Shloka 36
Ṛśyaśṛṅgopākhyāna-praveśaḥ — Lomāśa narrates the origins of Ṛśyaśṛṅga and the Anga drought (ऋश्यशृङ्गोपाख्यान-प्रवेशः)
सह तोयेन तृषिता गर्भिणी चाभवत् ततः । सा पुरोक्ता भगवता ब्रह्मणा लोककर्तणा,राजन्! एक दिन जब वे जलमें स्नान कर रहे थे, उर्वशी अप्सराको देखकर उनका वीर्य स्खलित हो गया। उसी समय प्याससे व्याकुल हुई एक मृगी वहाँ आयी और पानीके साथ उस वीर्यको भी पी गयी। इससे उसके गर्भ रह गया। वह पूर्वजन्ममें एक देवकन्या थी। लोकस्रष्टा भगवान् ब्रह्माने उसे यह वचन दिया था कि तू मृगी होकर एक मुनिको जन्म देनेके पश्चात् उस योनिसे मुक्त हो जायगी। ब्रह्माजीकी वाणी अमोघ है और दैवके विधानको कोई टाल नहीं सकता, इसलिये विभाण्डकके पुत्र महर्षि ऋष्यशृंगका जन्म मृगीके ही पेटसे हुआ। वे सदा तपस्यामें संलग्न रहकर वनमें ही निवास करते थे
saha toyena tṛṣitā garbhiṇī cābhavat tataḥ | sā puroktā bhagavatā brahmaṇā lokakartṛṇā ||
Thirsty, she drank along with the water, and from that she became pregnant. This had been foretold to her earlier by the Blessed Brahmā, the creator of the worlds: that after becoming a doe and giving birth to a sage, she would be released from that animal womb. Thus, what appears as an irregular birth is framed as the unfailing working of divine ordinance and prior destiny.
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes the inevitability of divine ordinance (Brahmā’s word) and karmic consequence: even unusual events are presented as instruments through which a destined dharmic outcome—here, the birth of a great ascetic—unfolds. It also highlights tapas and restraint as the defining ethical orientation of the sage’s life.
A thirsty doe drinks water that contains spilled semen; as a result she becomes pregnant. This is said to have been foretold by Brahmā, who promised her release after giving birth to a sage. The narrative context (as commonly transmitted in this episode) leads to the birth of Ṛṣyaśṛṅga, associated with Vibhāṇḍaka, and his later life of forest asceticism.