--> Skip to main content


Story of Sage Vibhandaka - Father of Rishyasringa

Story of Sage Vibhandaka is found in the Ramayana and it is also mentioned in the Puranas. Vibhandaka once performed intense penance to acquire Siddha and take control over nature.

Indra, the king of Devas, was worried that Vibhandaka would use the Siddhi against him. To break the penance of the Sage, Indra deputed celestial damsel Urvashi.

Urvashi succeeded in seducing Vibhandaka. Semen from Vibhandaka fell into a river and this went into the stomach of a doe that was drinking water. The female deer later gave birth to a male child, Rishyasringa.



After the incident, Sage Vibhandaka had this guilt that he failed to control his desire. The visit of Urvashi also disturbed his Brahmacharya and Tapas. Vibhandaka did not want the same fate for his son. So he brought him up without giving knowledge about females.

It is said that the Sage drew a line around his ashram. Anything feminine that crossed the line would instantly burst into flames. Thus, the sage successfully kept his son away from females for a long period.

The mountains around the ashram were asked to guard Rishyasringa. Huge boulders fell down when people tried to enter the vicinity of the ashram.

Related