King · All traditions · North India

Hemanaka (King Hima)

Also called: Hima, Hema, Heman

The king whose son was fated to die young. The Skanda Purana says only that the infant son of Hemanaka was saved from untimely death on the thirteenth night before Diwali; the festival tale calls him King Hima or Hema and tells of the son's wedding and the bride's watch.

Sources: The Skanda Purana, tr. G. V. Tagare (Motilal Banarsidass), Vaishnava Khanda, Karttikamasa Mahatmya, chapter 9: Rites on Vatsadvadashi, Yamatrayodashi, Narakachaturdashi and Dipavali, on Wisdom Library; Dhanteras Katha: King Hema's Son, the Lamp for Yama and Dhanvantari, Sanatan Bodh · see Hemanaka (King Hima)'s web

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Stories 1

The lamps that kept Death at the door
Folk tale · as the king whose son is fated to die · 2 tellings

Cited

The Skanda Purana, tr. G. V. Tagare (Motilal Banarsidass), Vaishnava Khanda, Karttikamasa Mahatmya, chapter 9: Rites on Vatsadvadashi, Yamatrayodashi, Narakachaturdashi and Dipavali, on Wisdom Library § 9.21 Primary text (translation)
Dhanteras Katha: King Hema's Son, the Lamp for Yama and Dhanvantari, Sanatan Bodh Popular retelling