248
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 9, Ch. 16]
sons, who were celebrated as the Madhucchandās. In the sacrificial arena of Hariścandra, the son of Ajīgarta named Śunaḥśepha was meant to be sacrificed, but by the mercy of the Prajāpatis he was released. Thereafter, he became Devarāta in the dynasty of Gādhi. The fifty elder sons of Viśvāmitra, however, did not accept Śunaḥśepha as their elder brother, and therefore Viśvāmitra cursed them to become  mlecchas , unfaithful to the Vedic civilization. Viśvāmitra's fifty-first son, along with his younger brothers, then accepted Śunaḥśepha as their eldest brother, and their father, Viśvāmitra, being satisfied, blessed them. Thus Devarāta was accepted in the dynasty of Kauśika, and consequently there are different divisions of that dynasty.
TEXT 1
श्रीशुक उवाच
पित्रोपशिक्षितो रामस्तथेति कुरुनन्दन । संवत्सरं तीर्थयात्रां चरित्वाश्रममात्रजत् ॥ १ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca pitropaśikṣito rāmas tatheti kuru-nandana saṁvatsaram tīrtha-yātrām caritvāśramam āvrajat
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said;  pitrā —by his father;  upaśikṣitaḥ —thus advised;  rāmaḥ —Lord Paraśurāma;  tathā iti —let it be so;  kuru-nandana —O son of the Kuru dynasty, Mahārāja Parikṣit;  saṁvatsaram —for one complete year;  tīrtha-yātrām —traveling to all the holy places;  caritvā —after executing;  āśramam —to his own residence;  āvrajat —returned.
TRANSLATION
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear Mahārāja Parikṣit, son of the Kuru dynasty, when Lord Paraśurāma was given this order by his father, he immediately agreed, saying, "Let it be so." For one complete year he traveled to holy places. Then he returned to his father's residence.