śúnaḥ-śépa m. ‘dog-tailed’, N. of a Vedic Ṛṣi (having the patr. Ājīgarti, as son of Ajīgarta or Ajīgarta, and regarded as the author of the hymns, [i, 24]-[30], [ix, 3]; accord. to [AitBr. vii, 13]-[18], king Hariścandra, whose priest was Viśvā-mitra, being childless, made a vow that on obtaining a son he would sacrifice him to the god Varuṇa; a son was then born to him named Rohita, but Hariścandra put off on various pretexts the fulfilment of his vow, and when he at length consented to perform it, his son refused to be sacrificed, and retiring to the forest passed six years there until he met a poor Brāhman Ṛṣi named Ajīgarta, who had three sons, the second of whom, Śunaḥ-śepa, was purchased by Rohita for a hundred cows to serve as a substitute for himself ; Varuṇa having accepted him as a ransom, he was about to be sacrificed, Viśvā-mitra being Hotṛ priest, when he saved himself by reciting verses in praise of various deities, and was received into the family of Viśvā-mitra as one of his sons under the name of Deva-rāta q.v.: the legend is different in the Rāmāyaṇa, which makes Ambarīṣa, king of Ayodhyā, perform a sacrifice, the victim of which is stolen by Indra; this king is described as wandering over the earth in search of either the real victim or a substitute until he meets with a Brāhman named Ṛcīka, from whom he purchases his middle son, Śunaḥ-śepa, who is about to be sacrificed, when Viśvā-mitra saves him by teaching him a prayer to Agni and two hymns to Indra and Viṣṇu; see [R. i, 61, 62]), [RV.] &c. &c. ([IW. 25]-[27])
śúnaḥ-śépa n. the genital organ of a dog, [MW.]