Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c4.2562

c4.2562

In days of old there was a hermit named Kauśika in Kurukṣetra. His seven sons, Śvarūpa, Krodhana, Hiṃsra, Piśuna, Kavi, Vāgduṣṭa and Pitṛvartti were studying under Garga, a teacher. Their deeds were as bad as their names indicated. Their father died. The sons were in want. There was no rain anywhere in the world. These brothers had taken the milking cow of their teacher Garga to the forest for grazing. They decided to kill the cow of their teacher. The youngest of them said, “If we kill the cow we can use it as offerings to the manes, and the sin will not be visited on us.” The elder brothers agreed to it. Accordingly Pitṛvartti killed the cow and began sacrifice to the manes. Two of the elder brothers were detailed to give oblations to the devas, and three of them to offer oblations to the manes. One was detailed to be the guest and himself as the sacrificer. Thus remembering the manes the sacrifice was completed with the necessary rituals. In short, those seven hermits got divine power and became daring wicked men and ate the cow of their teacher. They told the teacher that the cow was eaten by a leopard and gave him the calf.