Śunaḥśepa was first mentioned briefly in Rig Veda. However, the details as to who Śunaḥśepa was, had not been mentioned.
Rig Veda 5.2.7
Ṛṣi (sage/seer): kumāra ātreya ;; ;;;;;;;;; Devatā (deity/subject-matter): agniḥ
शुनश्चिच्छेपं निदितं सहस्राद्यूपादमुञ्चो अशमिष्ट हि षः ।
एवास्मदग्ने वि मुमुग्धि पाशान्होतश्चिकित्व इह तू निषद्य ॥
Śunaḥśepa too was bound to the thousandfold post of sacrifice, him didst thou release and he attained to calm; so do thou take thy seat here in us, O conscious knower, O priest of the call, and loose from us the cords of our bondage
Śunaḥśepa was mentioned in Ramayana also.
(Valmiki Ramayana - Baala Kanda - Sarga 61 )
Shri Rama’s ancestor King Ambarisha of Ayodhya was engaged in a sacrificial ceremony, when his animal-victim was stolen by Indra. The priest conducting the ceremony told the king that he needed to find the animal, or perform a human sacrifice to avert the misfortune resulting from the situation. The king tried to search for the horse unsuccessfully.
While searching for the animal, he came across the sage Richika (Ṛcīka). He offered to buy one of the sage's three sons for the human sacrifice. The sage refused to part with his eldest son, and his wife refused to part with the youngest. The middle one - Śunahśepa - volunteered to go with the king. The king gave Richika one hundred thousand cows and gold coins, and left with Śunahśepa.
On the way to the King's place, the two took a rest break at the sacred site of Pushkara. There, they encountered the sage Vishvamitra, whom Śunahśepa recognized as his maternal uncle. Śunahśepa sought the sage's refuge, asking him to do something that would conclude the king's rite successfully but also save his life.
The sage asked his sons if any of them were willing to replace Śunahśepa in the sacrifice. His sons rejected the demand with scorn, stating that it would be equivalent to eating dog meat. Angered at their impudence, Vishvamitra cursed his sons to be reborn as outcaste dog-meat eaters for a thousand years, just like Vashistha's sons.
Vishwamitra then turned to Śunahśepa, and asked him to recite two hymns during the sacrifice. Ambarisha and Śunahśepa then reached the palace, where the sacrificial ceremony started. Ambarisha concluded the Ashvamedha ceremony successfully, and Śunahśepa recited Vishwamitra's hymns as he was about to be sacrificed. Indra then appeared on the spot, and blessed him with a long life. He also rewarded Ambarisha for his sacrifice.
In Aitareya Brahmana (7.13-18)
King Harishchandra of the Ikshvaku dynasty had 100 wives, but no son. On advice of the sage Narada, he prayed to the deity Varuna for a son, in exchange for an assurance that Harishchandra would make a sacrifice of his son to Varuna in the future. Varuna granted the boon. As a result of this boon, a son named Rohita was born to the king.
After his birth, Varuna came to Harishchandra and demanded that the child be sacrificed to him. The king postponed the sacrifice multiple times citing various reasons, but finally agreed to it when Rohita became an adult. Rohita refused to be sacrificed and escaped to forest. Varuna became angry, and afflicted Harishchandra with a stomach illness.
In the sixth year of wandering in the forest, Rohita met a destitute, starving brahmin named ājīgarti Sauyavasi with three sons, who was a descendant of Angiras. Rohita offered ājīgarti one hundred cows in exchange for one of his sons to be sacrificed to Varuna in his place. ājīgarti agreed to the offer, and because he didn't want his eldest son to be sacrificed, and his wife didn't want their youngest son to be sacrificed, the middle son – Śunahśepa – was chosen as the victim. Rohita then gave the promised hundred cows to ājīgarti, and took Śunahśepa and ājīgarti to the royal palace.
Varuna agreed to the replacement on the basis that a brahmin was an acceptable (higher caste) substitute for a kshatriya. King Harishchandra combined the sacrifice with his own Rajasuya ceremony. The Four priests , viz., Ayasya (the udgatr), Jamadagni (the adhvaryu), Vashistha (the brahman), and Vishvamitra (the hotar) could not find a person willing to bind Śunahśepa to the sacrificial post.
ājīgarti then offered to bind his son for another hundred cows. Rohita accepted the offer, and ājīgarti bound Śunahśepa to the post. Then, the priests asked to slaughter him. ājīgarti then offered to sacrifice his own son in exchange for another hundred cows. The prince agreed to his demand.
As ājīgarti readied to kill his own son, Śunahśepa prayed to the Rig vedic deities through hymns of Rig Veda 1.24 to 1.30. With his last hymn, which invoked Ushas (the deity of the dawn), his bonds were loosened and King Harishchandra was also cured of his illness.
Vishvamitra, one of the priests, offered to adopt Śunahśepa as his eldest son. Śunahśepa agreed, reviling his natural father, ājīgarti, as a shudra. Vishvamitra gave him the name Devarāta ("deity-given").
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If Śunaḥśepa is the name of another sage, then he might have existed before kumāra ātreya, who composed this Rik mentioned above. That Śunaḥśepa might have struggled a lot, to get rid of his weaknesses and to progress SPIRITUALLY.
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Here is a catch.
Śunaḥśepa means dog's tail/penis.
If Śunaḥśepa is used in the sense of dog's tail/penis, then you should think about the symbolic meaning of it.
Everyone might have observed that "in general, the dog's tail is crooked".
Symbolically, a tendency of a person, who is unable to get rid of the bad habits can be compared to a "crooked dog's tail".
This Rig Vedic Rik has to be understood in terms of SPIRITUALITY only, as Rig Veda is all about SPIRITUALITY.
kumāra ātreya, who composed this Rik, might thought of equating a person whose efforts to overcome one’s weaknesses in progressing spiritually were not enough, and if the man remained dejected and, in the status quo, to the dog’s tail, which is crooked.
However, if the same person could some how is able to overcome his weaknesses and progressed SPIRITUALLY, then it can be termed as shaking of ONE’s BONDS.
kumāra ātreya might have been mentioning the same, ie., loosening of 1,000 bonds by AGNI, when ONE’s efforts to overcome his weaknesses paid off.
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