उपव्रजन्नजीगर्तादक्रीणान्मध्यमं सुतम् ।
शुनःशेफं पशुं पित्रे प्रदाय समवन्दत ॥२०॥
á¹£aá¹£á¹haá¹ saá¹vatsaraá¹ tatra
caritvÄ rohitaḥ purÄ«m
upavrajann ajÄ«gartÄd
akrīṇÄn madhyamaá¹ sutam
śunaḥśephaṠpaśuṠpitre
pradÄya samavandata
á¹£aá¹£á¹ham - the sixth; saá¹vatsaram - year; tatra - in the forest; caritvÄ - wandering; rohitaḥ - the son of HariÅ›candra; purÄ«m - in his capital; upavrajan - went there; ajÄ«gartÄt - from AjÄ«garta; akrīṇÄt - purchased; madhyamam - the second; sutam - son; Å›unaḥśepham - whose name was Åšunaḥśepha; paÅ›um - to use as the sacrificial animal; pitre - unto his father; pradÄya - offering; samavandata - respectfully offered his obeisances.
Thereafter, in the sixth year, after wandering in the forest, Rohita returned to the capital of his father. He purchased from Ajīgarta his second son, named Śunaḥśepha. Then he offered Śunaḥśepha to his father, Hariścandra, to be used as the sacrificial animal and offered Hariścandra his respectful obeisances.
It appears that in those days a man could be purchased for any purpose. Hariścandra was in need of a person to sacrifice as the animal in a yajña and thus fulfill his promise to Varuṇa, and a man was purchased from another man for this purpose. Millions of years ago, animal sacrifice and slave trade both existed. Indeed, they have existed since time immemorial.
