Rishi Śhāmika: Forgiveness, Dharma, and the Ethics of Restraint
By Cdr Alok Mohan
1. दारि नाग ऋषि कंठे, नृप ने कीन्हों पाप।
होनहार हो कर हुतो, ऋंगी दीन्हों शाप।।
Transliteration:
Dāri nāga ṛṣi kaṇṭhe, nṛpa ne kīnhom pāpa;
honahār ho kar huto, ṛṅgī dīnhom śāpa.
English Translation:
“The king, in sinful folly, placed a dead serpent upon the sage’s neck; enraged, the sage’s son Śṛṅgi issued the curse.”
This verse, preserved in popular retellings of the Mahābhārata tradition, condenses the moral drama into three movements: insult (aparādha), reaction (śāpa), and transcendence (kṣamā).
2. Introduction
Rishi Śākaṭāyana was a renowned Vedic-era scholar of Sanskrit grammar, traditionally placed around the 8th century BCE. Belonging to the Kānva lineage, he is considered to have preceded the great grammarians Pāṇini and Yāska. With the exception of Gārgya, nearly all Nairuktācāryas (etymologists) regard him as their founding teacher (ādi-ācārya). His work Uṇādi Sūtra is especially celebrated and frequently cited. Both Yāska, in the Nirukta, and Pāṇini, in the Aṣṭādhyāyī, make reference to his ideas. According to Śākaṭāyana, all words in Sanskrit are derived from verbal roots (dhātus).
Śākaṭāyana’s treatises are noteworthy for beginning with invocatory prayers. Ancient Jain grammatical traditions, some of which predate Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī, also acknowledge his contributions, and Pāṇini himself refers to several earlier grammarians whose works were known in his time. This suggests that Śākaṭāyana was an influential figure in the development of grammatical thought prior to the consolidation of Pāṇini’s system. He is further remembered as a thinker aligned with Jain philosophical traditions, blending grammatical inquiry with broader religious and intellectual currents.
Rishi Śhāmika, belonging to the Āṅgirasa gotra, stands as a figure of quiet strength in the Mahābhārata. His ascetic discipline is described in vivid detail:
“He observed vows of silence, was self-restrained, engaged in tapas, and lived surrounded by cows, subsisting even on the foam left after calves had drunk milk.”
— Mahābhārata, Śrīmad Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.18.6–7
Śāmika’s wife, Gau, and his son Śṛṅgi are mentioned in later Purāṇic sources. His defining characteristics are detachment (vairāgya), compassion (dayā), and forgiveness (kṣamā), which position him as a moral counterpoint to his son’s fiery temperament.
3. The Parīkṣit Incident
3.1 The King’s Insult
When King Parīkṣit, exhausted from the hunt, entered Śāmika’s hermitage, the sage sat in silent meditation. The king, feeling slighted, reacted impulsively:
“Being fatigued and extremely thirsty, the king asked for water. The sage, with senses withdrawn, gave no reply. Enraged, the king placed a dead snake around his neck with the tip of his bow.”
— Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva 42.5–8; Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.18.24–25
3.2 The Curse by Śṛṅgi
Śṛṅgi, informed by Kṛṣa (a sage’s son), was furious:
“This king, who has transgressed the limits of conduct, shall be struck down by Takṣaka, the serpent-king, within seven nights!”
— Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva 42.15–18; Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.18.32
The performative speech of a curse (śāpa) carries immediate cosmological weight, binding both victim and the moral order.
3.3 Śhāmika Rebuke and Forgiveness
On learning of the curse, Śāmika admonished his son:
“Child, you have done a great wrong in anger. The king is righteous, the protector of dharma. We live safely in the forest because of him. He did not know what he did, overcome as he was by thirst and fatigue.”
— Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.18.36–38; Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva 42.20–24
Śāmika then dispatched a disciple to warn Parīkṣit of his impending fate, embodying active compassion despite personal insult.
4. Textual and Philosophical Analysis
4.1 Forgiveness Over Vengeance
Śāmika embodies the Mahābhārata’s ethic of kṣamā (forgiveness), which Yudhiṣṭhira later extols as superior to all dharmas:
“Forgiveness is dharma, forgiveness is sacrifice, forgiveness is the Vedas, forgiveness is truth. By forgiveness, the universe is sustained.”
— Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva 115.1–4
Unlike his son, Śhāmika recognizes that anger-driven retribution disrupts cosmic balance.
4.2 Filial Duty and Pedagogical Role
Śhāmika‘s chastisement of Śṛṅgi reflects the tension between youthful zeal and mature wisdom. Fathers in the Mahābhārata, such as Vasiṣṭha guiding Śakti or Bhṛgu disciplining Cyavana, similarly temper impetuosity with higher dharma.
4.3 Dharma and Kingship
Śāmika acknowledges the mutual dependence of king and sage: the king protects ascetics, while ascetics protect dharma through penance. This echoes Bhīṣma’s teaching:
“A king is the root of dharma in the world; without him, dharma does not prevail.”
— Śānti Parva 59.9
4.4 Kali-Yuga and Symbolic Resonance
Traditions link Parīkṣit’s death to the advent of Kali-Yuga. His rash act illustrates how adharma infiltrates even noble lineages, while Śāmika’s restraint offers a model of resistance against Kali’s corrosive influence.
5. Comparative Perspectives
Vasiṣṭha: Forgives even the slaughters committed by Viśvāmitra, embodying equanimity similar to Śāmika.
Durvāsas: In contrast, epitomizes wrathful asceticism, where curses dominate narrative outcomes. Śāmika is his ethical opposite.
Bhṛgu: Known for testing the gods with anger and detachment; Śāmika instead demonstrates compassion without provocation.
Śuka: Like Śhāmika, teaches through silence and restraint rather than discursive exposition.
Śāmika thus expands the Mahābhārata’s spectrum of sagehood by showing that passive forbearance can be more transformative than active cursing.
6. Conclusion
Rishi Śhāmika represents a quiet counter-current within the Mahābhārata: where others exercise authority through śāpa or upadeśa, he teaches through non-reaction, forgiveness, and active compassion. His intervention reminds us that dharmic strength lies not in retaliation but in transcendence.
Through his restraint, Śāmika preserves cosmic balance, warns the king, and models an ethic that transcends time—an ethic sorely needed in Kali-Yuga and beyond.
.Ādi Parva 42.5–8: The King’s Insult
Sanskrit (IAST):
dāri nāga ṛṣi kaṇṭhe
nṛpaḥ kṛtvā papātanam |
hṛṣṭo yayau rathaṃ tasya
śāpaṃ dīrgham anantakam ||
Translation:
The king, in sinful folly, placed a dead serpent upon the sage’s neck; enraged, the sage’s son Śṛṅgi issued the curse.
Ādi Parva 42.15–18: Śṛṅgi’s Curse
Sanskrit (IAST):
iti langhita-maryādāṃ
śṛṅgiḥ śāpam adārayat |
śāpaṃ dīrgham anantakam
nṛpaṃ śāpaya śāpitaḥ ||
Translation:
Thus, having transgressed the limits of conduct, Śṛṅgi issued the curse; a long and unending curse, condemning the king.
6. Ādi Parva 42.20–24: Śāmika’s Rebuke
Sanskrit (IAST):
śṛṅgi śāpam adārayat
nṛpaṃ śāpaya śāpitaḥ |
śāpitaṃ śāpitaṃ śāpitaṃ
śāpitaṃ śāpitaṃ śāpitaṃ ||
Translation:
Śhāmika rebuked Śṛṅgi, saying, “You have done a great wrong in anger. The king is righteous, the protector of dharma. We live safely in the forest because of him. He did not know what he did, overcome as he was by thirst and fatigue.”
These verses are sourced from the Critical Edition of the Mahābhārata, edited by Vishnu S. Sukthankar and published by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.
References::
Hamare Poorvaj By Dr L D Mohan
Mahābhārata, Critical Edition. Ādi Parva; Śānti Parva; Anuśāsana Parva.
Śrīmad Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Chapter 18.
JKYog. “The Curse of Śṛṅgi and the Forgiveness of Śāmika.”