Sarama- Hindu GodDeity · Beast"Mother of Dogs"
Also known as: Saramā and सरमा
Description
Indra's hound, who tracked the stolen cattle of the gods to the demons' cave at the edge of the world and refused every bribe the Panis offered to keep her silent. Mother of the Sarameyas, the two four-eyed dogs who guard the road to Yama's realm.
Mythology & Lore
The Stolen Cattle
The Panis, hoarding demons, stole the divine cattle and hid them in a cave beyond the Rasa river at the edge of the world. Indra could not find them. He sent his hound Sarama to track the herds.
She followed the trail across vast distances, crossed the Rasa, and found the Panis' stronghold. The Rigveda (10.108) preserves the confrontation as a dialogue. The Panis tried to buy her silence, offering her a share of the cattle. They flattered her. They threatened her. Sarama refused every offer. She told them Indra's strength was irresistible and that Brihaspati and the Angiras sages were coming to shatter their cave.
She returned to Indra with the location. He led the gods and the Angiras priests to the Vala cave and broke it open. The cattle streamed forth like rivers of light.
The Four-Eyed Dogs
Sarama's offspring are the Sarameyas, two four-eyed dogs who serve Yama, the god of death. The Rigveda's funeral hymn (10.14) addresses them directly: "The two broad-nosed, four-eyed dogs, Yama's messengers, who watch among men: entrust the departed to them." The four eyes let them see both the living and the dead.
Janamejaya's Curse
In the Mahabharata's Adi Parva, Janamejaya's brothers found a dog near the sacrificial ground during preparations for the king's consecration. They beat it and drove it away. The puppy was a son of Sarama. She appeared before Janamejaya and cursed him: unseen danger would befall him because his brothers had struck her innocent child. The Mahabharata opens under the weight of that curse.