for his untraversed intelligence, calmness, devotion, and steadfast mind. Being the preceptor of the Ikshwaku dynasty right from its inception, the journey of Rishi Vashisht was not an easy one to be as the kulguru of the great dynasty but was filled with many challenges which he kept up as the perfect choice of Brahma Ji to be the preceptor of the Ikshwaku dynasty where in future, he knew that Bhagwan Vishnu would be born to annihilate the evil forces.
Nimi Chakravarthy was a righteous king who ruled over the Ikshwaku dynasty with the able guidance of Rishi Vaishist as his preceptor. He wanted to conduct a Yagna for Bhagawathi Parvathi and requested Rishi Vasishist to be the head priest for the same and fixed an auspicious time for the Yagna to be held. However, Devraj Indr had also fixed the same time for a Yagna in the Devalok, and rishi Vashisht mentions that as he had promised Devraj indr earlier, he would finish the Yagna and come back to perform this Yagna and asks the king to wait for him till he fixes another date for the Yagna. However, King Nimi starts the Yagna instead of waiting for Rishi Vashist to come back.
After few days, Rishi Vashisht returns back and sees that the Yagna was being conducted in his absence. Furious that the king did not wait for him, the rishi cursed king Nimi to drop dead. King Nimi was upset at this and countered Rishi Vashisht back with a curse that he too would die at the same moment. With both dying on each other’s curse, the Yagna stood incomplete.
However, as Rishi Vashisht was the Manasa Putr of Brahma ji, he requests the creator a refuge from the curse. In the meanwhile, King Nimi too requests Brahma Ji a solution to complete the Yagna. Listening to both of them, although the curse of Rishi Vashisht could not be revived, he grants life to Nimi as a soul without a body, to complete the Yagna. With Brahma Ji’s boon, King Nimi assumes the videha form (body less form) and completed the Yagna. Brahma Ji was pleased with his determination to complete the Yagna and asks king Nimi for a boon. The king then requested that he wanted to be an important name to be remembered. Brahma Ji, then grants him a boon that he occupy the eye lashes of the human eyes and in perfect time intervals, makes the humans open and close their eyelids. King Nimi ‘s new found duty came to be known as a Nimish ( minute) as a time measurement unit thus, his boon fulfilled. .
Brahma Ji then realising the importance of Rishi Vashisht going back to the Ikshwaku dynasty for the role he had to play as Shri Ram’s guru, advised Rishi Vashisht to enter the souls of the celestial gods, Agni and Varun, to which Rishi Vashisht agrees. Both the celestials later get infatuated by the celestial apsara Urvashi, and as a result of their infatuation, two sons were born to Urvashi, one being Vasisht reborn as himself, and the other being Rishi Agastya. Thus, Rishi Vahisht being reborn again went back to his duty of being the preceptor of the Ikshwaku dynasty and waiting for the time where Bhagwan Vishnu would be his disciple as Shri Ram and fulfill his duty as the preceptor of the Ikshwaku dynasty.