344:. The priest conducting the ceremony told the king that he needed to find the animal, or perform a human sacrifice to avert the misfortune resulting from the situation. The king tried to search for the horse unsuccessfully. While searching for the animal, he came across the sage Richika (Ṛcīka) in the mountain region known as Bhrugutunda. He offered to buy one of the sage's three sons for the human sacrifice. The sage refused to part with his eldest son, and his wife refused to part with the youngest. The middle one - Shunahshepa - volunteered to go with the king. The king gave Richika one hundred thousand cows and gold coins, and left with Shunahshepa.
317:
351:. There, they encountered the sage Vishvamitra, whom Shunahshepa recognized as his maternal uncle. Shunahshepa sought the sage's refuge, asking him to do something that would conclude the king's rite successfully but also save his life. The sage asked his sons if any of them were willing to replace Shunahshepa in the sacrifice. His sons rejected the demand with scorn, stating that it would be equivalent to eating dog meat. Angered at their impudence, Vishvamitra cursed his sons to be reborn as outcaste dog-meat eaters for a thousand years, just like Vashistha's sons.
263:). However, all of them refused to bind Shunahshepa to the sacrificial post. Ajigarta then offered to bind his son for another hundred cows. Rohita accepted the offer, and Ajigarta bound Shunahshepa to the post. However, the priests refused to slaughter him. Ajigarta then offered to sacrifice his own son in exchange for another hundred cows. The prince agreed to his demand. As Ajigarta readied to kill his own son, Shunahshepa prayed to the
212:. Rohita offered Ajigarta one hundred cows in exchange for one of his sons to be sacrificed to Varuna in his place. Ajigarta agreed to the offer, and because he didn't want his eldest son to be sacrificed, and his wife didn't want their youngest son to be sacrificed, the middle son – Shunahshepa – was chosen as the victim. Rohita then gave the promised hundred cows to Ajigarta, and took Shunahshepa and Ajigarta to the royal palace.
280:. Vishvamitra gave him the name Devarata ("deity-given"). Half of Vishvamitra's natural sons – those younger than Devarata – accepted him as their elder brother. However, those older than Devarata refused to accept the terms of his adoption (as their nominal elder). Vishvamitra then cursed their offspring to be exiled out of
197:
to him. The king postponed the sacrifice multiple times citing various reasons, but finally agreed to it when Rohita became an adult. Rohita refused to be sacrificed and escaped to forest. Varuna became angry, and afflicted
Harishchandra with a stomach illness. Rohita occasionally visited his ill father, but on advice of
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for a son. Varuna granted the boon, in exchange for an assurance that
Harishchandra would make a sacrifice to Varuna in the future. As a result of this boon, a son named Rohita (or Rohitaswa) was born to the king. After his birth, Varuna came to Harishchandra and demanded that the child be sacrificed
354:
Vishwamitra then turned to
Shunahshepa, and asked him to recite two hymns during the sacrifice. Ambarisha and Shunahshepa then reached the palace, where the sacrificial ceremony started. Ambarisha concluded the Ashvamedha ceremony successfully, and Shunahshepa recited Vishwamitra's hymns as he was
393:, believe that the legend indicates the existence of human sacrifice as a practice around the time the legend originated, and that the legend marks Shunahshepa's case as an exception.
110:. His name is also transliterated as Cunahcepa, Cunahçepa, Sunahsephas, Sunahshepa, and Shunashepa. He was first mentioned in Mandala 1, Hymn 24 of the Rigveda as a devotee of the god
437:
The story of
Shunahshepa has been retold and adapted into poetry and plays in India. These versions vary from each other depending on which version of the story they are based on.
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Vishvamitra, one of the priests, offered to adopt
Shunahshepa as his eldest son. Shunahshepa agreed, reviling his natural father, Ajigarta, as a
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about to be sacrificed. Indra then appeared on the spot, and blessed him with a long life. He also rewarded
Ambarisha for his sacrifice.
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642:
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422:
The loving father
Harishchandra tries to postpone his son Rohita's death, before he reluctantly agrees to the inevitable sacrifice.
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new series number DG461 titled "Shunahshepa," published in 1983, tells the story of
Shunahshepa in the form of a graphic novel.
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Vishvamitra falls somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, cursing the sons who don't obey him and rewarding the ones who do.
400:(in passages attributed to Shunahshepa) may have been an astronomical explanation for the fact that the three stars in the
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in a ritual, but was saved after praying to the
Rigvedic deities. The earliest extant text to mention this legend is
449:'s poetry collection "Karunalay" features a retelling of the story of Shunahshepa in the form of poetic drama or
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82:
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The inhumane father
Ajigarta not only sells his son, but also agrees to murder him for an additional payment.
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are an origin myth for the outcasts, who are described as the descendants of Vishvamitra's disobedient sons.
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271:(the deity of the dawn), his bonds were loosened and King Harishchandra was also cured of his illness.
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On the way to the King's place, the two took a rest break at the sacred site of
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In the sixth year of wandering in the forest, Rohita met a destitute, starving
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According to David Gordon White, the original Shunahshepa myth alluded to in
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was engaged in a sacrificial ceremony, when his animal-victim was stolen by
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with some variations. Several other texts borrow the story: these include
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named Ajigarta Sauyavasi with three sons, who was a descendant of
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interprets the story as a tale about father-son relationships:
381:) is an unacceptable practice. However, some others, such as
227:. King Harishchandra combined the sacrifice with his own
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had 100 wives, but no son. On advice of the sage
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Varuna agreed to the replacement on the basis that a
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The Hungry God: Hindu Tales of Filicide and Devotion
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According to a legend, Shunahshepa was chosen to be
479:, human sacrifice ritual described in the Yajurveda
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102:are attributed to him. He was adopted by the sage
598:. University of Chicago Press. pp. 87–105.
559:. University of Chicago Press. pp. 22–25.
526:. University of Chicago Press. pp. 81–84.
201:, always refused to accept being sacrificed.
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592:"Sunahsepa: The Riddle of Fathers and Sons"
371:, the intent of the legend is to show that
556:Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism
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235:were called to conduct the sacrifice:
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661:The Strange World of Human Sacrifice
267:. With his last hymn, which invoked
92:) is a legendary sage mentioned in
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328:offering Sunahsepha in sacrifice
38:Sunahsepa / Devarata Vaiśvāmitra
637:. University of Chicago Press.
133:. The story is repeated in the
1:
692:Characters in Hindu mythology
664:. Peeters. pp. 161–165.
520:White, David Gordon (1991).
363:According to scholars like
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219:was an acceptable (higher
96:. A number of passages in
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106:, and given the new name
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156:Baudhayana Shrauta Sutra
658:Jan N. Bremmer (1997).
365:Arthur Berriedale Keith
43:In-universe information
410:Sankhyana Srauta Sutra
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151:Sankhyana Srauta Sutra
697:Sages in the Ramayana
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523:Myths of the Dog-Man
255:(the brahman), and
223:) substitute for a
163:, and the works of
32:Fictional character
433:In popular culture
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304:, and the various
634:Asian Mythologies
464:Amar Chitra katha
447:Jaishankar Prasad
406:Aitareya Brahmana
383:Rajendralal Mitra
176:Aitareya Brahmana
124:Aitareya Brahmana
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104:Vishvamitra
70:Shunahshepa
62:Yagnavalkya
52:Vishvamitra
686:Categories
498:References
402:Ursa Minor
387:Max Müller
322:Mughal era
139:(1.61) of
119:sacrificed
27:Vedic sage
18:Sunahshepa
451:gītināṭya
334:Ambarisha
326:Ambarisha
282:Aryavarta
253:Vashistha
245:Jamadagni
225:kshatriya
136:Balakanda
89:Śunaḥśepa
83:romanized
631:(1993).
590:(1993).
553:(1998).
491:filicide
483:Jephthah
471:See also
349:Pushkara
312:Ramayana
308:tribes.
302:Shabaras
294:Pulindas
249:adhvaryu
229:Rajasuya
146:Ramayana
108:Devarata
74:Sanskrit
58:Children
398:Rigveda
338:Ayodhya
298:Pundras
290:Mūtibas
286:Āndhras
233:priests
217:brahmin
210:Angiras
206:brahmin
184:of the
161:Puranas
141:Valmiki
130:Rigveda
99:Rigveda
85::
78:शुनःशेप
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441:Poetry
300:, the
296:, the
292:, the
288:, the
277:shudra
241:udgatr
237:Ayasya
194:Varuna
190:Narada
171:Legend
159:, the
112:Varuna
48:Family
342:Indra
332:King
306:Dasyu
269:Ushas
261:hotar
259:(the
247:(the
239:(the
221:caste
199:Indra
180:King
666:ISBN
639:ISBN
600:ISBN
561:ISBN
528:ISBN
485:and
408:and
389:and
367:and
336:of
251:),
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143:'s
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