Śaśabindu
Śaśabindu was a king of ancient Bhārata. He was known for his great wealth and his giving. The Droṇa Parva of the Mahābhārata counts him among the sixteen great kings that Nārada names, and calls him one of the greatest givers of all time.
Who he was
Śaśabindu was famous for the size of his gifts (dāna) and for his grand yajñas (fire rituals). He performed yajñas and gave wealth to brāhmaṇas on a very large scale. The Droṇa Parva names him as one of the greatest givers of all time. His dāna is described as greater in scope than that of others among the sixteen kings.
In the sixteen great kings
Nārada tells the account of the sixteen great kings, the Ṣoḍaśa Mahārāja Kathā, to comfort Sṛñjaya. Śaśabindu is the eleventh of the sixteen. Each account has the same form. It says that here was a king greater than your son in virtue, giving and power, and he also died. The lesson is that death comes to everyone who takes birth in a mortal body. Grief for the dead, even for a loved one, cannot change this.
Vyāsa used the same accounts to comfort Yudhiṣṭhira in his grief after the death of Abhimanyu. Śaśabindu is one of the examples through which Yudhiṣṭhira’s heart was slowly consoled. For all his giving, Śaśabindu also reached his end in his own time.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva, Chapter 65
- Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva, Chapter 55