SHRINGA RISHI TEMPLE

History

There is a temple of Rishyashringa in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. Idol of Shringa Rishi with goddess Shanta resides in the temple. This place is about 50 km from Kullu. Lord Shringa is the presiding deity of this secluded valley named Banjar. The descendants of Shanta and Rishyasringa are Brahmins in Rajasthan state known as Shringi/ Sukhwal Brahmins.

There is a sect of Sengar Rajputs who are called the only Rishivanshi rajputs who associate their lineage to Shring Rishi and Mata Shanta.

Rishyasringa was a boy born with the horns of a deer in Hindu-Buddhist mythology. His father was the Vibhandak Rishi, and his mother was a celestial paramour. 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, Urvashi, after completing the duty she was sent for, left the young born 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 the Gulmi District of the 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 Shaa 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 attraction for 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 headquarters 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, 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 to introduce the boy into normal society. This was successfully done by Vaishali, Rishyasringa uses his powers, the kingdom receives bountiful rains and Rishyasringa marries 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 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 Mahabharata. According to the Ramayana, Ekashringa was the chief priest when the king Dasharatha performed a yajna to beget progeny, and Rama, Bharata, and the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna were born.

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