Sages & Others

Rishyasringa

ऋष्यशृङ्ग

The Horned Ascetic Who Brought the Rain

Who was Rishyasringa?

Rishyasringa (ऋष्यशृङ्ग): The Horned Ascetic Who Brought the Rain, one of the sages and supporting figures in the Mahabharata. Son of the sage Vibhandaka by a hind that drank his seed from the water, born with a horn upon his head and raised in the forest without ever seeing a woman or any man but his father.

Quick Facts

Key facts about Rishyasringa
Sanskrit nameऋष्यशृङ्ग
Title / EpithetThe Horned Ascetic Who Brought the Rain
FactionSages & Others
Key traitsinnocent, potent, gentle, unworldly
Notable relationshipsDescendant: Kashyapa, Forebear: Alambusha, Subject of his tale: Lomasa
Featured in3 stories

About Rishyasringa

Son of the sage Vibhandaka by a hind that drank his seed from the water, born with a horn upon his head and raised in the forest without ever seeing a woman or any man but his father. When Indra withheld rain from Anga, King Lomapada sent courtesans on a floating hermitage to draw the boy out, and the clouds broke over the kingdom the day he crossed its border. He was given Lomapada's daughter Santa, and long after, a rakshasa of his line named Alambusha fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra.

In Their Words

Who art thou, bright one? No ascetic like thee has ever come to my father's woods.

Rishyasringa

Traits

  • innocent
  • potent
  • gentle
  • unworldly

Story Appearances

2 further tales on this site name Rishyasringa, in canonical reading order.

Character Arc

  1. The Hind's SonBorn in the deep forest with a horn upon his head
  2. The Floating HermitageAscetics he had never seen before, and the fruits they brought
  3. The Rain Over AngaA kingdom watered the hour he entered it

Key Relationships

Places in Rishyasringa's Story

Drawn from the stories Rishyasringa appears in.

Others counted among the Sages & Others.