May 21- Sargas 61 and 62 of Balakanda.
Today we read of the strange situation of rishikumara Shunashepa and the stranger involvement of Viswamitra to save him.
After the Trishanku episode, Vishwamitra told the host of rishis who had been engaged in tapas along with him that somehow their tapas in the southern direction had come to nought by many disturbances and his tapas power had been dissipated. Therefore they should shift their base to a congenial forest location in the west with all its lovely lakes.
So they all travel and encamp near the sacred lake of Pushkara in the west. They are involved in severe tapas when the Shunashepa episode occurs.
The king of Ayodhya is the famed Ambareesha. He embarks on a special yajna. Indra, well known to us by now, promptly steals the sacrificial animal. The priest chides Ambareesha for his dereliction of duty in guarding the animal. He says the loss of Yajnapashu is a very bad portent and the king will be destroyed by this unholy event. To avert this, he had better mount a search for the animal and bring it back or bring a human for sacrifice as replacement without delay.
Ambareesha takes a hundred thousand cows and along with his army goes everywhere hoping to find the missing sacrificial animal or at least as an alternative to secure in a barter a human replacement. After visiting many places and ashramas, he comes to the ashrama of Richeeka rishi. He reverently narrates his situation and requests that in exchange for a hundred thousand cows, the rishi may give him. one of his sons to become the human to be sacrificed.
The rishi replies that he will not give his first son. His wife says that fathers are always attached to the fitst son whereas the last son is the darling of mothers. So she is very attached to their last son and will protect him.
The middle one is Sunashepa.
***
उक्तवाक्ये मुनौ तस्मिन् मुनिपत्न्यां तथैव च।
शुनःशेपः स्वयं राम मध्यमो वाक्यमब्रवीत् ॥
पिता ज्येष्ठमविक्रेयं माता चाह कनीयसम् ।
विक्रीतं मध्यमं मन्ये राजन् पुत्रं नयस्व माम् ॥
Oh Rama, as soon as the rishi and his wife had spoken thus, their middle son Shunashepa himself came forward and spoke.
"My father doesn't want to give (literally sell) his eldest son, and my mother says no to the youngest. Therefore king, please barter your cows and take me along as I have been sold."
***
The delighted king does the needful and proceeds to travel with Shunashepa back to his yajna. On the way they halt at Pushkara. A hungry, tired, and terribly distressed Shuashepa goes and meets Vishwamitra at his ashrama.
It so happens that Vishwamitra is Shunashepa's maternal uncle.
Thw boy says he is now orphaned and being taken to be sacrificed. The great rishi should kindly save him. This should be done without affecting the deal made with Ambareesha for completing his yajna.
Vishwamitra calls all his sons. He tells them they have to now undertake this dharmic act and go and offer themselves for sacrifice at the yajna as this act would be their best way to go to heaven.
The sons are not amused. They mock their father for trying to save someone else (the son of another) at the cost of killing his own sons. This act of his would be heinous and equal to eating dog meat.
Vishwamitra's short fuse blows off and he curses his sons. They shall suffer the same fate as Vasishtha's sons who had been cursed by him to be born as the lowliest of the low and live on dog meat for a thousand years.
After dealing with his sons thus, Vishwamitra turns to Shunashepa. He gives him the blessing of protection (raksha).
पवित्रपाशैरासक्तो रक्तमाल्यानुलेपनः ।
वैष्णवं यूपमासाद्य वाग्भिरग्निमुदाहर ॥
इमे तु गाथे द्वे दिव्ये गायेथ मुनिपुत्रक ।
अम्बरीषस्य यज्ञेऽस्मिंस्थितः सिद्धिमवाप्स्यसि ॥
"Oh Shunashepa, son of the rishi Richeeka, fear not. When you are bound with sacred sacrificial ropes, garlanded with red flowers, and tied to the sacrificial Vishnu post, pray to lord Agni, and recite these two powerful mantras I now teach you. Not only will you be saved and blessed, the yajna will also be successful. "
***
A happy Shunashepa urges Ambareesha to lose no time and restart the yajna. They hasten to the yajna site and rituals pan out exactly as Vishwamitra has said.
At the correct moment, Shuashepa invokes Agni and recites the two esoteric mantras bestowed on him by Vishwamitra. A happy lord Indra appears to first bless Shuashepa with long life and all prosperity. Then Indra grants Ambareesha a thousand-fold enhanced merit as the fruit of the yajna.
And Vishwamitra resumes his tapas at Pushkara and continues it for a thousand years.
***
॥ श्रीरामजयम् ॥
