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V KÂNDA, 4 ADHYÂYA, 2 BRÂHMANA, 4.
95 be unrivalled!'—he thereby says, 'Quicken him, O gods, so as to be without an enemy; '-—' For great chiefdom, for great lordship!'-in this there is nothing obscure ;— For man-rule!'-—' for the ruling of men' he thereby says ;—' For Indra's lordly sway!'-'for power' he means to say, when he says, 'for Indra's lordly sway!'-'Him, the son of such and such a man), the son of such and such a woman),'—whatever be his parentage regarding that he says this ;-'of such and such a people'--that is to say, of the people whose king he is ;—This man, O ye (people), is your king, Soma is the king of us Brahmans!'-he thereby causes everything here to be food for him (the king); the Brahman alone he excepts: therefore the Brâhman is not to be fed upon, for he has Soma for his king
4. He (the king) then rubs the sprinkled water
Either at this juncture, or after the game at dice, the Hotri recites the legend of Sunahsepha, as given Ait. Br. VII, 13-18.• King Hariskandra, of the race of Ikshvâku, being childless, made a vow that if he obtained a son he would sacrifice him to Varuna. A son was born, who received the name of Rohita, but the father postponed, under various pretexts, the fulfilment of his vow. When at length he resolved to perform the sacrifice, Rohita refused to be the victim, and went out into the forest, where he lived for six years. He then met a poor Brâhman Rishi called Agîgarta, who had three sons, and Rohita purchased from Agîgarta, for a hundred cows, the second son, named Sunahsepha, to be the substitute for himself in the sacrifice. Varuna approved of the substitute, and the sacrifice was about to be performed, the father receiving another hundred cows for binding his son to the sacrificial post, and a third hundred for agreeing to slaughter him. Sunahsepha, however, saved himself by reciting verses in honour of different deities, and was received into the family of Visvâmitra, who was one of the officiating priests.' Dowson, Dict. of Hindu Mythology,
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