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Sage
Vishwamitra
Sage Rucheeka (son of sage Chyavana) married
Satyavathi, daughter of Gadhi, son of Kusika and went to his ashram. When
Satyavathi wanted children, sage Rucheeka told her that he would create a
divine rice pudding, which would give her a child. Satyavathi requested her
husband to help her mother too (Gadhi did not have a son and the life and
marriage is considered incomplete without a male child). So, Rucheeka meditated
on Para Brahma (The Ultimate Principle) and created two vessels with divine
rice preparation. He showed her the two vessels and told her that one of them
is brahmyam (full of the brahminic energies, Satva guna) and the second
Kshatram (full of the fighting warrior clan’s energies, Rajo guna). He told her
that after bath, she and her mother should hug a fig tree and an Aswattha tree
respectively and then they should consume the respective rice puddings.
However, due to destiny, the two vessels got interchanged and Satyavathi ate
the pudding bearing Kshatriya energies and her mother the Brahminic one. There
is another variant to the story that the mother of Satyavathi interchanged the
vessels deliberately because she felt that Sage Rucheeka would give the
‘better’ child to his own wife. Thus jealousy played the part of destiny!
Rucheeka saw with his divine vision about the mix up and told his wife that she
was bearing a cruel Kshatriya foetus in her womb and not a Brahminic one.
Satyavathi was saddened and prayed to her husband to prevent the calamity through
his yogic powers. He agreed and with his yogic powers transferred the change to
his grandson (to the next generation). Satyavathi’s mother carried the
Brahminic foetus and Viswamitra, also known as Gadheya and Kausika was born.
Thus, though born to a Kshatriya King, the soul inhabiting that body was that
of a satvik brahmarshi. Let us see how the transformation took place in the
physical plane too. This story has some important lessons to all Sadhakas on
the spiritual path. Sai Ram.
Viswamitra’s fight with Vasishtha
Born and brought up in a royal family, he learnt
all the skills of a warrior from a Brahmin called Kusasana and earned a good
name as a king after he succeeded his father Gadhi. He had four sons, who were
well versed in dharma. Their names were: Havichhandra, Dridhanethra, Maharadha
and Madhuchhanda. This Madhuchhanda became a rishi (his name is found in
Rigveda). Another version of the story has it that he had a hundred sons just
as sage Vasishtha.
In the course of his numerous forays into forest
for hunting, Viswamitra reached the ashram of sage Vasishtha and was received
well by the sage and was given good food, thanks to Nandini, the Kama Dhenu
(wish fulfilling cow – the one in Indra’s heaven is the most well known of the
divine cows and all such cows were called Kama Dhenus but each had a separate
name). Viswamitra saw this and wanted to take away the cow. Vasishtha declined
saying that his ashram was under the protection of Nandini and he treated her
like a family member and he had no right to part with her. Viswamitra offered a
lakh cows and a lot of money in return but to no avail. He tried to take it
away by force but Nandini created an army from its face and the army destroyed
the army of Viswamitra. Viswamitra had a hundred sons and they came again with
a big army to try and take away Nandini and they too got killed in the battle.
Viswamitra felt humiliated and went to the forest and did great tapas to Lord
Siva. Lord Siva was pleased with his tapas and gave him a number of divine astras
and also gave him the knowledge befitting a rajarshi (because he was still not
free of rajo guna). Viswamitra came back to Vasishtha and used these divine
astras to try and defeat Vasishtha. Vasishtha did not retaliate with any weapon
but simply put his Brahma Danda in front and Viswamitra was astonished to see
that all the divine astras and sastras were simply absorbed into that. Brahma
Danda is representing the Nirguna Para Brahma and all Saguna things that arise
have to perish (get absorbed) into the Nirguna. The three gunas, Satva, Rajo
and Tamo guna are part of the Nirguna just as the colors of light are part of
the whole and the whole is white. Thus Nirguna is absence of gunas as well as
the presence (sum) of all gunas. It is possible to approach the source through
any of the parts, just as one gets a taste of sugar from any sweet preparation.
Thus Viswamitra became a Brahmarshi through the fight with a Brahmarshi. The
path taken by each river is different but the destination of all rivers is the
same and that is the sea. We will trace the course of this particular river as
it reaches the sea, and the scenery is quite interesting as can be seen below.
Sai Ram.
Sending Trishanku to Swarga
Trishanku was a king of the Ikshvaku dynasty (Rama
also belongs to the same dynasty) and wanted to perform a yaga which would
enable him to go to heaven in his physical body (which is not done – the
sukshma sareera, the causal body goes to heaven or hell depending on the
satkarma or dushkarma). He asked his Kula Guru Sage Vasishtha to help him but
Vasishtha, knowing the dharma refused. Then Trishanku approached Sage
Viswamitra and he agreed partly because of his running rivalry with sage
Vasishtha. His ego was still rajasic at that stage and he wanted to show his
superiority. Vasishtha was capable of performing such a yaga but declined
because he did not want to disturb the balance of nature (dharma is all about
the balance of nature in perfect harmony).
Viswamitra agreed to preside over the yaga and
ordered Indra and other gods to receive the havis, but they didn’t appear
because if they accepted it, they were bound to give the yaga phala. He then
offered the havis to the fire god and asked Trishanku to follow the same to
heaven, which he did. The gods consulted Brihaspati, their Guru and threw
Trishanku down from heaven. As he was falling from there, Viswamitra stopped
him in mid air and created a heaven, with stars, Indra and other dikpalakas
etc., in fact an exact replica. Brahmaji appeared to sage Viswamitra and praised
him and asked him not to proceed further and create a whole universe. Such was
the power obtained by sage Viswamitra because of his great tapas. The heaven
created by sage Viswamitra for Trishanku is called Trishanku Swarga. King
Trishanku, thus became ever famous. The creator of that heaven, sage Viswamitra
of course attained a great fame and let us relish his other great deeds too.
His saving of a Brahmin boy from being offered in
sacrifice (The story of Sunassepha) When King Ambareesha was performing a great
yagna, the gods* felt threatened (it is interesting to see that the gods too
are subject to many failings of human nature such as fear and jealousy – these
stories are in a way similar to Greek literature) that the King would surpass
them in glory once the yagna is completed and he may usurp the heaven. It may
be mentioned that Indra is a post and is obtained by performing a specific
number of yagnas, yagas etc. Whenever another person performed greater
sacrifices, his punya became more and he would displace the existing Indra.
Indra stands for the enjoyer of the sensual pleasures and the person occupying
that position gets attached to the pleasures. So, Indra always tries to break
up the tapas and yagna etc. when he feels threatened by the performer of such
tapas and yagna etc. From another angle, it may be understood that these
obstructions are created to test the sadhaka’s will power and the obstructions
actually help to strengthen the sadhaka to rise higher in the spiritual planes
beyond the sensual pleasures.
In this case too, Indra abducted the yagna pasu
(the animal reserved to be sacrificed for the yagna). The king consulted the
Purohits and it was decided that a human being would be sacrificed instead of
an animal (strange are the ways of destiny) and a search started for a suitable
Brahmin boy for the sacrifice. Since the animal proposed for the sacrifice had
to be perfect in body, they had to make an extensive search and another
important condition was that the family had to give up the boy willingly, not
under duress from the king. Unlike an animal, a human being has will power and
the ability to express his mind and so express agreement was needed. They
located a family that had 3 sons. The mother was fond of the youngest and the
father Rucheeka (not sage Rucheeka) was fond of the eldest and so they decided
to part with the middle boy for an equivalent of one lakh cows. As the boy was
being brought to be tied to the post just as an animal would be, he was
anguished at being disowned by his parents and as luck would have it, he met
sage Viswamitra, who assured the boy that he would protect him.
The sage thought that since he had so many sons
(the version of the story has it that he had a hundred sons), he could persuade
one of them to go in place of the Brahmin boy. However, each animal tries to
protect itself and values its own life over the words of others. There are a
few exceptions in Puranas (Sibi, Bhaktha Siriyala and Dattatreya etc.) but this
is the rule. So, all of them refused their father’s wish that one of them
should go in place of that Brahmin boy. So, Viswamitra gave two mantras to the
boy and asked him to chant the same before the moment of sacrifice and the boy
followed the instructions carefully. Along with the mantras of course he gave a
lot of his power gained through tapas. The gods pleased with the mantras and
the offering of the tapo phala released the boy from being sacrificed. This
story of King Ambareesha is found in Rig Veda (source – Margadarsakulu
Maharshulu by Brahma Sri Sivanandamurthy garu).
A similar story repeated itself later. King
Harischandra of Kosala worshipped Varuna and asked for a son. To a query from
Varuna about why he was asking for a son, the king replied that as per the
shastras, the very sight of the face of a son ensures sadgathi (good way for
further progress when the soul leaves the body). Aputrasya gatirnasti is the
shastra. Then Varuna made a strange request that the boy has to be offered to
him as yagna pasu immediately after birth. The king agreed. Then after the
child was born, Varuna came to collect the child and the king put it off for a
few years under one pretext or other. We are reminded of the story of the
Vaisya in Sri Satyanarayana Vrata Katha. In this case, Varuna cursed
Harischandra to suffer from Ascites (accumulation of fluid in the abdomen), a
difficult to cure disease. The king realized his mistake and started the yagna
to offer the son in sacrifice. The prince, Lohitha (Rohitha) was about 14 years
old at that time and came to know that he was to become a sacrificial animal to
Varuna and he ran away to the forest. Then he felt ashamed at his fear of life
(after all he was a kshatriya prince and he was a prince of the Ishvaku dynasty
known for their adherence to truth). On the way back, he met the family of a
poor Brahmin named Ajeegartha and requested him to offer one of his three sons
and accept cows in exchange. Though the Brahmin was not greedy for the money,
he agreed to protect the Ishvaku dynasty and offered his second son Sunassepha,
who also agreed to become the sacrificial animal.
When the boy was brought, the Brahmins conducting
the yagna refused to offer a human being and the father of that boy Ajeegartha
himself tied the boy to the post and raised the sword. At that moment, Sunassepha
felt sad at his fate and he found his savior in sage Viswamitra. Viswamitra
froze the hand of Ajeegartha and gave a mantropadesa to Sunassepha, by the
power of which, Varuna was pleased and released Sunassepha. “Imam me Varuna
Srudhi…” mantra is the gift of sage Viswamitra. Thus the story had a happy
ending but then a dilemma arose. Who will protect the boy? His family already
disowned him and he was in no mood to go back to the parents. The king had
offered him as sacrifice to Varuna, the lord of the neither world and it was
difficult for him to take care of Sunassepha, who got a new name Devaraatha
(because he was protected by Varuna Deva). The pandita sabha discussed the
matter and decided that since Viswamitra saved the boy, the boy has now become
his property and so Viswamitra should now take care of him as a father would
take care of a son. Thus the principle of rights and responsibilities going
together was already well established by then!
As already mentioned, Viswamitra had a hundred
sons already and so probably felt one more would not be a problem. He declared
the end of human sacrifice in yagnas and mentioned that the boy Sunssepha, now
named Devaraatha was blessed by him and would gain more glory in the years to
come. He asked his sons to accept the Brahmin boy as their elder brother. Fifty
of his sons agreed and the other fifty refused. They were cursed by the sage to
go to south India and live with the tribals, forgetting all their knowledge.
They repented and requested forgiveness. Viswamitra gave them back their
knowledge but insisted that they had to migrate to South India and mix with the
tribals. Thus the curse became a boon to all of us here in South!
Sunassepha (Devaraatha) became a great sage
himself and became the drashta (seer) of many Vedic Mantras. The Gothra Pravara
of Viswamitra – Devaraatha has come into existence probably at that time and is
live even today.
We use the word gods to denote Indra and the other
celestial gods of heaven and reserve the word God to denote one or all the
Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara, Who are three aspects of the Nirguna
Para Brahma (that word Para is used to denote the difference between the Saguna
and Nirguna Aspects of the Ultimate Creative Principle, the Brahma Tatva).
His testing of Harischandra
Sage Viswamitra made Harischandra immortal by
testing his adherence to truth. Thus Harischandra came to be known as Satya
Harischandra. The sage knew that the king was wedded to truth, he wanted that
to be publicized in all the worlds and thus subjected the king and his family
to many hardships, but the kind did not budge from the path of truth. Thus even
at the risk of being seen as a villain, Viswamitra made Harischandra immortal.
Birth of Sakunthala
During one of the many episodes of his tapas, the
gods sent Menaka, one of the celebrated celestial apsaras to test and if
possible disturb his tapas. This is a normal practice adopted by the gods and
only if the sage (tapasvi) resists the temptations and thus passes the tests,
further progress takes place and the Ishta Devata will manifest before the
tapasvi and offers the boons as per the merit of the tapas. Sage Viswamitra got
disturbed (or got attracted to her) and as a result of their union, a girl
child was born. Another version of the story is that He was favorably disposed
to her because of her sincere service and blessed her with a child. Since
neither of them was willing to take care of the child, some birds (Sakunthas)
took care of her and later Sage Kanva took her and brought her up as his
daughter. Because she was taken care by Sakuntha birds, the girl was named as
Sakunthala and she married King Dushyantha and gave birth to Bharatha, after
whom this country is named. Due to a curse from sage Durvasa, King Dushyantha
failed to recognize Sakunthala when she went to his court with Bharatha, and
Akashavani came to her rescue (the king failed to recognize her because of the
curse by the sage which also made her to lose the signet ring given to her by
the king at the time of their Gandharva Marriage at sage Kanva’s ashram).
During the course of her pleading with the king, Sakuntala touched upon the
power of truth (which we briefly mentioned upon in one of the earlier stories).
His cursing of Rambha
After the birth of Sakunthala, sage Viswamitra went
back to continue his tapas. Indra sent Rambha and many other Apsaras to disturb
Viswamitra’s tapas. Viswamitra did not yield that time to the sensory
attractions and cursed Rambha to become a stone. She pleaded with the sage that
she was simply following the orders of her boss Indra and was performing her
duty. She pleaded with him to lift the curse but Viswamitra gave that honor to
his arch rival sage Vasishtha!
His becoming Brahmarshi
After repeatedly giving up his powers obtained
through great tapas, Viswamitra realized the futility of his ego and went to
tapas again with the intention of overcoming the rajasic qualities of his ego.
He performed a long and arduous tapas. Indra came disguised as a Brahmin and
tried to provoke Viswamitra through some improper behavior (he was trying to
see whether the sage had some anger left in him if not desire). Viswamitra
remained calm.
Lord Brahma was pleased with the tapas and
manifested Himself before Viswamitra and accepted him as Brahmarshi and gave
long life, The Brahminic luster (Satvik qualities) and the ability to bless the
whole world. The place where Viswamitra got the siddhi is called Brahmapushkar,
Brahmakund and Uttarkund. There is a temple to Lord Brahma (the only one in the
country) and there are two important places there, Harischandra and Ambareesh.
However, Viswamitra was not satisfied and wanted
to be accepted as a Brahmarshi by his arch rival sage Vasishtha. When he went
to the ashram of sage Vasishtha, he welcomed him by addressing as a Maharshi.
Viswamitra was not satisfied and went back for doing more tapas. When he went
again, Vasishtha addressed him as a dhoortha (scoundrel). Instead of getting
angry and annoyed like the earlier times, Viswamitra smiled and kept quiet and
turned to leave. Then Vasishtha called him back as Brahmarshi. He praised
Viswamitra for conquering the tiniest traces of the six internal enemies (Kama,
Krodha etc.) and thus achieving an almost impossible task. Sage Vasishtha
indicated that he was born as a Brahmarshi where as Viswamitra achieved that
stage by burning off the ego. Another version of the story has it that
Vasishtha advised Viswamitra to burn off the physical body (which was born in a
kshatriya family and thus was carrying the rajo guna) and create a new body with
his tapasshakti. In any case, this story is inspiring to all of us who are
struggling with our rajo and tamo gunas. Sai Ram.
Viswamitra blesses Rama with Dhanurvidya
When his yagnas and yaagas were being disturbed by
demons Maricha and Subahu (sons of Thataka, a demoness), Viswamitra decided to
approach King Dasaratha and was received with honor by the king. When Dasaratha
requested the sage to reveal the purpose of his visit, sage Viswamitra
mentioned about the yagna being disturbed by the demons and asked the king to
send Rama and Lakshmana along with him so that the yagna can be completed
without interruption from the demons (it is the duty of king and his
representatives to help the sages do their duties without interference from any
one). King Dasaratha was fully deluded by Maya and could not think of parting
with his dear sons for such a dangerous mission (he could not realize that the
sage was fully capable of protecting the princes and was making this request
because he did not want to spend the tapas shakti to directly punish the
demons). The king also did not realize the true nature of Rama, who was an
incarnation of Vishnu! However, sage Vasishtha intervened and assured the king
that the princes were perfectly safe with sage Viswamitra and that the mission
would be beneficial to the two, words that were prophetic indeed (all the sages
were fully aware of the past, present and the future)! So, the king agreed and
sent the two princes Rama and Lakshmana with Viswamitra. The princes follow the
sage on foot with a lot of reverence and the sage was pleased with the two
princes and gave them two powerful mantras Bala and Atibala by which they were
forever freed from thirst, hunger and tiredness etc. He also gave them many
Astras and Sastras. He addressed Rama thus: “Rama, these are very powerful
Astras and you would need only a fraction of the energies invoked by them to
take care of the demons.” To a query from Rama as to why He did not finish off
the demons directly, the sage replied that as a rishi, he should not waste his
energies in such activities and he was empowering the prince in his future life
mission! Rama killed Thataka at the behest of sage Viswamitra (Rama was known
for obeying the commands of his father and other fatherly figures and Gurus,
since He knew that the dharma is very intricate and the nuances are better
known by these elders and in any case, the ultimate dharma is to obey the Guru
– Father, Mother and Guru are the Three Gurus, representing the Ultimate Guru).
Subahu was killed and Maricha was thrown many miles away and ran for his life
(later he met his end at the hands of Sri Rama when he was forced to help
Ravana in his plan to abduct Sri Sita).
After the completion of the Yaga, Viswamitra
decided to go to Mithila and took the two princes with him. On the way, he saw
the deserted ashram of sage Gautama and Ahalya in a Samadhi (some people say
she was cursed to become a stone) and asked Rama to touch the stone with His
foot (Rama is the incarnation of Sri Vishnu and the sage knew that). Ahalya was
restored to life and sage Gautama also came there and both bowed to Rama and
sage Viswamitra and took leave.
In Mithila, they were received by King Janaka with
full honors and Rama was asked by Viswamitra to string the bow of Lord Siva. In
that process, the bow broke and King Janaka gave Sita in marriage to Sri Rama.
The other brothers of Rama also were married to Sita’s sisters. Thus Viswamitra
was instrumental in blessing Sri Rama in many ways. Viswamitra and the Gayatri
Mantra
We will be indebted to sage Viswamitra for the
gift of Gayatri Mantra. Gayatri Chandah, Viswamitra rushih….goes the mantra.
We will be coming across sage Viswamitra many more
times when we take up the stories of other sages. Let us bow in gratitude to
this genuine friend of the universe! Sai Ram.
-- An incredibly holy and powerful asetic who
enlists Rama's aid to kill a demon who is defiling his sacrifices. Hethen takes
Rama and Lakshmana on various demon-killing adventures, training them and
giving them celestial weapons. Finally, he escorts Rama to King Janak's court,
where Rama lifts the magic bow and thus win's Sita 's hand in marriage.
Wiswamitra is one of the most venerated rishis or
sages of ancient times in India. He is also credited as the author of most of Mandala
3 of the Rigveda, including the Gayatri Mantra. The Puranas mention that only
24 rishis since antiquity have understood the whole meaning of, and thus
wielded the whole power of, the Gayatri Mantra. Vishvamitra is supposed to be
the first and Yajnavalkya the last. Contents [hide] 1 Kaushika 2 Conflict with
Vasistha 2.1 Alternative Version 3 Tapasya 3.1 Alternative version 4 Rise to
Brahmarishi 5 Vishvamitra's Characteristics 6 Gayatri Mantra 7 Legends 7.1
Trisanku 7.2 Ambarisha's Sacrifice 7.3 In the Ramayana 8 Vishvamitra In
Buddhism 9 Gotras 9.1 Vishvamitra Gotra 9.2 Kaushika Gotra 9.3 Geographical
Distribution 9.4 Surname 10 See also 11 References [edit]Kaushika
Birth of Shakuntala - Vishvamitra rejects the
child, Painting by Raja Ravi Varma. The story of Vishvamitra is narrated in the
Balakanda of Valmiki Ramayana.[1] The Mahabharata adds that Vishvamitra's
relationship with Menaka resulted in a daughter, Shakuntala whose story is
narrated in the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata. Vishvamitra was a king in ancient
India, also called Kaushika "descendant of Kusha". He was a valiant
warrior and the great-grandson of a great king named Kusha. The Valmiki
Ramayana, prose 51 of Bala Kanda, starts with the story of Vishvamitra: There
was a king named Kusha (not to be confused with Kusha, son of Rama), a
brainchild of Brahma, and Kusha's son was the powerful and verily righteous
Kushanabha. One who is highly renowned by the name Gaadhi was the son of
Kushanabha, and Gaadhi's son is this great-saint of great resplendence,
Vishvamitra. Vishvamitra ruled the earth, and this great-resplendent king ruled
the kingdom for many thousands of years.[citation needed] His story also
appears in various Puranas, however they show variations from the Ramayana. The
Vishnu Purana and Harivamsha chapter 27 (dynasty of Amaavasu) of Mahabharatha
narrates the birth of Vishvamitra. According to Vishnu Purana,[2] kushika
married a damsel belonging to Purukutsa dynasty (later called as Shatamarshana
lineage - descendents of the Ikshvaku king Trasadasyu) and had a son by name
Gaadhi who had a daughter named Satyavati (not to be confused with the
Satyavati of Mahabharata). Satyavati was married to an old Brahmin known as
Ruchika who was foremost among the race of Bhrigu. Ruchika desired a son having
the qualities of a Brahmin, and so he gave Satyavati a sacrificial offering
(charu) which he had prepared to achieve this objective. He also gave
Satyavati's mother another charu to make her conceive a son with the character
of a Kshatriya at her request. But Satyavati's mother privately asked Satyavati
to exchange her charu with her. This resulted in Satyavati's mother giving
birth to Vishvamitra, the son of a Kshatriya Gadhi with the qualities of a
Brahmin; and Satyavati gave birth to Jamadagni, the father of Parashurama, a
Brahmin with qualities of a Kshatriya. [edit]Conflict with Vasistha
On one of his exploits, he and his soldiers took
rest in the ashram of Rishi Vasistha. There, his whole army was well fed and
taken care of. This caused a doubt in the king's mind as to how it was possible
for this simple ashram to take care of all the arrangements to feed an entire
army. He expressed his surprise to the sage. Vasistha replied, "O king,
this feast that you have partaken with your kinsmen, has been provided by my
calf Nandini (sometimes referred as Sabala), who was gifted to me by Indra. You
must know that she is the daughter of Indra's cow Kamadhenu. She provides me
with everything I need." Kaushika was filled with wonder when he heard this.
He began to think that possessing this cow would mean a lot to him; after all,
the sage did not have to provide food and sustenance for a large army everyday.
He expressed a desire to the sage for obtaining Nandini from him. Vasistha was
polite, but steadfast in his refusal. He would not be tempted by the offer of
untold wealth that was made by Kaushika, for after all who can set a price on a
cow, which can readily yield all the riches in the world. The king grew
exceedingly angry. He insulted the Brahmarishi with harsh words, and ordered
his soldiers to seize the cow, and drive it to his kingdom. Nandini was the
daughter of Kamdhenu and hence she forcefully protested against the soldiers.
Using her powers, she saved the life of Vashishtha. [edit]Alternative Version
Vasistha destroys Kaushika's entire army by the simple use of his great mystic
and spiritual powers, breathing the Aum syllable. Vasistha also thus kills one
hundred of Kaushika's sons, while restoring his hermitage's beauty and life.
Kaushika then undertakes a tapasya for several years to please Shiva, who
bestows upon him the knowledge of celestial weaponry. He proudly goes to
Vasistha's ashram again, and uses all kinds of powerful weapons to destroy
Vasistha and his hermitage. He succeeds in the latter but not in the former. An
enraged Vasistha brings out his brahmadanda, a wooden stick imbued with the
power of Brahma. It consumes Kaushika's most powerful weapons, including the
brahmastra. Vasistha then attempts to attack Kaushika, but his anger is allayed
by the Devas. Kaushika is left humiliated while Vasistha restores his
hermitage. [edit]Tapasya
Vishvamitra and Menaka, painting by Raja Ravi
Varma. This incident made a deep impression on the King. He realized that the
power obtained by penances was far greater than mere physical might. He
renounced his kingdom and began his quest to become a greater rishi than
Vasistha. He took on the name Vishvamitra. It is very interesting to see all
the challenges that Viswamitra faced in his life to become a Brahmarishi,
before eventually giving up the greed to possess the cow. After many trials and
undergoing many austerities, Vishvamitra at last obtained the title of
Brahmarishi from Vasistha himself. During this time he had a daughter named
Shakuntala (who appears in the Mahabharata) with Menaka, an apsara in the court
of Indra. Son of Shakuntala became a great emperor. He came to be known as
Emperor Bharata, in whose name the land of India got its name Bharatha.
[edit]Alternative version Kaushika seeks to attain the same spiritual power as
Vasistha, to become his equal, a brahmarishi. He undertakes a fierce penance
for one thousand years, after which Brahma names him a Rajarishi, or royal
sage. After another long penance of thousand years, Brahma names him a rishi,
thus leaving his royal lineage permanently. And Brahma suggest him to take
Bramharshi grade from his guru Vashishta only, as he only has the power to call
you as Brahmarshi. At this point, Indra, the king of Swarga attempts to test
the tapasvin by sending Menaka, an apsara to seduce him. Kaushik then lives
with Menaka for 10 years. They have a baby girl Shakuntala. Kaushik becomes
angry as Menaka had destroyed his years of meditation and thus he cursed her
that she won't possess her beauty, of which she was proud, in next birth.
Kaushika now goes to the banks of the river Kaushiki, which is the spirit of
his own sister. After many thousands of years of penance, Brahma names him
maharishi, but also tells him that he hasn't become a jitendriya yet, lacking
control over his passions. This is brought to light to Kaushika when he angrily
curses Rambha, an apsara sent by Indra to seduce Kaushika again, to become a
stone for a thousand years.
Visvamitra is addressed as maharsis by Brahma and
other gods alarmed by his austerities [edit]Rise to Brahmarishi
After cursing Rambha, Kaushika goes to the highest
mountain of the Himalayas to perform an even more severe tapasya for over a
thousand years. He ceases to eat, and reduces his breathing to a bare minimum.
He is tested again by Indra, who comes as a poor Brahmin begging for food just
as Kaushika is ready to break a fast of many years by eating some rice.
Kaushika instantly gives his food away to Indra and resumes his meditation.
Kaushika also finally masters his passions, refusing to be provoked by any of
Indra's testing and seductive interferences. At the penultimate culmination of
a multi-thousand year journey, Kaushika's yogic power is at a peak. At this
point, Brahma, at the head of the Devas led by Indra, names Kaushika a
brahmarishi, and names him Vishvamitra, or Friend of All for his unlimited
compassion. He is also embraced by Vasistha, and their enmity is instantly
ended. [edit]Vishvamitra's Characteristics
As a former king, and one over as vast a realm as
he had been, Vishvamitra was known to retain a regal and often haughty bearing.
He was known for his high temper and often cursed people in his anger, thereby
depleting his yogic powers obtained by much penance. People feared his temper
and prayed that their actions might not get misconstrued by the touchy sage.
However, as a former king, Vishvamitra also possessed great compassion for all
beings. Having taken pity on Trishanku, he willingly exhausted all the punya he
gained from his tapas, to enable him to ascend to the heavens. Following his
attainment of the status of brahmarishi, he was known to use the power of his
tapas to help anyone who was in need, whatever the cost to himself. Kaushika's
love of Menaka is considered to have been intense and passionate. [edit]Gayatri
Mantra
Sage Vishvamitra was the one who found revered
great Mantra - The Gayatri Mantra. It is a mantra found in the Rig, Yajur, and
Sama Vedas. Gayathri is actually a "Chandas" or meter. [edit]Legends
Vishvamitra is famous in many legendary stories
and in different works of Sanatana dharma. [edit]Trisanku
Indra prevents Trisanku from ascending to Heaven
in physical form-from The Freer Ramayana Another story Vishvamitra is known for
is his creation of his own version of Svarga or heaven, called Trisanku Svarga.
When a proud King Trisanku asked his guru, Vasistha, to send him to heaven in
his own body, the guru responded that the body cannot ascend to heaven. King
Trisanku then asked Vasistha's hundred sons to send him to heaven. The sons,
outraged that Trisanku should not come to them when their father had refused,
cursed him to be a Chandala, or untouchable. Trisanku was transformed into a
person with body smeared of ash, clothed in black and wearing Iron jewellery.
Since none of his subjects could recognize him, he was driven out of the
kingdom. He came across the sage Vishvamitra, who agreed to help him.
Visvamitra organized a great sacrifice and ritual propitiating the Devas,
pleading that they accept Trisanku in heaven. Not one Deva responded. Angered,
Viswamitra used his yogic powers and ordered Trisanku to rise to heaven.
Miraculously, Trisanku rose into the sky until he reached heaven, where he was
pushed back down by Indra. Enraged even more by this, the powerful Visvamitra
then commenced the creation of another Universe (including another Brahma) for
Trisanku. He had only completed the Universe when Brihaspati ordered him to
stop. Trisanku, however, did not enjoy Trisanku Svarga, he remained fixed in
the sky and was transformed into a constellation. In the process of forming a
new universe, Vishvamitra used up all the tapas he had gained from his
austerities. Therefore after the Trisanku episode, Vishvamitra had to start his
prayers again to attain the status of a Brahma Rishi, to equal Vashistha.
[edit]Ambarisha's Sacrifice
Ambarisa offers the youth Sunahsepha in sacrifice
While undertaking a penance, Kaushika helps a boy named Shunashepa who has been
sold by his parents to be sacrificed at Ambarisha's yagna to please Varuna, the
God of the Oceans. The king's son Rohit does not want to be the one sacrificed,
as was originally promised to Varuna, so young Sunashepa is being taken. A
devastated and terrified Sunashepa falls at the feet of Kaushika, who is deep
in meditation, and begs for his help.[3] Kaushika teaches secret mantras to
Sunashepa. The boy sings these mantras at the ceremony, and is blessed by Indra
and Varuna, and Harishchandra's ceremony is also completed. [edit]In the
Ramayana
Vishvamitra looks as Rama breaks the bow, winning
the hand of Sita in marriage. Painting by Raja Ravi Varma. In the Indian epic
Ramayana, Vishvamitra is the preceptor of Rama, prince of Ayodhya and the
seventh Avatar of Vishnu, and his brother Lakshmana. Vishvamitra gives them the
knowledge of the Devastras or celestial weaponry [bala and adi bala], trains
them in advanced religion and guides them to kill powerful demons like Tataka,
Maricha and Subahu. He also leads them to the svayamvara ceremony for princess
Sita, who becomes the wife of Rama.
Guruji. A. Sivaguru Swamy
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