Shloka 6
इतना ही नहीं, इस मनुष्य-लोकमें उन्होंने उस महान् कुशिक-वंशको स्थापित किया जो अब सैकड़ों ब्रह्मर्षियोंसे व्याप्त और दिद्वान ब्राह्मणोंसे प्रशंसित है ।। ऋचीकस्यात्मजश्नैव शुन:शेपो महातपा: । विमोक्षितो महासत्रात् पशुतामप्युपागत:,ऋचीक (अजीगर्त) का महातपस्वी पुत्र शुनःशेप एक यज्ञमें यज्ञ-पशु बनाकर लाया गया था; किंतु विश्वामित्रजीने उस महायज्ञसे उसको छुटकारा दिला दिया
ṛcīkasyātmajaś caiva śunaḥśepo mahātapāḥ | vimokṣito mahāsatrāt paśutām apy upāgataḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “And Śunaḥśepa, R̥cīka’s son, the great ascetic—though he had even been brought to the great sacrificial session as a victim—was released from that mighty rite.” The passage recalls how a human being, reduced to the status of a sacrificial animal, is restored to dignity through the intervention of a righteous sage, highlighting compassion and the protection of life as higher ethical imperatives than ritual completion.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual action is not supreme when it violates higher dharma: compassion, protection of life, and restoring a person’s dignity outweigh the mere completion of a sacrifice.
Yudhiṣṭhira recalls Śunaḥśepa, son of Ṛcīka, who was brought to a great sacrificial session as a victim; despite being treated as a sacrificial animal, he was freed from the rite—an example of righteous intervention overriding harmful ritual necessity.