Shunahshepa () is a legendary sage mentioned in Hindu mythology. A number of passages in ''

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one ...

'' are attributed to him. He was adopted by the sage Vishvamitra, 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 (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such ...

. 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 The Aitareya Brahmana ( sa, ऐतरेय ब्राह्मण) is the Brahmana of the Shakala Shakha of the Rigveda, an ancient Indian collection of sacred hymns. This work, according to the tradition, is ascribed to Mahidasa Aitareya. Aut ...

'' (7.13-18) of ''

''. The story is repeated in the ''

Balakanda ''Bala Kanda'' ( sa, बालकाण्ड; IAST: ', ) is the first book of the Valmiki ''Ramayana'', which is one of the two great epics of India (the other being the ''Mahabharata''). There has been debate as to whether ''Bala Kanda'' was c ...

'' (1.61) of

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributio ...

's ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'' 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 Yajurveda#Krishna Yajurveda, Krishna Yajurveda that was composed in eastern Uttar Pradesh during the late Brahmana ...

'', the Puranas, and the works of

Chandrakirti Chandrakirti (; ; , meaning "glory of the moon" in Sanskrit) or "Chandra" was a Buddhist scholar of the madhyamaka school and a noted commentator on the works of Nagarjuna () and those of his main disciple, Aryadeva. He wrote two influential w ...

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''. The most famous of these storie ...

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

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

, 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. An angry Varuna afflicted Harishchandra with a stomach illness. Rohita intermittently visited his father, but on advice of Indra, never agreed to the sacrifice. In the sixth year of wandering in the forest, Rohita met a starving

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

named Ajigarta Sauyavasi, a descendant of

Angiras Angiras or Angira ( Sanskrit: / ', pronounced ) 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 other hymns to be the first ...

. Ajigarta had three sons. Rohita offered Ajigarta a hundred cows in exchange for one of his sons to be sacrificed to Varuna in his place. Ajigarta agreed to the offer. He didn't want his eldest son to be sacrificed, and his wife didn't want their youngest son to be sacrificed. So, Shunahshepa—the middle son—was chosen for the sacrifice. Rohita then gave a hundred cows to Ajigarta, and took Shunahshepa and Ajigarta to the royal palace. Varuna agreed to the replacement on the basis that a Brahmin was a worthy substitute for a

Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

. King Harishchandra combined the sacrifice with his own Rajasuya ceremony. Four priests were called to conduct the sacrifice: Ayasya (the

udgatr Priests of the 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 ( ' regularly-sacrificing'). As memb ...

), Jamadagni (the

adhvaryu Priests of the 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 ( ' regularly-sacrificing'). As memb ...

Vashistha Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha ...

(the brahman) and Vishvamitra (the hotar). 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 Ushas (Vedic Sanskrit: / ') is a Vedic goddess of dawn in Hinduism. She repeatedly appears in the Rigvedic hymns, states David Kinsley, where she is "consistently identified with dawn, revealing herself with the daily coming of light to the worl ...

(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. Reviling his own father Ajigarta as a

Shudra Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four '' varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, class ser ...

, Shunahshepa agreed. Vishvamitra gave him the name Devarata ("deity-given"). Half of Vishvamitra's sons - the younger ones - accepted Devarata as their elder brother. However, the elder ones refused to accept the adoption. 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

Pulinda Pulinda (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient tribe of south-central South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Pulindas were a non- Indo-Aryan tribe. Location During the later Vedic period, the Pulindas were living to the south-east ...

s, the

Pundras Pundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom ( sa, Puṇḍravardhana), was an ancient kingdom during the Iron Age period in India with a territory that included parts of present-day Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions of Bangladesh as well as the West Dinaj ...

, the Shabaras, and the various

Dasyu ''Dasa'' ( sa, दास, Dāsa) is a Sanskrit word found in ancient Indian texts such as the ''Rigveda'' and '' Arthasastra''. It usually means "enemy" or "servant" but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a "servant of God", "devotee," "votary" or " ...

tribes.

Ramayana

Ambarisa offers the youth Sunahsepha in sacrifice

King

Ambarisha In Hindu mythology, Ambarisha ( sa, अम्बरीषः, ) is an Ikshvaku king, and the son of Mandhata.Pargiter, F.E. (1972) 922 ''Ancient Indian Historical Tradition'', Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p.92. He is believed to have conquered t ...

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...

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

Pushkar Pushkar is a 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 (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 the Briti ...

and

Rudolf von Roth Rudolf von Roth (born Walter Rudolph Roth, 3 April 1821 – 23 June 1895) was a German Indologist, founder of the Vedic philology. His chief work is a monumental Sanskrit dictionary, compiled in collaboration with Otto von Böhtlingk. Biography R ...

, 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 gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...

(''

purushamedha Purushamedha (or Naramedha) is a Śrauta ritual of human sacrifice. The ''Vajasaneyi Samhita-Sataphana Brahmana-Katyayana Srauta Sutra'' sequence of Shukla Yajur Veda texts contains the most details. Whether actual human sacrifice was taking place ...

'') 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 philologist and Orientalist, who lived and studied in Britain for most of his life. He was one of the founders of the western academic disciplines of Indian ...

and

Julius Eggeling Hans 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 edito ...

, 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 (Latin: 'Lesser Bear', contrasting with Ursa Major), also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation located in the far northern sky. As with the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of a ladle, ...

'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 David Shulman (November 12, 1912 – October 30, 2004) was an American lexicographer and cryptographer. He contributed many early usages to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' and is listed amon"Readers and contributors from collections" for the se ...

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. *

Jaishankar Prasad Jaishankar Prasad (30 January 1889 15 November 1937) was a prominent figure in modern Hindi literature as well as Hindi theatre. Prasad was his pen name. He was also known as Chhayavadi poet. Poetic Prasad started writing poetry with the pe ...

's poetry collection Karunalay features a retelling of the story of Shunahshepa in the form of poetic drama or gītināṭya. * Vijay Kumar Singh's 2022 poetry collection Shunahshep & Nachiketa features a retelling of the version of Shunahshepa's story mentioned in the

, in the form of an epic poem written in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

. * 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