Nidhi

Classical Hindu lexical and Puranic sources situate the nidhis as the nine treasures (navanidhi) that belong to Kubera, the god of wealth. Texts and compendia such as the Amarakosha and Purana literature (e.g., references in summaries of the Padma Purana) enumerate the navanidhi in lists, integrating them into Kubera's divine economy; however, the supplied materials note that while lists of the nine names are attested in these sources, the individual nature, attributes, and detailed descriptions of the nidhis are not preserved or remain unexplained in the surviving textual record (see Amarakosha/Padma Purana citations summarized in Wikipedia).

Surviving textual summaries do not provide a consistent or detailed iconography for the nidhis as objects or as personified guardian-spirits. The tradition sometimes personifies each nidhi and assigns it a guardian-spirit who may be the focus of worship in some Tantric contexts, but classical sources cited in the available material do not record standardized visual forms, attributes, or iconographic descriptions for the individual nidhis.

Primary function recorded in the sources is as treasures belonging to Kubera; they form part of the mythic corpus of wealth and material prosperity administered by that deity. Any apparent agency is attested only indirectly: tradition says each nidhi has a guardian-spirit, and some Tantrikas worship those guardians, implying that in tantric practice the guardians are capable of receiving devotion and may be invoked in relation to wealth. The supplied materials emphasize, however, that specific powers, behaviors, or ritual effects of the nidhis or their guardians are not detailed in the cited sources.