Alambusha, AKA Shalakantaka, was a Rakshasa (demon) who fought on the Kaurava side in the Mahabharata war. As described in the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata, he was the one who killed Arjuna's son Iravan, and as described in the Drona Parva, he was eventually killed by Bhima's Rakshasa son Ghatotkacha.

But I'm interested in Alambusha's lineage. It is mentioned in the Mahabharata that Alumbusha is Rishyasringa's son. As I discuss in this question, Rishyasringa was the sage who performed the Putrakameshti Yagna for Dasharatha, which resulted in the birth of Rama and his brothers. And Rishyasringa was married to Dasharatha's daughter Shanta (who was raised by Romapada king of Anga).

So how is it that a son of the sage Rishyasringa and a grandson of Dasharatha was a Rakshasa? Did Rishyasringa have a Rakshasa son because of some kind of curse? Or did he marry a Rakshasi (demoness) after he married Shanta, similar to how the sage Vishravas married the demoness Kaikeshi (mother of Ravana) after he married Ilavida (mother of Kubera)?

  • ...grandson of Dasharatha was a Rakshasa: how does Alambusha become grandson of Dasharatha? Are you implying he was born to Shanta? – sv. Feb 22 '16 at 13:13
  • @sv. Well, the only wife of Rishyasringa I know of is Shanta, so then either Alambusha is the son of Rishyasringa and Shanta, in which case he may have incurred some cuse, or Rishyasringa may have married a demoness after he married Shanta. – Keshav Srinivasan Feb 22 '16 at 13:17
  • @KeshavSrinivasan Can u pls be kind enough to cite the reference where it is mentioned that Shanta was daughter of Dasharatha and not Romapada. – YDS Nov 30 '17 at 18:17
  • @YDS Yes, see my answer here: hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/551/36 – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 30 '17 at 21:37
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    @KeshavSrinivasan I saw on a site that the reason he wanted to help Kauravs was that he wanted to avenge the death of his brother Bakasur whom Bheem killed. That adds another question to the story how did Rishyashringa had two demon sons? – Dr. Vineet Aggarwal Jan 3 '18 at 9:23

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