Sages & Others
Kalmashapada
कल्माषपाद
The King Who Ate Men
Who was Kalmashapada?
Kalmashapada (कल्माषपाद): The King Who Ate Men, one of the sages and supporting figures in the Mahabharata. A king of the Ikshvaku line, also called Saudasa, who would not yield a narrow forest path to Saktri, eldest of Vasishtha's hundred sons, and struck him with his whip.
Quick Facts
| Sanskrit name | कल्माषपाद |
|---|---|
| Title / Epithet | The King Who Ate Men |
| Faction | Sages & Others |
| Key traits | proud, cursed, repentant, courteous |
| Notable relationships | Wife: Madayanti, Preceptor and father of his heir: Vashishtha, Author of his ruin: Vishvamitra, Son: Asmaka |
| Featured in | 1 story |
About Kalmashapada
A king of the Ikshvaku line, also called Saudasa, who would not yield a narrow forest path to Saktri, eldest of Vasishtha's hundred sons, and struck him with his whip. Cursed to live as a man-eater and driven further by a rakshasa that Vishvamitra sent into his body, he devoured all hundred sons of the sage. As a cannibal he also ate a brahmana taken with his wife, and the widow cursed him to die the instant he ever went to his own queen before walking into her fire; freed at last from the first curse, he asked Vasishtha - whose sons he had eaten - to father his heir on Madayanti.
In Their Words
Calamity came on me through a Brahmana, and by a Brahmana alone can it be undone.
Kalmashapada
Traits
- proud
- cursed
- repentant
- courteous
Story Appearances
Character Arc
- The Narrow PathWhips a sage who will not step out of his road
- The Hundred SonsDevours Vasishtha's whole line under Vishvamitra's malice
- The HeirSends his queen to the sage whose sons he ate
Key Relationships
- WifeMadayanti
- Preceptor and father of his heirVashishtha
- Author of his ruinVishvamitra
- SonAsmaka
Places in Kalmashapada's Story
Drawn from the story Kalmashapada appears in.
Related Characters
Others counted among the Sages & Others.