Rishyasringa - Hindu Versions of The Story

Hindu Versions of The Story

Rishyasringa (Sanskrit:ऋष्यशृंग was a boy born with the horns of a deer in Hindu-Buddhist mythology. His father was the rishi Vibhandaka, and his mother was a celestial paramour 'Urvasi'. According to another legend, he was believed to have been born of a doe and from the slight protrusion of his forehead. According to legend, his father was seduced by the celestial danseuse 'Urvasi' by order of 'Indra'- the king of gods, who feared the yogic powers gained out of penance by the rishi could prove fatal to the very existence of heavenly world. The father was seduced and out of his relation with the danseuse was born Rishyasringa. However, immediately after the child was born, 'Urvasi', after completing the duty she was sent for, left the infant child and her lover and made her way to the heavens. The incident left the father with extreme hatred towards women folk, and he raised the boy in a forest, isolated from society. He never saw any girls or women, and was not told of their existence. The tradition states that he was endowed with magical and miraculous powers. The early upbringing of Rishyasringa" is linked to the highland location in the central mid hill of Nepal now popular as Resunga in Gulmi District of Lumbini Zone. Stories about the unique setting of the special mountain that has attracted and made it the home to many famous mystic Yogis. The Saha Kings of Nepal have dedicated special respect and attention to its maintenance and arrangement and the religious circuit of "Ridi-Rudrabeni-Resunga" in the Gulmi district is a huge national and international tourists. The all weather road that connects the Indian border of Sunauli (Uttar Pradesh) and passes through the Nepal's Sidharthanagar-Butwal-Palpa cities leading to the Ridi Sangam with Kali Gandaki and upward towards the district head-quarter Tamghas.

In the usual version of the story, at the time that the boy becomes a young man, the kingdom of Anga suffers from drought and famine. The king, Romapada(Lapod), is told that this can only be alleviated by a brahmin with the powers that come from observance of perfect chastity. The only such person is Rishyasringa. He has to be brought to the city, and be persuaded to carry out the necessary ceremonies. Despite his fear of the power and anger of the boy's father, the king sends young women, and later his daughter 'Shanta', to introduce the boy into normal society. This is done, Rishyasringa uses his powers, the kingdom receives bountiful rains and Rishyasringa then marries the princess Shanta. Much of the story is taken up by accounts of the feelings of the young man as he becomes aware of women for the first time. In this sense (and from his name Eka-shringa) this is a possible origin of the unicorn myth as it relates to virgins.

In another version of the story, the forest in which the boy is brought up is part of Anga. The boy's upbringing without knowledge of women is itself the cause of the troubles of the kingdom.

The story can be found in both the Ramayana and the Mahābhārata. According to the Ramayana, Ekashringa was the chief priest when the king Dasaratha performed a yagya to beget progeny, and as the consequence of the said yagya were born Rama, Bharata, and the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna.