Ārshisheṇa

Ārshisheṇa was a king named among the great rājarshis (royal seers) of old. The Mahābhārata remembers them as people who reached the highest siddhi (spiritual perfection) through tapas (austerity) and through dāna (giving) that was rightly earned and truthfully given.

In the teaching on hiṃsā and dharma

The Aśvamedhika Parva tells how Vasu of Cedi fell to Rasātala. He had wrongly approved the killing of animals (paśu-hiṃsā) in a yajña (fire ritual). In that account Vaiśampāyana names a line of ancient rājarshis and munis who reached parama-siddhi (the highest perfection) through tapas and through dāna that was justly earned and given in truth. Ārshisheṇa is one of them.

He is named with Viśvāmitra, Asita, Janaka Mahārāja, Kakshasena and Sindhudvīpa. They stand as examples of this teaching. Whoever lives by tapas within the fire of dāna-dharma (the duty of giving), whether brāhmaṇa, kshatriya, vaiśya or śūdra, is purified and reaches svarga (heaven).

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 91