TALE OF PARISHADHRU – Son of Shraddha Deva Manu

After the exile of Sudyumna, Manu took to penance with a desire to have son. Pleased by his penance Sri Hari blessed him to have ten sons. Parishadhru was the eldest of them. He was appointed in the service of the cows. One night in darkness, a tiger broke into the cowshed causing a panic among the cows. Hearing the panicky noise of the cows, Prishadhru ran to the cowshed. There he saw that the tiger had caught a cow, and she was bellowing in pain and fear. Prishadhru at once ran to help and with a powerful blow of the sword he beheaded the tiger. It was pitch dark in the cattle shed, so Prishadhru could not see whom he had killed. In the morning he realized that he had killed the cow and not the tiger. He felt extremely sorry. Their family teacher cursed him to lead a life of a shudra. Prishadhru, thereafter passed his life as a celibate and mingled with the Supreme Soul at last.

Leave a Reply