Shunahshepa
Sunahsepa / Devarata Vaiśvāmitra | |
---|---|
In-universe information | |
Family | Vishvamitra |
Shunahshepa (
According to a legend, Shunahshepa was chosen to be sacrificed in a ritual, but was saved after praying to the Rigvedic deities. The earliest extant text to mention this legend is Aitareya Brahmana (7.13-18) of Rigveda. The story is repeated in the Balakanda (1.61) of Valmiki's Ramayana with some variations. Several other texts borrow the story: these include Sankhyana Srauta Sutra, Baudhayana Shrauta Sutra, the Puranas, and the works of Chandrakirti among others.
Legend
Aitareya Brahmana
King
In the sixth year of wandering in the forest, Rohita met a destitute, starving
Varuna agreed to the replacement on the basis that a
Vishvamitra, one of the priests, offered to adopt Shunahshepa as his eldest son. Shunahshepa agreed, reviling his natural father, Ajigarta, as a
Ramayana
King Ambarisha of Ayodhya was engaged in a sacrificial ceremony, when his animal-victim was stolen by Indra. 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.[3][4]
On the way to the King's place, the two took a rest break at the sacred site of Pushkara. 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.[3][4]
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 about to be sacrificed. Indra then appeared on the spot, and blessed him with a long life. He also rewarded Ambarisha for his sacrifice.[3][4]
Interpretations
According to scholars like Arthur Berriedale Keith and Rudolf von Roth, the intent of the legend is to show that human sacrifice (purushamedha) is an unacceptable practice. However, some others, such as Rajendralal Mitra, Max Müller and Julius Eggeling, 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.[5]
According to David Gordon White, the original Shunahshepa myth alluded to in Rigveda (in passages attributed to Shunahshepa) may have been an astronomical explanation for the fact that the three stars in the Ursa Minor's tail never fall below the line of horizon. However, its variants in Aitareya Brahmana and Sankhyana Srauta Sutra are an origin myth for the outcasts, who are described as the descendants of Vishvamitra's disobedient sons.[1]
David Shulman interprets the story as a tale about father-son relationships:[3]
- The loving father Harishchandra tries to postpone his son Rohita's death, before he reluctantly agrees to the inevitable sacrifice.
- The inhumane father Ajigarta not only sells his son, but also agrees to murder him for an additional payment.
- Vishvamitra falls somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, cursing the sons who don't obey him and rewarding the ones who do.
In popular culture
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.
Poetry
- Jaishankar Prasad's poetry collection "Karunalay" features a retelling of the story of Shunahshepa in the form of poetic drama or gītināṭya.
Graphic Novel
- Amar Chitra katha new series number DG461 titled "Shunahshepa," published in 1983, tells the story of Shunahshepa in the form of a graphic novel.
See also
- Purushamedha, human sacrifice ritual described in the Yajurveda
- Jephthah and Binding of Isaac, legends of filicide in Hebrew texts
References
- ^ ISBN 9780226895093.
- ^ ISBN 9780226618470.
- ^ ISBN 9780226755717.
- ^ ISBN 9780226064567.
- ISBN 9789042918436.