Rishyashringa's Birth and Lomapada's Plan to Bring Him
Vibhandaka, a sage of immense austerity, sees the apsara Urvashi while bathing and spills his semen. A thirsty doe drinks it and conceives, giving birth to Rishyashringa — a boy with a horn on his head who knows nothing of the world beyond his father. Meanwhile, King Lomapada of Anga, abandoned by brahmanas for his falsehoods, suffers a drought. The brahmanas tell him that only Rishyashringa can bring rain — and the king turns to courtesans to lure the innocent sage from the forest.
Lomasha began his story.
There was a brahmana rishi named Vibhandaka, who had controlled his soul through austerities. He was as radiant as Prajapati himself, and his semen was always successful. He went to a great lake and stayed there for a long time, engaged in austerities, worshipped by gods and rishis alike. But he grew exhausted.
One day, while washing in the water, he saw the apsara Urvashi — the most beautiful of celestial dancers — and his semen spilled. A thirsty doe, drinking from the same water, swallowed it and conceived. Whatever has been decreed by destiny and laid down by fate must inevitably happen.
From that doe was born a son: the great rishi Rishyashringa.
He grew up in the forest, always engaged in austerities. But there was something unusual about him — a horn on his head. Because of that, he became known as Rishyashringa, "the one with the horn of a deer." Except for his father, he never saw another man. His mind was always fixed on brahmacharya (celibacy and discipline). He knew nothing of women, of desire, of the world outside the forest.
At the same time, in the kingdom of Anga, there was a king named Lomapada. He was a friend of Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya. But driven by desire, Lomapada had committed falsehoods against brahmanas. The brahmanas abandoned him. Without a priest to guide him, the king acted as he willed — and Indra, the thousand-eyed god, stopped showering rain upon the kingdom. The subjects suffered. The drought was severe.
Lomapada asked wise brahmanas, full of austerities, how to make Parjanya — the god of rain — shower again. Each of the wise ones expressed his own view. But one supreme sage among them told the king: "The brahmanas are angry with you. Find a way to appease them. Fetch the sage's son Rishyashringa. He lives in the forest, immersed in virtue, and is inexperienced about the female sex. If that great ascetic comes to your territory, I have no doubt that Parjanya will immediately shower rain."
The king performed deeds to cleanse his soul. He went away and returned only when the brahmanas had been appeased. The subjects received him back. Then he summoned his advisers, who were learned in the sacred texts, skilled in the ways of artha (policy and prosperity), and knowledgeable about statecraft. Together, they thought of a method.
The king summoned the foremost of courtesans. He told them: "Find some means of bringing the rishi's son Rishyashringa to my territory. Tempt him and gain his confidence."
The women were scared — terrified of the king's curse. They turned pale, lost their senses, and said the task was impossible.
But there was one among them who was old. She told the king: "I will attempt to bring the one with the ascetic riches here. But you will have to ask for some objects of desire that I have in mind. I will then be able to tempt the rishi's son Rishyashringa."
The king ordered that everything she wished for should be obtained. He gave her a lot of riches and many gems. She took several women with her — endowed with youth and beauty — and swiftly went to the forest. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 407