Rishyashringa - An Interesting Story of Vedic Age

Shringa means " horns " or " a person possessing horns. " Risha means

" deer, " so Rishyashringa means " a human possessing horns. " He is a human

being with deer horns who performs yajna and speaks Sanskrit. Vasishtha

said, " I will tell you the story of Rishyashringa. Long ago, Kashyapa

Muni produced a son while meditating on the sunlight. While he was

meditating on the sunlight, suddenly he thought of a personality. When

he thought of a personality, that person would come into existence. And

he would come out of his mind. Kashyapa was Prajapati, " progenitor. "

And this person was known as Vibondaka.

 

 

As soon as Vibondaka came out of Kashyapa's mind, he went to the deepest

forests in Madhya Pradesh which is now very famous as Chandal Valley.

All the dacoits are there. That is where Vibondaka went, and he

performed ugra-tapasa, very severe austerities. He was only performing

tapasa for self-realization, but Indra was worried. Indra has a special

secretary for this department. He gives him a list of people who are

performing austerities, because he is so worried that they may become

the opposition and may even try to usurp his own seat. So when he heard

the name Vibondaka he asked, " What kind of tapasa is he doing? " The

secretary mentioned to him, " He is performing such huge austerities that

if he were to ever get angry, this whole universe would be burnt to

ashes. And if he ever thinks of anything, it will automatically come to

him without his having to perform any sacrifice. This is the potency of

his tapovalam. " Indra said, " Then he is my candidate. I will have to

work on him. " He thought of all the damsels on his planet, and he

decided, " These are no good. " So then he went to Satyaloka, Brahma's

planet.

 

In Satyaloka there are damsels who are self-realized souls. They dance

only for the pleasure of the deity that Brahma keeps for worship. Indra,

for his political purpose, wanted to pollute these damsels. So he went

to Brahma, but he couldn't spend much time there because if you are too

long in Brahma's planet by the time you return your time will be over,

So Indra said, " Give me the best damsel, quickly! I have to go! " So

Brahma said, " All right, take this one. " There was one lady called

Harsha, because she was always smiling. Harsha came with Indra, and even

while flying with Harsha, Indra could understand that he was so greedy

and lusty, and this woman was so saintly and serene, always meditating

on the Absolute Truth. He was thinking, " What happens if I send her and

they both become self-realized? " Indra wanted something wrong to

happen. So he fell at the feet of Harsha, and said, " Please, protect my

seat. " Harsha said, " I don't think that this Vibondaka desires to enjoy

anything. " Because she was sitting in Satyaloka she could see Vibondaka

and what type of austerity he was doing. So she said, " You are

unnecessarily sending me there, and I may even get burnt by his anger.

But because Brahma has told then I am coming with you. Vibondaka has no

such material desires. He won't even look at me. I don't know how I'm

going to attract him and make him fall. " Indra said, " I don't know what

you will do, but at least get it confirmed from him that he has no

desire to become Indra. Then my position is safe. " So Harsha said, " All

right, I will do it. Whatever is given to me as a mission I will

accomplish. "

 

So Harsha came to that valley, and Vibondaka was coming from the Ganges

and going to his ashrama. So she came and sat there, and chanted

mantras. There are different ways of making people fall down. Whatever

is your weak spot, that can be used. Vibondaka's weak spot was mantras

and meditation, so she started chanting mantras. Vibondaka was so

absorbed, and then suddenly he heard this clear pronunciation of Vedic

mantras, clearer than anything else he had ever heard anywhere in the

three planets. He turned back and looked at her, and immediately she

fell at his feet. She said, " Only for the prayer of getting a son from

you have I chanted these mantras. Vedic mantras which are chanted should

not go in vain. Somebody must give a benediction, and I don't want this

benediction from anyone else, not even from Brahma. I only want It from

you.

 

If you don't accept this request, then I will perform austerities and I

will leave my body. And brahma-hatya will come to you. " In this way she

blackmailed him. So Vibondaka said, " What is this? I am just trying to

peacefully think of God. Why is this trouble coming? " So he looked at

her and said, " I am Vibondaka, and I have no interest in this world. I

don't know why I was even sent here, but Kashyapa produced me. I am just

trying to go away from here. What is this, giving you a son? You can't

get a son from anywhere else? You mention any other person, and I will

command him to give you a son. If you want a son from Brahma, I will

request him. If you want a son from my father Kashyapa, I will request

him. Why me, in the whole creation? " So she said, " No, only you. You are

the only person who should give me a son. " And then he said, " No this is

not possible. I am not going to do it. If you have been even been

thinking about me like that, that is bad for me. " And then he said,

" Here is the potency from my body. You can arrange for getting a son. "

And he dropped some semen and left.

 

Harsha then understood that Indra had nothing to fear, so her mission

was fulfilled. But this shukla coming out of the body of Vibondaka, was

there burning the whole world. She was now responsible for it, she had

to direct it somewhere. She did not want to hold it and produce a son,

because that was only a trick she was using. But when she looked up she

saw a very transcendental deer moving around there. So immediately by

her potency, she put the semen in the body of the deer, and the deer

conceived a child. Since it was the conception of a rishi, it did not

stay for more than a night.

 

The next morning, the deer delivered a baby. It had a human form, but

with deer horns. This was Rishyashringa. So this deer ran to the ashrama

of Vibondaka and started crying. Vibondaka saw this and thought, " Why

are these things happening to me? Some lady wants a son, and now a deer

is crying in my ashrama. " So Vibondaka asked the deer, " What is wrong?

Who is giving you trouble? " The deer started walking away and Vibondaka

followed. The deer brought him to where Rishyashringa was, and Vibondaka

saw this shining young baby with deer horns. He thought, " Oh, this is my

son. If nobody wants him, then I will take care of him. " Then Vibondaka

thought, " Now I know why I was sent here, for some reason. Kashyapa did

not conceive me for nothing. I am supposed to conceive this son, and God

knows what he is going to conceive. " So Vibondaka brought him to the

ashrama and gave him milk. He taught him Vedas and Upanishads and

philosophy.

 

There was no woman in that forest, which was yojanas wide. There was not

even any tigresses, only tigers. So Rishyashringa had no idea of women.

He grew up, and for everything he was depending on his father. He would

ask his father, " Father, can I take this book and read? " And if his

father said yes, then he would do it. He would ask, " Father, should I

brush my teeth? " And if the father said yes, he would brush his teeth.

He was so dependent on his father. He would always walk everywhere

holding his father's hand. In this way Rishyashringa grew up to be the

most innocent person in the creation. Lord Ramachandra had to appear,

and if he was to appear then the yajna-purusha has to give the khir, and

if that khir is to come, then the yajna has to be performed by someone

who has never seen a woman. Lord Ramachandra' s advent was not that

easy. This whole story is already in Vishnu Purana. In this way

Rishyashringa was growing up, never hearing of any woman.

 

Dasharatha, when his daughter was born to Kausalya, he was thinking,

" What shall I do with this daughter? " Then one day, from Angadesha, the

country of Anga, Dasharatha's friend Romapada (which means " hairy feet " )

was hankering for a child too. He had some sons, but he had no daughter.

This is the material world. He who has daughters, he is hankering for a

son. And he who has sons is hankering for a daughter. And he who has no

children, they are hoping for children, and those who have children are

thinking " How to get rid of them, " and they send them to Gurukula. So

Romapada came to Dasharatha and said, " You are my very good friend, and

you have no sons. You always think, `What is the use of a daughter?' And

I want a daughter, so why don't you give her to me? " And Dasharatha

said, " All right, you can have her. " So he gave Shanti in adoption to

the king of Angadesha known as Romapada.

 

Romapada brought Shanti to his kingdom. And whether it way the girl's

misfortune or the king's misfortune, the second day was the day the

rainy season was supposed to start but there was no rain. The whole

rainy season went by and there was no rain. The second rainy season also

went by with no rain. A big famine came about. So the king went to the

astrologer and asked him, " Why is there famine in my kingdom? Is it due

to this daughter? Everyone is saying it is due to her. " They found out

that during some yajna that had been performed by Romapada he had

cheated a Brahmin. He first promised him, " I will give you this much

amount of diamonds, " but while he was counting the diamonds to be given

as dakshina, he found one diamond which was very valuable, and he

thought, " What is the Brahmin going to do with this? " So he took it out,

and put a bigger diamond in its place, which was less valuable. When he

gave the bag of diamonds to the Brahmin, the Brahmin touched the bag and

said, " You cheated me! You removed one of these diamonds and put a

bigger diamond to cheat me. " It was inside the bag, and the king was

thinking, " How does he know this? " The Brahmin said, " I am a Brahmin, so

I know this. You are cheating, so all the Brahmins will leave this

country. " So he formed a big union and all the Brahmins walked out of

the country. No more Brahmins means no more yajna, and it was

Treta-yuga, so no yajna means no food.

 

The king was wondering what to do, so slowly from here and there he

collected some Brahmins from other countries, and he brought them on

immigration, so they couldn't stay long. These Brahmins were coming and

going, and in this way he was running his kingdom. Now famine had come

due to this curse, and the fact that all the Brahmins had left his

country. So the astrologer said, " So to solve this problem, you have to

bring all the Brahmins back. " Romapada said, " But these Brahmins have

formed a union. They won't come back. " " They will come back if you bring

one person here. " Romapada asked, " Who is that? " " There is one rishi. He

has never seen a woman. And he doesn't even know what is a woman. That

person must come, and he must marry your daughter. If that rishi stays

in your kingdom, then the Brahmins will not stay anywhere else. They

will come here, because he is such a learned person. To see him, they

will come. And after they come, they will stay. " So now he had to get

this Rishyashringa, and he was thinking " How to get him? " So he asked

this to his ministers, and they said, " Rishyashringa is not an easy

object, his father is Vibondaka. If Vibondaka gets angry he will burn

the universe to ashes. If you try to get his son he will get angry, and

then there is no necessity of yajna or rain, because the whole universe

will be burnt, and you will also be burnt. " " So what to do? " Romapada

asked. " You have to use some trick, " his ministers replied. Then they

advised him, " You must go and consult the society girls, the famous

prostitutes of the country. "

 

So then Romapada made an announcement, " Special interview with the

prostitutes of the country. " They all came, and they were thinking it

had something to do with dance or music, or something like that. But

when they heard that they had to bring Rishyashringa, then they ran away

because everybody knew this person. However, one lady came up, and she

said, " For the benefit of my country, I will sacrifice myself. I will

try; if he comes, that's good. Then the kingdom will be happy. If he

doesn't come, only a prostitute will be killed. What's the problem? I

don't care, I will go. " Romapada asked, " What do want in return? " " I

don't want anything, let the country be happy. " " What help do you need? "

Romapada asked. " Your treasury, whenever I go, must open. And if I want

anything from any department, they must say yes, because you must know I

am sacrificing my life. " So the king gave her a special green card.

Anywhere she goes, anything she wants she would get. She made a boat

which was four miles long and two miles wide. On top of the boat she

made an ashrama. This boat was totally covered with trees and bushes,

flower gardens, lakes and deer. All kinds of things she put in there.

And thousands of people were rowing the boat, but you couldn't see

anything, it was all covered by bushes. There were pathways, small

mountains, waterfalls, everything was created. It looked like a island,

but it was moving. No-one knew what it was. They all though it was the

gandharvas who have come. It was a special ashrama, no men. Only women

were there. No tigers, only tigresses. It was filled up with women. They

all had rudrakshas, tulasi-malas, jasmine flowers tied up in their hair,

and they were all praying, doing meditation and chanting mantras. This

boat was floating so nicely down the river, and somehow or other they

got it into Madhya Pradesh. So as they reached Vibondaka's ashrama,

Vibondaka went out to help a sage who had gotten stuck in the mouth of

an elephant. He was calling, " Save me! Save me! " And no-one heard him,

only Vibondaka. So he told Rishyashringa, " You must perform the yajna

three times daily. Don't worry about cleaning the ashrama, because it's

too big for you. Just perform the yajna till I get back. "

 

When Vibondaka left, the demigods made arrangements and got him involved

in so many other things so that Rishyashringa was left by himself.

Rishyashringa went to the river to take water for the yajna, and he saw

this moving ashrama. He'd never been anywhere, but he'd studied a lot of

shastra, and he'd never heard of anything like this before. And whenever

the description came of women, Vibondaka would never explain it. He

would never read such parts. In this way he was kept brainwashed to be a

brahmacari. He looked at this ashrama, " This is so nice. " And then he

saw some figures in there. " What kind of rishis are these? This is a

different type of rishi. " He became very eager. " Anyway, if they are in

the area, they must visit my father's ashrama. " And they did come. They

just made sure that Vibondaka was not around, and then three of the

great saintly people walked out of the boat. And then they came, raising

their hands and calling " Rishyashringa! Rishyashringa! "

 

Usually when the rishis came they called for Vibondaka. So he saw these

rishis coming, and he went and addressed them. And after addressing them

he was asking, " Where are you coming from? Which planet? What mantras do

you chant? How come by the touch of your bodies all my hairs are

standing on end? Why am I having such romancha? "

 

They were smiling at each other, and they said, " We are rishis from

another place, it is eight yojanas from here. It is an island, and no

human beings come there. We are born with perfection. We came to see

your father. We know that you are very learned, so in our moving

ashrama, we want you to come and stay for a few days. "

 

Rishyashringa said, " I would be very happy to do that, but my father is

not here. I don't even brush my teeth unless my father tells me to. So

how will I go away from here, and who will perform the yajna three times

daily? "

 

One lady said, " I will do it, I am expert in this line. " And she sat

down. Somehow Rishyashringa fell pray for this. These were saintly

people, so why shouldn't they do yajna? And they looked different, very

attractive. He couldn't understand what the tejas was that was coming

from that body and attracting him. He didn't know it was lust. This was

never explained to him. So he left that lady there doing yajna, and they

had a flower ladder from the ashrama up to the bank of the river. This

ashrama was filled with saintly people, so somehow they engaged him in

listening to music, and dancing and so many other things, and slowly

they came to Angadesha.

 

In Angadesha there was big reception arranged for Rishyashringa,

brahmacari incarnate. There was purna-kumbha and there was mantras and

Brahmins. The Brahmins all came to know that Rishyashringa was coming,

and they came and waited there. He was worshipped like anything. He saw

more saintly people were sitting there in that country, and they were

sitting with other saintly people. Then he started realizing that

something was wrong in his understanding. He asked the king, " Why have

you brought me here? " But as soon as he stepped off the boat, rain came.

And people were all happy, they were showering akshada and touching his

feet. All the people came and told him, " You must never leave our

country. You must become the son-in-law of our king. " He didn't know

what son-in-law meant. So then they had to have special classes for him

to explain how to become a son-in-law. Then he understood everything and

finally he blessed the king by marrying Shanti, Dasharatha's daughter.

 

In the meantime Vibondaka had returned to his ashrama, and saw this lady

sitting there offering ghee into the fire. He grabbed her by the hair

and said, " Who are you? What are you doing with my fire? It's been here

for six thousand years. You came and contaminated it. What are you

doing? "

 

She said, " I am not this body. I am spirit soul. "

 

Vibondaka said, " That's very nice, that you're not this body, but you

are not supposed to do this. "

 

So then she said, " No no, Rishyashringa told me to do this. "

 

So he said, " So come on tell me, where is Rishyashringa? What did you do

to him? There was one man in this world who was pure, and you spoiled

him too! "

 

And then the lady said, " What could we do, this was a nationalistic

service. We are serving the nation. In the service of our nation we have

done something so we will go to heavenly planet. "

 

So then Vibondaka said, " I'm going to curse that king, that Angadesha

Raja! He's getting rain, but I will see that he gets nothing any more. "

 

The lady fell at his feet and said, " At least do the curse there. Then

he will know you are cursing him. Don't do the curse from here. "

 

" All right, " he said. He was so angry, but Romapada was so clever, he

was arranging for many Brahmins chanting mantras, glorifying Vibondaka,

showing pictures of Kashyapa Muni just to attract him. But Vibondaka

came and said, " Where is the king? Bring him here! "

 

Romapada came and begged, " Please don't curse me! Already there are

enough curses! All that I have done is that I have made your son the

king of this country. " So then something dawned on Vibondaka. " My son

has become the king of this country. Now he has become the king, he has

to protect the citizens. If I curse, then the blame is on him because he

couldn't protect his citizens. " So then he called his son,

" Rishyashringa, come here. " Rishyashringa came, and Vibondaka said, " All

right, as soon as one son is born, you must be back in the ashrama. You

understand? "

 

This was the time when Dasharatha was told, by Vasishtha Muni, the

story. And Vasishtha said, " If you personally go, then Rishyashringa may

come. " So Dasharatha started, with all his paraphernalia, his seven

akshauhini-shainyas , and arrived in Angadesha. Romapada was thinking,

" What is this? Suddenly Dasharatha is coming with his army. He is going

to fight with me or what? " So he came with a white flag. " There is no

question that your army can even stay in my country. Your army is so big

that they can only just stand inside my country, not much more. Why are

you coming with seven akshauhini-shainyas ? " Dasharatha said, " No, I am

just coming to request Rishyashringa to come and perform a yajna for

me. "

 

Romapada said, " I don't know. Already his wife is pregnant, and as soon

as the son is delivered, he will go. I don't know how long the yajna

will be. I'm not going to play any more tricks, because already

Vibondaka has told him, `One son and you are back in the ashrama'. "

 

Dasharatha said, " I will fall at his feet. He has protected your

kingdom, why will he not save my country too? Why will he not do it? "

 

So Dasharatha went there, paid his pranams, and he cried and told

Rishyashringa, " I have no hope. I will jump in the fire of asvamedha

instead of the horse, if you don't come. "

 

So then Rishyashringa calculated, " How many days are left? " It was 28

days more before the delivery. " That's all right. In 24 days I will come

and do putra-kamesti. " So he came, and right next to the

asvamedha-yajna he created another fire from that, and he quickly

started putra-kamesti. And when he was finishing with the purnahoti, the

yajna-purusha came, a dark, black figure which was three miles tall. He

had a huge big pot in his hand. He was holding Narayana in it, so it was

no small affair. He said to Dasharatha, " Please give this sweet rice to

your queens. " Dasharatha was looking at the size of the pot, and he was

thinking, " If I give this to my queens, then there will be no more

queens. " It was a huge big pot.

 

Dasharatha asked Vasishtha, " How is this possible? How can they eat this

much sweet rice? "

 

So then Vasishtha said, " You ask Rishyashringa, he will tell you. "

 

Rishyashringa asked the yajna-purusha, " Why are you giving such a big

pot to these human beings that they can't even hold it? "

 

The yajna-purusha said, " The personality who is coming is so powerful,

that you can't reduce him smaller than this. "

 

Then Rishyashringa closed his eyes and said, " Ah! Bigger than the

biggest, and smaller that the smallest. He is in this pot. You give it

to me. " So he took the pot, and it became small. By the request of

Rishyashringa the Lord reduced His aishvarya, and the pot became small.

He gave it to Dasharatha and said, " All right, I have two days to get to

my ashrama. In between I have to take care of the delivery. " So

Dasharatha took the sweet rice. He gave half of it to Kausalya. The

remainder he split in two, one for Sumitra and one to Kaikeyi. After

Kaikeyi drank it, there was still some left, so that was also given to

Sumitra. In this way the Lord came as Lord Ramachandra in Kausalya's

womb. He came as Laksmana and Satrughna in Sumitra's womb, and he came

as Bharata in Kaikeyi's womb. Vasudeva came as Ramachandra, Sankarshana

came as Laksmana. The Sudarshan disc came as Bharata, and the Pancajanya

conchshell came as Satrughna. "

 

The temple of Sri Rishyashringa ( after whom Shringa giri or Shringeri

is named) and Ashrama is located about 5 kms from Shringeri in a place

called Kigga. Kigga, also called Marukalu is situated on the Nandini, a

tributary of the Tunga, is renowned for its Sringeshwara temple, which

stands on the site where Rishyasringa was absorbed in the celestial

light. The antiquity of the place is attested by inscriptions of the

seventh century which refer to the deity here as Kilganeshwara or

Kilganadeva or the lord of Kilga. The linga in the sanctum is shaped

like a rudraksha bead, with a horn-like projection on top. Its left side

is believed to represent Santa. There is a common belief that if the

linga is properly worshipped, famine will be averted in the land to a

distance of twelve yojanas all round. This reminds us of the story in

Ramayana that Sage Rishyasringa' s advent removed the acute drought in

Romapada's capital.

 

The navaranga is approached by three entrances and has four sculptured

pillars, in one of which the graceful contours of the charming poses of

fair danseuses are so arranged as to present the shape of a palanquin

supported by antelopes and supposed to represent the vehicle in which

Rushyasringa was borne to King Romapada's capital. Valamburi Ganesha and

Mahishamardini adorn the shrines in the antarala ardha mandapa. The

Rathotsavam will be conducted in Chaitra masa.

Thanks for sharing.

 

-- In Vedic Astrologyandhealing , " litsol "

<mishra.lalit wrote:

>

>

> Shringa means " horns " or " a person possessing horns. " Risha means

> " deer, " so Rishyashringa means " a human possessing horns. " He is a

human

> being with deer horns who performs yajna and speaks Sanskrit.

Vasishtha

> said, " I will tell you the story of Rishyashringa. Long ago,

Kashyapa

> Muni produced a son while meditating on the sunlight. While he was

> meditating on the sunlight, suddenly he thought of a personality.

When

> he thought of a personality, that person would come into existence.

And

> he would come out of his mind. Kashyapa was

Prajapati, " progenitor. "

> And this person was known as Vibondaka.

>

>

> As soon as Vibondaka came out of Kashyapa's mind, he went to the

deepest

> forests in Madhya Pradesh which is now very famous as Chandal

Valley.

> All the dacoits are there. That is where Vibondaka went, and he

> performed ugra-tapasa, very severe austerities. He was only

performing

> tapasa for self-realization, but Indra was worried. Indra has a

special

> secretary for this department. He gives him a list of people who are

> performing austerities, because he is so worried that they may

become

> the opposition and may even try to usurp his own seat. So when he

heard

> the name Vibondaka he asked, " What kind of tapasa is he doing? " The

> secretary mentioned to him, " He is performing such huge austerities

that

> if he were to ever get angry, this whole universe would be burnt to

> ashes. And if he ever thinks of anything, it will automatically

come to

> him without his having to perform any sacrifice. This is the

potency of

> his tapovalam. " Indra said, " Then he is my candidate. I will have to

> work on him. " He thought of all the damsels on his planet, and he

> decided, " These are no good. " So then he went to Satyaloka, Brahma's

> planet.

>

> In Satyaloka there are damsels who are self-realized souls. They

dance

> only for the pleasure of the deity that Brahma keeps for worship.

Indra,

> for his political purpose, wanted to pollute these damsels. So he

went

> to Brahma, but he couldn't spend much time there because if you are

too

> long in Brahma's planet by the time you return your time will be

over,

> So Indra said, " Give me the best damsel, quickly! I have to go! " So

> Brahma said, " All right, take this one. " There was one lady called

> Harsha, because she was always smiling. Harsha came with Indra, and

even

> while flying with Harsha, Indra could understand that he was so

greedy

> and lusty, and this woman was so saintly and serene, always

meditating

> on the Absolute Truth. He was thinking, " What happens if I send her

and

> they both become self-realized? " Indra wanted something wrong to

> happen. So he fell at the feet of Harsha, and said, " Please,

protect my

> seat. " Harsha said, " I don't think that this Vibondaka desires to

enjoy

> anything. " Because she was sitting in Satyaloka she could see

Vibondaka

> and what type of austerity he was doing. So she said, " You are

> unnecessarily sending me there, and I may even get burnt by his

anger.

> But because Brahma has told then I am coming with you. Vibondaka

has no

> such material desires. He won't even look at me. I don't know how

I'm

> going to attract him and make him fall. " Indra said, " I don't know

what

> you will do, but at least get it confirmed from him that he has no

> desire to become Indra. Then my position is safe. " So Harsha

said, " All

> right, I will do it. Whatever is given to me as a mission I will

> accomplish. "

>

> So Harsha came to that valley, and Vibondaka was coming from the

Ganges

> and going to his ashrama. So she came and sat there, and chanted

> mantras. There are different ways of making people fall down.

Whatever

> is your weak spot, that can be used. Vibondaka's weak spot was

mantras

> and meditation, so she started chanting mantras. Vibondaka was so

> absorbed, and then suddenly he heard this clear pronunciation of

Vedic

> mantras, clearer than anything else he had ever heard anywhere in

the

> three planets. He turned back and looked at her, and immediately she

> fell at his feet. She said, " Only for the prayer of getting a son

from

> you have I chanted these mantras. Vedic mantras which are chanted

should

> not go in vain. Somebody must give a benediction, and I don't want

this

> benediction from anyone else, not even from Brahma. I only want It

from

> you.

>

> If you don't accept this request, then I will perform austerities

and I

> will leave my body. And brahma-hatya will come to you. " In this way

she

> blackmailed him. So Vibondaka said, " What is this? I am just trying

to

> peacefully think of God. Why is this trouble coming? " So he looked

at

> her and said, " I am Vibondaka, and I have no interest in this

world. I

> don't know why I was even sent here, but Kashyapa produced me. I am

just

> trying to go away from here. What is this, giving you a son? You

can't

> get a son from anywhere else? You mention any other person, and I

will

> command him to give you a son. If you want a son from Brahma, I will

> request him. If you want a son from my father Kashyapa, I will

request

> him. Why me, in the whole creation? " So she said, " No, only you.

You are

> the only person who should give me a son. " And then he said, " No

this is

> not possible. I am not going to do it. If you have been even been

> thinking about me like that, that is bad for me. " And then he said,

> " Here is the potency from my body. You can arrange for getting a

son. "

> And he dropped some semen and left.

>

> Harsha then understood that Indra had nothing to fear, so her

mission

> was fulfilled. But this shukla coming out of the body of Vibondaka,

was

> there burning the whole world. She was now responsible for it, she

had

> to direct it somewhere. She did not want to hold it and produce a

son,

> because that was only a trick she was using. But when she looked up

she

> saw a very transcendental deer moving around there. So immediately

by

> her potency, she put the semen in the body of the deer, and the deer

> conceived a child. Since it was the conception of a rishi, it did

not

> stay for more than a night.

>

> The next morning, the deer delivered a baby. It had a human form,

but

> with deer horns. This was Rishyashringa. So this deer ran to the

ashrama

> of Vibondaka and started crying. Vibondaka saw this and

thought, " Why

> are these things happening to me? Some lady wants a son, and now a

deer

> is crying in my ashrama. " So Vibondaka asked the deer, " What is

wrong?

> Who is giving you trouble? " The deer started walking away and

Vibondaka

> followed. The deer brought him to where Rishyashringa was, and

Vibondaka

> saw this shining young baby with deer horns. He thought, " Oh, this

is my

> son. If nobody wants him, then I will take care of him. " Then

Vibondaka

> thought, " Now I know why I was sent here, for some reason. Kashyapa

did

> not conceive me for nothing. I am supposed to conceive this son,

and God

> knows what he is going to conceive. " So Vibondaka brought him to the

> ashrama and gave him milk. He taught him Vedas and Upanishads and

> philosophy.

>

> There was no woman in that forest, which was yojanas wide. There

was not

> even any tigresses, only tigers. So Rishyashringa had no idea of

women.

> He grew up, and for everything he was depending on his father. He

would

> ask his father, " Father, can I take this book and read? " And if his

> father said yes, then he would do it. He would ask, " Father, should

I

> brush my teeth? " And if the father said yes, he would brush his

teeth.

> He was so dependent on his father. He would always walk everywhere

> holding his father's hand. In this way Rishyashringa grew up to be

the

> most innocent person in the creation. Lord Ramachandra had to

appear,

> and if he was to appear then the yajna-purusha has to give the

khir, and

> if that khir is to come, then the yajna has to be performed by

someone

> who has never seen a woman. Lord Ramachandra' s advent was not that

> easy. This whole story is already in Vishnu Purana. In this way

> Rishyashringa was growing up, never hearing of any woman.

>

> Dasharatha, when his daughter was born to Kausalya, he was thinking,

> " What shall I do with this daughter? " Then one day, from Angadesha,

the

> country of Anga, Dasharatha's friend Romapada (which means " hairy

feet " )

> was hankering for a child too. He had some sons, but he had no

daughter.

> This is the material world. He who has daughters, he is hankering

for a

> son. And he who has sons is hankering for a daughter. And he who

has no

> children, they are hoping for children, and those who have children

are

> thinking " How to get rid of them, " and they send them to Gurukula.

So

> Romapada came to Dasharatha and said, " You are my very good friend,

and

> you have no sons. You always think, `What is the use of a

daughter?' And

> I want a daughter, so why don't you give her to me? " And Dasharatha

> said, " All right, you can have her. " So he gave Shanti in adoption

to

> the king of Angadesha known as Romapada.

>

> Romapada brought Shanti to his kingdom. And whether it way the

girl's

> misfortune or the king's misfortune, the second day was the day the

> rainy season was supposed to start but there was no rain. The whole

> rainy season went by and there was no rain. The second rainy season

also

> went by with no rain. A big famine came about. So the king went to

the

> astrologer and asked him, " Why is there famine in my kingdom? Is it

due

> to this daughter? Everyone is saying it is due to her. " They found

out

> that during some yajna that had been performed by Romapada he had

> cheated a Brahmin. He first promised him, " I will give you this much

> amount of diamonds, " but while he was counting the diamonds to be

given

> as dakshina, he found one diamond which was very valuable, and he

> thought, " What is the Brahmin going to do with this? " So he took it

out,

> and put a bigger diamond in its place, which was less valuable.

When he

> gave the bag of diamonds to the Brahmin, the Brahmin touched the

bag and

> said, " You cheated me! You removed one of these diamonds and put a

> bigger diamond to cheat me. " It was inside the bag, and the king was

> thinking, " How does he know this? " The Brahmin said, " I am a

Brahmin, so

> I know this. You are cheating, so all the Brahmins will leave this

> country. " So he formed a big union and all the Brahmins walked out

of

> the country. No more Brahmins means no more yajna, and it was

> Treta-yuga, so no yajna means no food.

>

> The king was wondering what to do, so slowly from here and there he

> collected some Brahmins from other countries, and he brought them on

> immigration, so they couldn't stay long. These Brahmins were coming

and

> going, and in this way he was running his kingdom. Now famine had

come

> due to this curse, and the fact that all the Brahmins had left his

> country. So the astrologer said, " So to solve this problem, you

have to

> bring all the Brahmins back. " Romapada said, " But these Brahmins

have

> formed a union. They won't come back. " " They will come back if you

bring

> one person here. " Romapada asked, " Who is that? " " There is one

rishi. He

> has never seen a woman. And he doesn't even know what is a woman.

That

> person must come, and he must marry your daughter. If that rishi

stays

> in your kingdom, then the Brahmins will not stay anywhere else. They

> will come here, because he is such a learned person. To see him,

they

> will come. And after they come, they will stay. " So now he had to

get

> this Rishyashringa, and he was thinking " How to get him? " So he

asked

> this to his ministers, and they said, " Rishyashringa is not an easy

> object, his father is Vibondaka. If Vibondaka gets angry he will

burn

> the universe to ashes. If you try to get his son he will get angry,

and

> then there is no necessity of yajna or rain, because the whole

universe

> will be burnt, and you will also be burnt. " " So what to do? "

Romapada

> asked. " You have to use some trick, " his ministers replied. Then

they

> advised him, " You must go and consult the society girls, the famous

> prostitutes of the country. "

>

> So then Romapada made an announcement, " Special interview with the

> prostitutes of the country. " They all came, and they were thinking

it

> had something to do with dance or music, or something like that. But

> when they heard that they had to bring Rishyashringa, then they ran

away

> because everybody knew this person. However, one lady came up, and

she

> said, " For the benefit of my country, I will sacrifice myself. I

will

> try; if he comes, that's good. Then the kingdom will be happy. If he

> doesn't come, only a prostitute will be killed. What's the problem?

I

> don't care, I will go. " Romapada asked, " What do want in return? " " I

> don't want anything, let the country be happy. " " What help do you

need? "

> Romapada asked. " Your treasury, whenever I go, must open. And if I

want

> anything from any department, they must say yes, because you must

know I

> am sacrificing my life. " So the king gave her a special green card.

> Anywhere she goes, anything she wants she would get. She made a boat

> which was four miles long and two miles wide. On top of the boat she

> made an ashrama. This boat was totally covered with trees and

bushes,

> flower gardens, lakes and deer. All kinds of things she put in

there.

> And thousands of people were rowing the boat, but you couldn't see

> anything, it was all covered by bushes. There were pathways, small

> mountains, waterfalls, everything was created. It looked like a

island,

> but it was moving. No-one knew what it was. They all though it was

the

> gandharvas who have come. It was a special ashrama, no men. Only

women

> were there. No tigers, only tigresses. It was filled up with women.

They

> all had rudrakshas, tulasi-malas, jasmine flowers tied up in their

hair,

> and they were all praying, doing meditation and chanting mantras.

This

> boat was floating so nicely down the river, and somehow or other

they

> got it into Madhya Pradesh. So as they reached Vibondaka's ashrama,

> Vibondaka went out to help a sage who had gotten stuck in the mouth

of

> an elephant. He was calling, " Save me! Save me! " And no-one heard

him,

> only Vibondaka. So he told Rishyashringa, " You must perform the

yajna

> three times daily. Don't worry about cleaning the ashrama, because

it's

> too big for you. Just perform the yajna till I get back. "

>

> When Vibondaka left, the demigods made arrangements and got him

involved

> in so many other things so that Rishyashringa was left by himself.

> Rishyashringa went to the river to take water for the yajna, and he

saw

> this moving ashrama. He'd never been anywhere, but he'd studied a

lot of

> shastra, and he'd never heard of anything like this before. And

whenever

> the description came of women, Vibondaka would never explain it. He

> would never read such parts. In this way he was kept brainwashed to

be a

> brahmacari. He looked at this ashrama, " This is so nice. " And then

he

> saw some figures in there. " What kind of rishis are these? This is a

> different type of rishi. " He became very eager. " Anyway, if they

are in

> the area, they must visit my father's ashrama. " And they did come.

They

> just made sure that Vibondaka was not around, and then three of the

> great saintly people walked out of the boat. And then they came,

raising

> their hands and calling " Rishyashringa! Rishyashringa! "

>

> Usually when the rishis came they called for Vibondaka. So he saw

these

> rishis coming, and he went and addressed them. And after addressing

them

> he was asking, " Where are you coming from? Which planet? What

mantras do

> you chant? How come by the touch of your bodies all my hairs are

> standing on end? Why am I having such romancha? "

>

> They were smiling at each other, and they said, " We are rishis from

> another place, it is eight yojanas from here. It is an island, and

no

> human beings come there. We are born with perfection. We came to see

> your father. We know that you are very learned, so in our moving

> ashrama, we want you to come and stay for a few days. "

>

> Rishyashringa said, " I would be very happy to do that, but my

father is

> not here. I don't even brush my teeth unless my father tells me to.

So

> how will I go away from here, and who will perform the yajna three

times

> daily? "

>

> One lady said, " I will do it, I am expert in this line. " And she sat

> down. Somehow Rishyashringa fell pray for this. These were saintly

> people, so why shouldn't they do yajna? And they looked different,

very

> attractive. He couldn't understand what the tejas was that was

coming

> from that body and attracting him. He didn't know it was lust. This

was

> never explained to him. So he left that lady there doing yajna, and

they

> had a flower ladder from the ashrama up to the bank of the river.

This

> ashrama was filled with saintly people, so somehow they engaged him

in

> listening to music, and dancing and so many other things, and slowly

> they came to Angadesha.

>

> In Angadesha there was big reception arranged for Rishyashringa,

> brahmacari incarnate. There was purna-kumbha and there was mantras

and

> Brahmins. The Brahmins all came to know that Rishyashringa was

coming,

> and they came and waited there. He was worshipped like anything. He

saw

> more saintly people were sitting there in that country, and they

were

> sitting with other saintly people. Then he started realizing that

> something was wrong in his understanding. He asked the king, " Why

have

> you brought me here? " But as soon as he stepped off the boat, rain

came.

> And people were all happy, they were showering akshada and touching

his

> feet. All the people came and told him, " You must never leave our

> country. You must become the son-in-law of our king. " He didn't know

> what son-in-law meant. So then they had to have special classes for

him

> to explain how to become a son-in-law. Then he understood

everything and

> finally he blessed the king by marrying Shanti, Dasharatha's

daughter.

>

> In the meantime Vibondaka had returned to his ashrama, and saw this

lady

> sitting there offering ghee into the fire. He grabbed her by the

hair

> and said, " Who are you? What are you doing with my fire? It's been

here

> for six thousand years. You came and contaminated it. What are you

> doing? "

>

> She said, " I am not this body. I am spirit soul. "

>

> Vibondaka said, " That's very nice, that you're not this body, but

you

> are not supposed to do this. "

>

> So then she said, " No no, Rishyashringa told me to do this. "

>

> So he said, " So come on tell me, where is Rishyashringa? What did

you do

> to him? There was one man in this world who was pure, and you

spoiled

> him too! "

>

> And then the lady said, " What could we do, this was a nationalistic

> service. We are serving the nation. In the service of our nation we

have

> done something so we will go to heavenly planet. "

>

> So then Vibondaka said, " I'm going to curse that king, that

Angadesha

> Raja! He's getting rain, but I will see that he gets nothing any

more. "

>

> The lady fell at his feet and said, " At least do the curse there.

Then

> he will know you are cursing him. Don't do the curse from here. "

>

> " All right, " he said. He was so angry, but Romapada was so clever,

he

> was arranging for many Brahmins chanting mantras, glorifying

Vibondaka,

> showing pictures of Kashyapa Muni just to attract him. But Vibondaka

> came and said, " Where is the king? Bring him here! "

>

> Romapada came and begged, " Please don't curse me! Already there are

> enough curses! All that I have done is that I have made your son the

> king of this country. " So then something dawned on Vibondaka. " My

son

> has become the king of this country. Now he has become the king, he

has

> to protect the citizens. If I curse, then the blame is on him

because he

> couldn't protect his citizens. " So then he called his son,

> " Rishyashringa, come here. " Rishyashringa came, and Vibondaka

said, " All

> right, as soon as one son is born, you must be back in the ashrama.

You

> understand? "

>

> This was the time when Dasharatha was told, by Vasishtha Muni, the

> story. And Vasishtha said, " If you personally go, then

Rishyashringa may

> come. " So Dasharatha started, with all his paraphernalia, his seven

> akshauhini-shainyas , and arrived in Angadesha. Romapada was

thinking,

> " What is this? Suddenly Dasharatha is coming with his army. He is

going

> to fight with me or what? " So he came with a white flag. " There is

no

> question that your army can even stay in my country. Your army is

so big

> that they can only just stand inside my country, not much more. Why

are

> you coming with seven akshauhini-shainyas ? " Dasharatha said, " No,

I am

> just coming to request Rishyashringa to come and perform a yajna for

> me. "

>

> Romapada said, " I don't know. Already his wife is pregnant, and as

soon

> as the son is delivered, he will go. I don't know how long the yajna

> will be. I'm not going to play any more tricks, because already

> Vibondaka has told him, `One son and you are back in the ashrama'. "

>

> Dasharatha said, " I will fall at his feet. He has protected your

> kingdom, why will he not save my country too? Why will he not do

it? "

>

> So Dasharatha went there, paid his pranams, and he cried and told

> Rishyashringa, " I have no hope. I will jump in the fire of asvamedha

> instead of the horse, if you don't come. "

>

> So then Rishyashringa calculated, " How many days are left? " It was

28

> days more before the delivery. " That's all right. In 24 days I will

come

> and do putra-kamesti. " So he came, and right next to the

> asvamedha-yajna he created another fire from that, and he quickly

> started putra-kamesti. And when he was finishing with the

purnahoti, the

> yajna-purusha came, a dark, black figure which was three miles

tall. He

> had a huge big pot in his hand. He was holding Narayana in it, so

it was

> no small affair. He said to Dasharatha, " Please give this sweet

rice to

> your queens. " Dasharatha was looking at the size of the pot, and he

was

> thinking, " If I give this to my queens, then there will be no more

> queens. " It was a huge big pot.

>

> Dasharatha asked Vasishtha, " How is this possible? How can they eat

this

> much sweet rice? "

>

> So then Vasishtha said, " You ask Rishyashringa, he will tell you. "

>

> Rishyashringa asked the yajna-purusha, " Why are you giving such a

big

> pot to these human beings that they can't even hold it? "

>

> The yajna-purusha said, " The personality who is coming is so

powerful,

> that you can't reduce him smaller than this. "

>

> Then Rishyashringa closed his eyes and said, " Ah! Bigger than the

> biggest, and smaller that the smallest. He is in this pot. You give

it

> to me. " So he took the pot, and it became small. By the request of

> Rishyashringa the Lord reduced His aishvarya, and the pot became

small.

> He gave it to Dasharatha and said, " All right, I have two days to

get to

> my ashrama. In between I have to take care of the delivery. " So

> Dasharatha took the sweet rice. He gave half of it to Kausalya. The

> remainder he split in two, one for Sumitra and one to Kaikeyi. After

> Kaikeyi drank it, there was still some left, so that was also given

to

> Sumitra. In this way the Lord came as Lord Ramachandra in Kausalya's

> womb. He came as Laksmana and Satrughna in Sumitra's womb, and he

came

> as Bharata in Kaikeyi's womb. Vasudeva came as Ramachandra,

Sankarshana

> came as Laksmana. The Sudarshan disc came as Bharata, and the

Pancajanya

> conchshell came as Satrughna. "

>

> The temple of Sri Rishyashringa ( after whom Shringa giri or

Shringeri

> is named) and Ashrama is located about 5 kms from Shringeri in a

place

> called Kigga. Kigga, also called Marukalu is situated on the

Nandini, a

> tributary of the Tunga, is renowned for its Sringeshwara temple,

which

> stands on the site where Rishyasringa was absorbed in the celestial

> light. The antiquity of the place is attested by inscriptions of the

> seventh century which refer to the deity here as Kilganeshwara or

> Kilganadeva or the lord of Kilga. The linga in the sanctum is shaped

> like a rudraksha bead, with a horn-like projection on top. Its left

side

> is believed to represent Santa. There is a common belief that if the

> linga is properly worshipped, famine will be averted in the land to

a

> distance of twelve yojanas all round. This reminds us of the story

in

> Ramayana that Sage Rishyasringa' s advent removed the acute drought

in

> Romapada's capital.

>

> The navaranga is approached by three entrances and has four

sculptured

> pillars, in one of which the graceful contours of the charming

poses of

> fair danseuses are so arranged as to present the shape of a

palanquin

> supported by antelopes and supposed to represent the vehicle in

which

> Rushyasringa was borne to King Romapada's capital. Valamburi

Ganesha and

> Mahishamardini adorn the shrines in the antarala ardha mandapa. The

> Rathotsavam will be conducted in Chaitra masa.

>

Dear Member, This good thing is shared by somebody with me and i just

forwarded this nice approach of sharing.

 

regards,

Lalit.

 

Vedic Astrologyandhealing , " astro_tech "

<astro_tech wrote:

>

> Thanks for sharing.

>

> -- In Vedic Astrologyandhealing , " litsol "

> <mishra.lalit@> wrote:

> >

> >

> > Shringa means " horns " or " a person possessing horns. " Risha means

> > " deer, " so Rishyashringa means " a human possessing horns. " He is

a

> human

> > being with deer horns who performs yajna and speaks Sanskrit.

> Vasishtha

> > said, " I will tell you the story of Rishyashringa. Long ago,

> Kashyapa

> > Muni produced a son while meditating on the sunlight. While he was

> > meditating on the sunlight, suddenly he thought of a personality.

> When

> > he thought of a personality, that person would come into

existence.

> And

> > he would come out of his mind. Kashyapa was

> Prajapati, " progenitor. "

> > And this person was known as Vibondaka.

> >

> >

> > As soon as Vibondaka came out of Kashyapa's mind, he went to the

> deepest

> > forests in Madhya Pradesh which is now very famous as Chandal

> Valley.

> > All the dacoits are there. That is where Vibondaka went, and he

> > performed ugra-tapasa, very severe austerities. He was only

> performing

> > tapasa for self-realization, but Indra was worried. Indra has a

> special

> > secretary for this department. He gives him a list of people who

are

> > performing austerities, because he is so worried that they may

> become

> > the opposition and may even try to usurp his own seat. So when he

> heard

> > the name Vibondaka he asked, " What kind of tapasa is he doing? "

The

> > secretary mentioned to him, " He is performing such huge

austerities

> that

> > if he were to ever get angry, this whole universe would be burnt

to

> > ashes. And if he ever thinks of anything, it will automatically

> come to

> > him without his having to perform any sacrifice. This is the

> potency of

> > his tapovalam. " Indra said, " Then he is my candidate. I will have

to

> > work on him. " He thought of all the damsels on his planet, and he

> > decided, " These are no good. " So then he went to Satyaloka,

Brahma's

> > planet.

> >

> > In Satyaloka there are damsels who are self-realized souls. They

> dance

> > only for the pleasure of the deity that Brahma keeps for worship.

> Indra,

> > for his political purpose, wanted to pollute these damsels. So he

> went

> > to Brahma, but he couldn't spend much time there because if you

are

> too

> > long in Brahma's planet by the time you return your time will be

> over,

> > So Indra said, " Give me the best damsel, quickly! I have to go! "

So

> > Brahma said, " All right, take this one. " There was one lady called

> > Harsha, because she was always smiling. Harsha came with Indra,

and

> even

> > while flying with Harsha, Indra could understand that he was so

> greedy

> > and lusty, and this woman was so saintly and serene, always

> meditating

> > on the Absolute Truth. He was thinking, " What happens if I send

her

> and

> > they both become self-realized? " Indra wanted something wrong to

> > happen. So he fell at the feet of Harsha, and said, " Please,

> protect my

> > seat. " Harsha said, " I don't think that this Vibondaka desires to

> enjoy

> > anything. " Because she was sitting in Satyaloka she could see

> Vibondaka

> > and what type of austerity he was doing. So she said, " You are

> > unnecessarily sending me there, and I may even get burnt by his

> anger.

> > But because Brahma has told then I am coming with you. Vibondaka

> has no

> > such material desires. He won't even look at me. I don't know how

> I'm

> > going to attract him and make him fall. " Indra said, " I don't

know

> what

> > you will do, but at least get it confirmed from him that he has no

> > desire to become Indra. Then my position is safe. " So Harsha

> said, " All

> > right, I will do it. Whatever is given to me as a mission I will

> > accomplish. "

> >

> > So Harsha came to that valley, and Vibondaka was coming from the

> Ganges

> > and going to his ashrama. So she came and sat there, and chanted

> > mantras. There are different ways of making people fall down.

> Whatever

> > is your weak spot, that can be used. Vibondaka's weak spot was

> mantras

> > and meditation, so she started chanting mantras. Vibondaka was so

> > absorbed, and then suddenly he heard this clear pronunciation of

> Vedic

> > mantras, clearer than anything else he had ever heard anywhere in

> the

> > three planets. He turned back and looked at her, and immediately

she

> > fell at his feet. She said, " Only for the prayer of getting a son

> from

> > you have I chanted these mantras. Vedic mantras which are chanted

> should

> > not go in vain. Somebody must give a benediction, and I don't

want

> this

> > benediction from anyone else, not even from Brahma. I only want

It

> from

> > you.

> >

> > If you don't accept this request, then I will perform austerities

> and I

> > will leave my body. And brahma-hatya will come to you. " In this

way

> she

> > blackmailed him. So Vibondaka said, " What is this? I am just

trying

> to

> > peacefully think of God. Why is this trouble coming? " So he

looked

> at

> > her and said, " I am Vibondaka, and I have no interest in this

> world. I

> > don't know why I was even sent here, but Kashyapa produced me. I

am

> just

> > trying to go away from here. What is this, giving you a son? You

> can't

> > get a son from anywhere else? You mention any other person, and I

> will

> > command him to give you a son. If you want a son from Brahma, I

will

> > request him. If you want a son from my father Kashyapa, I will

> request

> > him. Why me, in the whole creation? " So she said, " No, only you.

> You are

> > the only person who should give me a son. " And then he said, " No

> this is

> > not possible. I am not going to do it. If you have been even been

> > thinking about me like that, that is bad for me. " And then he

said,

> > " Here is the potency from my body. You can arrange for getting a

> son. "

> > And he dropped some semen and left.

> >

> > Harsha then understood that Indra had nothing to fear, so her

> mission

> > was fulfilled. But this shukla coming out of the body of

Vibondaka,

> was

> > there burning the whole world. She was now responsible for it,

she

> had

> > to direct it somewhere. She did not want to hold it and produce a

> son,

> > because that was only a trick she was using. But when she looked

up

> she

> > saw a very transcendental deer moving around there. So

immediately

> by

> > her potency, she put the semen in the body of the deer, and the

deer

> > conceived a child. Since it was the conception of a rishi, it did

> not

> > stay for more than a night.

> >

> > The next morning, the deer delivered a baby. It had a human form,

> but

> > with deer horns. This was Rishyashringa. So this deer ran to the

> ashrama

> > of Vibondaka and started crying. Vibondaka saw this and

> thought, " Why

> > are these things happening to me? Some lady wants a son, and now

a

> deer

> > is crying in my ashrama. " So Vibondaka asked the deer, " What is

> wrong?

> > Who is giving you trouble? " The deer started walking away and

> Vibondaka

> > followed. The deer brought him to where Rishyashringa was, and

> Vibondaka

> > saw this shining young baby with deer horns. He thought, " Oh,

this

> is my

> > son. If nobody wants him, then I will take care of him. " Then

> Vibondaka

> > thought, " Now I know why I was sent here, for some reason.

Kashyapa

> did

> > not conceive me for nothing. I am supposed to conceive this son,

> and God

> > knows what he is going to conceive. " So Vibondaka brought him to

the

> > ashrama and gave him milk. He taught him Vedas and Upanishads and

> > philosophy.

> >

> > There was no woman in that forest, which was yojanas wide. There

> was not

> > even any tigresses, only tigers. So Rishyashringa had no idea of

> women.

> > He grew up, and for everything he was depending on his father. He

> would

> > ask his father, " Father, can I take this book and read? " And if

his

> > father said yes, then he would do it. He would ask, " Father,

should

> I

> > brush my teeth? " And if the father said yes, he would brush his

> teeth.

> > He was so dependent on his father. He would always walk everywhere

> > holding his father's hand. In this way Rishyashringa grew up to

be

> the

> > most innocent person in the creation. Lord Ramachandra had to

> appear,

> > and if he was to appear then the yajna-purusha has to give the

> khir, and

> > if that khir is to come, then the yajna has to be performed by

> someone

> > who has never seen a woman. Lord Ramachandra' s advent was not

that

> > easy. This whole story is already in Vishnu Purana. In this way

> > Rishyashringa was growing up, never hearing of any woman.

> >

> > Dasharatha, when his daughter was born to Kausalya, he was

thinking,

> > " What shall I do with this daughter? " Then one day, from

Angadesha,

> the

> > country of Anga, Dasharatha's friend Romapada (which means " hairy

> feet " )

> > was hankering for a child too. He had some sons, but he had no

> daughter.

> > This is the material world. He who has daughters, he is hankering

> for a

> > son. And he who has sons is hankering for a daughter. And he who

> has no

> > children, they are hoping for children, and those who have

children

> are

> > thinking " How to get rid of them, " and they send them to

Gurukula.

> So

> > Romapada came to Dasharatha and said, " You are my very good

friend,

> and

> > you have no sons. You always think, `What is the use of a

> daughter?' And

> > I want a daughter, so why don't you give her to me? " And

Dasharatha

> > said, " All right, you can have her. " So he gave Shanti in

adoption

> to

> > the king of Angadesha known as Romapada.

> >

> > Romapada brought Shanti to his kingdom. And whether it way the

> girl's

> > misfortune or the king's misfortune, the second day was the day

the

> > rainy season was supposed to start but there was no rain. The

whole

> > rainy season went by and there was no rain. The second rainy

season

> also

> > went by with no rain. A big famine came about. So the king went

to

> the

> > astrologer and asked him, " Why is there famine in my kingdom? Is

it

> due

> > to this daughter? Everyone is saying it is due to her. " They

found

> out

> > that during some yajna that had been performed by Romapada he had

> > cheated a Brahmin. He first promised him, " I will give you this

much

> > amount of diamonds, " but while he was counting the diamonds to be

> given

> > as dakshina, he found one diamond which was very valuable, and he

> > thought, " What is the Brahmin going to do with this? " So he took

it

> out,

> > and put a bigger diamond in its place, which was less valuable.

> When he

> > gave the bag of diamonds to the Brahmin, the Brahmin touched the

> bag and

> > said, " You cheated me! You removed one of these diamonds and put a

> > bigger diamond to cheat me. " It was inside the bag, and the king

was

> > thinking, " How does he know this? " The Brahmin said, " I am a

> Brahmin, so

> > I know this. You are cheating, so all the Brahmins will leave this

> > country. " So he formed a big union and all the Brahmins walked

out

> of

> > the country. No more Brahmins means no more yajna, and it was

> > Treta-yuga, so no yajna means no food.

> >

> > The king was wondering what to do, so slowly from here and there

he

> > collected some Brahmins from other countries, and he brought them

on

> > immigration, so they couldn't stay long. These Brahmins were

coming

> and

> > going, and in this way he was running his kingdom. Now famine had

> come

> > due to this curse, and the fact that all the Brahmins had left his

> > country. So the astrologer said, " So to solve this problem, you

> have to

> > bring all the Brahmins back. " Romapada said, " But these Brahmins

> have

> > formed a union. They won't come back. " " They will come back if

you

> bring

> > one person here. " Romapada asked, " Who is that? " " There is one

> rishi. He

> > has never seen a woman. And he doesn't even know what is a woman.

> That

> > person must come, and he must marry your daughter. If that rishi

> stays

> > in your kingdom, then the Brahmins will not stay anywhere else.

They

> > will come here, because he is such a learned person. To see him,

> they

> > will come. And after they come, they will stay. " So now he had to

> get

> > this Rishyashringa, and he was thinking " How to get him? " So he

> asked

> > this to his ministers, and they said, " Rishyashringa is not an

easy

> > object, his father is Vibondaka. If Vibondaka gets angry he will

> burn

> > the universe to ashes. If you try to get his son he will get

angry,

> and

> > then there is no necessity of yajna or rain, because the whole

> universe

> > will be burnt, and you will also be burnt. " " So what to do? "

> Romapada

> > asked. " You have to use some trick, " his ministers replied. Then

> they

> > advised him, " You must go and consult the society girls, the

famous

> > prostitutes of the country. "

> >

> > So then Romapada made an announcement, " Special interview with the

> > prostitutes of the country. " They all came, and they were

thinking

> it

> > had something to do with dance or music, or something like that.

But

> > when they heard that they had to bring Rishyashringa, then they

ran

> away

> > because everybody knew this person. However, one lady came up,

and

> she

> > said, " For the benefit of my country, I will sacrifice myself. I

> will

> > try; if he comes, that's good. Then the kingdom will be happy. If

he

> > doesn't come, only a prostitute will be killed. What's the

problem?

> I

> > don't care, I will go. " Romapada asked, " What do want in

return? " " I

> > don't want anything, let the country be happy. " " What help do you

> need? "

> > Romapada asked. " Your treasury, whenever I go, must open. And if

I

> want

> > anything from any department, they must say yes, because you must

> know I

> > am sacrificing my life. " So the king gave her a special green

card.

> > Anywhere she goes, anything she wants she would get. She made a

boat

> > which was four miles long and two miles wide. On top of the boat

she

> > made an ashrama. This boat was totally covered with trees and

> bushes,

> > flower gardens, lakes and deer. All kinds of things she put in

> there.

> > And thousands of people were rowing the boat, but you couldn't see

> > anything, it was all covered by bushes. There were pathways, small

> > mountains, waterfalls, everything was created. It looked like a

> island,

> > but it was moving. No-one knew what it was. They all though it

was

> the

> > gandharvas who have come. It was a special ashrama, no men. Only

> women

> > were there. No tigers, only tigresses. It was filled up with

women.

> They

> > all had rudrakshas, tulasi-malas, jasmine flowers tied up in

their

> hair,

> > and they were all praying, doing meditation and chanting mantras.

> This

> > boat was floating so nicely down the river, and somehow or other

> they

> > got it into Madhya Pradesh. So as they reached Vibondaka's

ashrama,

> > Vibondaka went out to help a sage who had gotten stuck in the

mouth

> of

> > an elephant. He was calling, " Save me! Save me! " And no-one heard

> him,

> > only Vibondaka. So he told Rishyashringa, " You must perform the

> yajna

> > three times daily. Don't worry about cleaning the ashrama,

because

> it's

> > too big for you. Just perform the yajna till I get back. "

> >

> > When Vibondaka left, the demigods made arrangements and got him

> involved

> > in so many other things so that Rishyashringa was left by himself.

> > Rishyashringa went to the river to take water for the yajna, and

he

> saw

> > this moving ashrama. He'd never been anywhere, but he'd studied a

> lot of

> > shastra, and he'd never heard of anything like this before. And

> whenever

> > the description came of women, Vibondaka would never explain it.

He

> > would never read such parts. In this way he was kept brainwashed

to

> be a

> > brahmacari. He looked at this ashrama, " This is so nice. " And

then

> he

> > saw some figures in there. " What kind of rishis are these? This

is a

> > different type of rishi. " He became very eager. " Anyway, if they

> are in

> > the area, they must visit my father's ashrama. " And they did

come.

> They

> > just made sure that Vibondaka was not around, and then three of

the

> > great saintly people walked out of the boat. And then they came,

> raising

> > their hands and calling " Rishyashringa! Rishyashringa! "

> >

> > Usually when the rishis came they called for Vibondaka. So he saw

> these

> > rishis coming, and he went and addressed them. And after

addressing

> them

> > he was asking, " Where are you coming from? Which planet? What

> mantras do

> > you chant? How come by the touch of your bodies all my hairs are

> > standing on end? Why am I having such romancha? "

> >

> > They were smiling at each other, and they said, " We are rishis

from

> > another place, it is eight yojanas from here. It is an island,

and

> no

> > human beings come there. We are born with perfection. We came to

see

> > your father. We know that you are very learned, so in our moving

> > ashrama, we want you to come and stay for a few days. "

> >

> > Rishyashringa said, " I would be very happy to do that, but my

> father is

> > not here. I don't even brush my teeth unless my father tells me

to.

> So

> > how will I go away from here, and who will perform the yajna

three

> times

> > daily? "

> >

> > One lady said, " I will do it, I am expert in this line. " And she

sat

> > down. Somehow Rishyashringa fell pray for this. These were saintly

> > people, so why shouldn't they do yajna? And they looked

different,

> very

> > attractive. He couldn't understand what the tejas was that was

> coming

> > from that body and attracting him. He didn't know it was lust.

This

> was

> > never explained to him. So he left that lady there doing yajna,

and

> they

> > had a flower ladder from the ashrama up to the bank of the river.

> This

> > ashrama was filled with saintly people, so somehow they engaged

him

> in

> > listening to music, and dancing and so many other things, and

slowly

> > they came to Angadesha.

> >

> > In Angadesha there was big reception arranged for Rishyashringa,

> > brahmacari incarnate. There was purna-kumbha and there was

mantras

> and

> > Brahmins. The Brahmins all came to know that Rishyashringa was

> coming,

> > and they came and waited there. He was worshipped like anything.

He

> saw

> > more saintly people were sitting there in that country, and they

> were

> > sitting with other saintly people. Then he started realizing that

> > something was wrong in his understanding. He asked the king, " Why

> have

> > you brought me here? " But as soon as he stepped off the boat,

rain

> came.

> > And people were all happy, they were showering akshada and

touching

> his

> > feet. All the people came and told him, " You must never leave our

> > country. You must become the son-in-law of our king. " He didn't

know

> > what son-in-law meant. So then they had to have special classes

for

> him

> > to explain how to become a son-in-law. Then he understood

> everything and

> > finally he blessed the king by marrying Shanti, Dasharatha's

> daughter.

> >

> > In the meantime Vibondaka had returned to his ashrama, and saw

this

> lady

> > sitting there offering ghee into the fire. He grabbed her by the

> hair

> > and said, " Who are you? What are you doing with my fire? It's

been

> here

> > for six thousand years. You came and contaminated it. What are you

> > doing? "

> >

> > She said, " I am not this body. I am spirit soul. "

> >

> > Vibondaka said, " That's very nice, that you're not this body, but

> you

> > are not supposed to do this. "

> >

> > So then she said, " No no, Rishyashringa told me to do this. "

> >

> > So he said, " So come on tell me, where is Rishyashringa? What did

> you do

> > to him? There was one man in this world who was pure, and you

> spoiled

> > him too! "

> >

> > And then the lady said, " What could we do, this was a

nationalistic

> > service. We are serving the nation. In the service of our nation

we

> have

> > done something so we will go to heavenly planet. "

> >

> > So then Vibondaka said, " I'm going to curse that king, that

> Angadesha

> > Raja! He's getting rain, but I will see that he gets nothing any

> more. "

> >

> > The lady fell at his feet and said, " At least do the curse there.

> Then

> > he will know you are cursing him. Don't do the curse from here. "

> >

> > " All right, " he said. He was so angry, but Romapada was so

clever,

> he

> > was arranging for many Brahmins chanting mantras, glorifying

> Vibondaka,

> > showing pictures of Kashyapa Muni just to attract him. But

Vibondaka

> > came and said, " Where is the king? Bring him here! "

> >

> > Romapada came and begged, " Please don't curse me! Already there

are

> > enough curses! All that I have done is that I have made your son

the

> > king of this country. " So then something dawned on Vibondaka. " My

> son

> > has become the king of this country. Now he has become the king,

he

> has

> > to protect the citizens. If I curse, then the blame is on him

> because he

> > couldn't protect his citizens. " So then he called his son,

> > " Rishyashringa, come here. " Rishyashringa came, and Vibondaka

> said, " All

> > right, as soon as one son is born, you must be back in the

ashrama.

> You

> > understand? "

> >

> > This was the time when Dasharatha was told, by Vasishtha Muni, the

> > story. And Vasishtha said, " If you personally go, then

> Rishyashringa may

> > come. " So Dasharatha started, with all his paraphernalia, his

seven

> > akshauhini-shainyas , and arrived in Angadesha. Romapada was

> thinking,

> > " What is this? Suddenly Dasharatha is coming with his army. He is

> going

> > to fight with me or what? " So he came with a white flag. " There

is

> no

> > question that your army can even stay in my country. Your army is

> so big

> > that they can only just stand inside my country, not much more.

Why

> are

> > you coming with seven akshauhini-shainyas ? " Dasharatha

said, " No,

> I am

> > just coming to request Rishyashringa to come and perform a yajna

for

> > me. "

> >

> > Romapada said, " I don't know. Already his wife is pregnant, and

as

> soon

> > as the son is delivered, he will go. I don't know how long the

yajna

> > will be. I'm not going to play any more tricks, because already

> > Vibondaka has told him, `One son and you are back in the

ashrama'. "

> >

> > Dasharatha said, " I will fall at his feet. He has protected your

> > kingdom, why will he not save my country too? Why will he not do

> it? "

> >

> > So Dasharatha went there, paid his pranams, and he cried and told

> > Rishyashringa, " I have no hope. I will jump in the fire of

asvamedha

> > instead of the horse, if you don't come. "

> >

> > So then Rishyashringa calculated, " How many days are left? " It

was

> 28

> > days more before the delivery. " That's all right. In 24 days I

will

> come

> > and do putra-kamesti. " So he came, and right next to the

> > asvamedha-yajna he created another fire from that, and he quickly

> > started putra-kamesti. And when he was finishing with the

> purnahoti, the

> > yajna-purusha came, a dark, black figure which was three miles

> tall. He

> > had a huge big pot in his hand. He was holding Narayana in it, so

> it was

> > no small affair. He said to Dasharatha, " Please give this sweet

> rice to

> > your queens. " Dasharatha was looking at the size of the pot, and

he

> was

> > thinking, " If I give this to my queens, then there will be no more

> > queens. " It was a huge big pot.

> >

> > Dasharatha asked Vasishtha, " How is this possible? How can they

eat

> this

> > much sweet rice? "

> >

> > So then Vasishtha said, " You ask Rishyashringa, he will tell you. "

> >

> > Rishyashringa asked the yajna-purusha, " Why are you giving such a

> big

> > pot to these human beings that they can't even hold it? "

> >

> > The yajna-purusha said, " The personality who is coming is so

> powerful,

> > that you can't reduce him smaller than this. "

> >

> > Then Rishyashringa closed his eyes and said, " Ah! Bigger than the

> > biggest, and smaller that the smallest. He is in this pot. You

give

> it

> > to me. " So he took the pot, and it became small. By the request of

> > Rishyashringa the Lord reduced His aishvarya, and the pot became

> small.

> > He gave it to Dasharatha and said, " All right, I have two days to

> get to

> > my ashrama. In between I have to take care of the delivery. " So

> > Dasharatha took the sweet rice. He gave half of it to Kausalya.

The

> > remainder he split in two, one for Sumitra and one to Kaikeyi.

After

> > Kaikeyi drank it, there was still some left, so that was also

given

> to

> > Sumitra. In this way the Lord came as Lord Ramachandra in

Kausalya's

> > womb. He came as Laksmana and Satrughna in Sumitra's womb, and he

> came

> > as Bharata in Kaikeyi's womb. Vasudeva came as Ramachandra,

> Sankarshana

> > came as Laksmana. The Sudarshan disc came as Bharata, and the

> Pancajanya

> > conchshell came as Satrughna. "

> >

> > The temple of Sri Rishyashringa ( after whom Shringa giri or

> Shringeri

> > is named) and Ashrama is located about 5 kms from Shringeri in a

> place

> > called Kigga. Kigga, also called Marukalu is situated on the

> Nandini, a

> > tributary of the Tunga, is renowned for its Sringeshwara temple,

> which

> > stands on the site where Rishyasringa was absorbed in the

celestial

> > light. The antiquity of the place is attested by inscriptions of

the

> > seventh century which refer to the deity here as Kilganeshwara or

> > Kilganadeva or the lord of Kilga. The linga in the sanctum is

shaped

> > like a rudraksha bead, with a horn-like projection on top. Its

left

> side

> > is believed to represent Santa. There is a common belief that if

the

> > linga is properly worshipped, famine will be averted in the land

to

> a

> > distance of twelve yojanas all round. This reminds us of the

story

> in

> > Ramayana that Sage Rishyasringa' s advent removed the acute

drought

> in

> > Romapada's capital.

> >

> > The navaranga is approached by three entrances and has four

> sculptured

> > pillars, in one of which the graceful contours of the charming

> poses of

> > fair danseuses are so arranged as to present the shape of a

> palanquin

> > supported by antelopes and supposed to represent the vehicle in

> which

> > Rushyasringa was borne to King Romapada's capital. Valamburi

> Ganesha and

> > Mahishamardini adorn the shrines in the antarala ardha mandapa.

The

> > Rathotsavam will be conducted in Chaitra masa.

> >

>