Shunahshepa () is a legendary sage mentioned in

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology refers to the collection of myths associated with Hinduism, derived from various Hindu texts and traditions. These myths are found in sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Itihasas (the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayan ...

. A number of passages in ''

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

'' are attributed to him. He was adopted by the sage

Vishvamitra Vishvamitra (, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. Vishvamitra is one of the seven Brahmarshi. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gay ...

, and given the new name Devarata. 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

Varuna Varuna (; , ) is a Hindu god. He is one of the earliest deities in pantheon, whose role underwent a significant transformation from the Vedic to the Puranic periods. In the early Vedic era, Varuna is seen as the god-sovereign, ruling the sky ...

. 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 ''

''. The story is repeated in the '' Balakanda'' (1.61) of

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

's ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

'' with some variations. Several other texts borrow the story: these include ''Sankhyana Srauta Sutra'', ''

Baudhayana Shrauta Sutra The Baudhayana Shrauta Sutra ( or ) is a Late Vedic text dealing with the solemn rituals of the Taittiriya Shakha school of the Krishna Yajurveda that was composed in eastern Uttar Pradesh during the late Brahmana period. It was transmitted b ...

'', the

Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

, and the works of Chandrakirti among others.

Legend

Aitareya Brahmana

King

Harishchandra Harishchandra () is a legendary king of the Solar dynasty, who appears in several legends in texts such as the ''Aitareya Brahmana'', ''Mahabharata'', the ''Markandeya Purana'', and the ''Devi-Bhagavata Purana, Devi Bhagavata Purana''. The most ...

of the

Ikshvaku dynasty The Solar dynasty or (; ), also called the Ikshvaku dynasty, is a legendary Indian dynasty said to have been founded by Ikshvaku. In Hindu literature, it ruled the Kosala Kingdom, with its capital at Ayodhya, and later at Shravasti. They ...

had 100 wives, but no son. On advice of the sage

Narada Narada (, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage-divinity, famous in Hinduism, Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of the Manasputra, mind-created children of Brahma, the creator ...

, he prayed to the deity

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 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

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

, always refused to accept being sacrificed. In the sixth year of wandering in the forest, Rohita met a destitute, starving

brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

named Ajigarta Sauyavasi with three sons, who was a descendant of

Angiras Angiras ( (stem), , , nominative singular , , , rendered Angirā in Hindi) was a Vedic rishi (sage) of Hinduism. He is described in the ''Rigveda'' as a teacher of divine knowledge, a mediator between men and gods, as well as stated in othe ...

. 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. Varuna agreed to the replacement on the basis that a

was an acceptable (higher

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

) substitute for a

kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

. King Harishchandra combined the sacrifice with his own

Rajasuya Rajasuya () is a śrauta ritual of the Vedic religion. It is ceremony that marks a consecration of a king. According to the Puranas, it refers to a great sacrifice performed by a Chakravarti – universal monarch, in which the tributary princes ...

ceremony. Four

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

were called to conduct the sacrifice: Ayasya (the udgatr), Jamadagni (the adhvaryu),

Vashistha Vasishtha (, ) is one of the oldest and revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vasishtha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vasishtha and his family are mentioned in Rigv ...

(the brahman), and

(the

hotar Priests of the historical Vedic religion, Vedic religion are officiants of the ''yajna'' service. Yajna is an important part of Hinduism, especially the Vedas. Persons trained for the ritual and proficient in its practice were called ( 'rtu, re ...

). 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

Rigvedic deities Rigvedic deities are deities mentioned in the sacred texts of Rigveda, the principal text of the historical Vedic religion of the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE). There are 1,028 hymns (sūkta) in the Rigveda. Most of these hymns are dedicated to ...

. With his last hymn, which invoked Ushas (the deity of the dawn), his bonds were loosened and King Harishchandra was also cured of his illness. Vishvamitra, one of the priests, offered to adopt Shunahshepa as his eldest son. Shunahshepa agreed, reviling his natural father, Ajigarta, as a ''

shudra Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu class and social system in ancient India. Some sources translate it into English as a caste, or as a social class. Theoretically, Shudras constituted a class like work ...

''. 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 Aryavarta. According to the Aitareya Brahmana, the descendants of these 50 sons included the Āndhras, the Mūtibas, the Pulindas, the Pundras, the Shabaras, and the various Dasyu tribes.

Ramayana

Ambarisa offers the youth Sunahsepha in sacrifice

King Ambarisha of

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

was engaged in a sacrificial ceremony, when his animal-victim was stolen by

. 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. On the way to the King's place, the two took a rest break at the sacred site of

Pushkar Pushkar is a temple town near Ajmer City and headquarters of Pushkar tehsil in the Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated about northwest of Ajmer and about southwest of Jaipur. 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.

Interpretations

According to scholars like

Arthur Berriedale Keith Arthur Berriedale Keith, FBA (5 April 1879 – 6 October 1944) was a Scottish constitutional lawyer, scholar of Sanskrit and Indologist. He became Regius Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology and Lecturer on the Constitution of t ...

and Rudolf von Roth, the intent of the legend is to show that

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease deity, gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital punishment, an authoritative/prie ...

('' purushamedha'') is an unacceptable practice. However, some others, such as

Rajendralal Mitra Raja Rajendralal Mitra (16 February 1822 – 26 July 1891) was among the first Indian cultural researchers and historians writing in English. A polymath and the first Indian president of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, he was a pioneering figur ...

Max Müller Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born British comparative philologist and oriental studies, Orientalist. He was one of the founders of the Western academic disciplines of Indology and religious s ...

and

Julius Eggeling Heinrich Julius Eggeling (1842–1918) was professor of Sanskrit at the University of Edinburgh from 1875 to 1914, second holder of its Regius Chair of Sanskrit, and Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society, London. Eggeling was translator and e ...

, 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. 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 Ursa Minor (, contrasting with Ursa Major), also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation located in the far northern celestial hemisphere, northern sky. As with the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of ...

'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. David Shulman interprets the story as a tale about father-son relationships: * 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.

References

{{Authority control Sages in the Ramayana