The Legend Of The Birth Of Vishvamitra
In the linage of King Pururava, there was a king called Kaushik. The king was very extraordinary and ascetic. Kaushik did harsh penance to get a Son like Indra. Pleased with his penance, Lord Indra incarnated as his Son. He was known as Gaadhi. He was regarded as the King of Kings.
King Gaadhi had a beautiful daughter. Her name was Satyavati. She was married with Sage Reechik. He was the Son of great Sage Brighu. The great Sage Reechik was always absorbed in austerity.
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| Devi Satyavati |
Once he performed a Yagya to get a Son. Two pious bowls of divine dish "Kheer" emerged from that sacrificial fire. Sage Reechik gave both of the bowls to his nice wife Satyavati and said, "take one bowl of Kheer for herself and feed other One to her mother". By saying this, Sage Reechik went for austerity.
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| Sage Reechik |
Satyawati changed both the bowls of the divine "kheer" at the behest of her mother. She ate the bowl which was given to her mother and offered her own bowl to her mother. When Sage Reechik came to know this, he became angry at Satyawati.
Sage Reechik spoke," I had filled the qualities of tolerance, endurance, and divinity in your divine "kheer" and included the values of entire splendour, force, valour and the virtues of Kshatriyas in your mother's bowl of "Kheer" by the power of my penance. But as a result of your mistake, you will become the mother of a very grumpy and hard-tempered Son, and your mother will bear a great Sage and warrior-like Son."
When Satyavati listened to Sage Reechik she became nervous and apologised for her mistake. She told, " I do not want to give birth to a very hard-tempered son." She urged Sage to do something with the power of his harsh penance such that her own Son should not be hard-tempered, even though his grandson may become one of that kind.
Sage said, "I do not make out any difference between the Son and the grandson, So you will become the mother of a great Sage but your grandson will be very grumpy by nature."
In time, Satyawati gave birth to a great Sage Jamdagini. Thereafter, Lord Parshuram appeared from great Sage Jamdagni. He is regarded as the incarnation of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu both.
On the other hand, a stunning Son was born in the house of king Gaadhi. His Son was known as Vishvarath. Prince Vishvarath made many marriages and became the father of many Sons. In time, King Gaadhi went to the Vanaprastha ashram by giving the throne to prince Vishvarath.
King Vishvarath and Sage Vasistha
Vishvarath was an autocratic king. He appointed all the youngsters of his state in his army to increase the boundaries of his kingdom. Once King Vishvarath was passing through a wild region with his entire army. He felt in a state of bliss, seeing its surroundings. His general told him that, there is an ashram of great Sage Vasistha nearby. With the effect of his penance, the atmosphere of this region is so divine.
Vishvarath went to the ashram with the aim to meet Brahmrishi Vasistha. Sage Vasistha met him with great respect. Sage Vasistha invited Vishvarath and his entire army for lunch. King Vishvarath hesitated and said, "How will you arrange food for such a big army?"
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| Sage Vasistha and King Vishvarath |
On the very insistence of Sage Vasistha, King Vishvarath accepted his gentle invitation. King Vishvarath and his army had a very tasty meal. They had never received such a lovely and tasty meal before. King Vishvarath asked to sage Vasistha, "How did you arrange food for such a large army in such a short time? "
Sage Vasistha spoke, ,"There is a divine Cow Nandini in our ashram. She is the daughter of kamdhenu Cow which had appeared from churning of the sea. The same Cow has produced tasty food for you and the entire army. Lord Indra himself has given me this Cow as a gift."
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| Nandini Cow |
King Vishvarath went to his palace by bowing down to Nandini and Sage Vasistha. Once there occurred a terrible famine in the kingdom of King. He commanded his general to bring Nandini Cow from the ashram. When the general arrived at the ashram, Sage Vasistha, refused to give him a Cow. Sage spoke, "If I give you Nandini, where will I get food for the 10, 000 pupils of my ashram."
The general came to Vishvarath and narrated the entire account. The king became very angry and took his army to the ashram of Vasistha.
In the ashram, King Vishvarath ordered Sage Vasistha to hand over Nandini to him. On the refusal of Sage, the king's soldier forcibly began to carry Nandini. Then, in anger, Nandini Cow manifested an army similar to the king's soldiers and demolished the entire army of the King.
Vishvarath got frightened by the destruction of his army. He spoke to Vasistha, "you have defeated me in the war with the power of your penance, so I will do the penance of Lord Shiva and achieve power from him. Then I will come to war with you again and take Nandini from the ashram."
Penance of Mahadev By King Vishvarath
Vishvarath went to the north direction in the Himalayan region to do penance by giving the throne to his son. He made the harsh penance of Mahadev. Mahadev appeared before him and asked for a boon.
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| Lord Shiva and Vishvarath |
Vishvarath said, "It is very important for a king to have the power to rule properly. Hence, I request you to give me the knowledge of all the divine weapons as the fruit of my harsh penance." Vishvarath again reached to the ashram by acquiring the knowledge of the divine weapons. He challenged Sage Vasistha for the war.
Vishvarath released several divine weapons on Sage Vasistha to blow him. But all those divine weapons were nullified by Brahmrishi Vasistha with the power of his Yogadanda.
King Vishvarath was surprised to see the act of Sage Vasistha and sat on the ground. He thought that the divine powers derived from austerity have been destroyed by the Brahmrishi. So the power of arms is meaningless. Now I will again do the penance and achieve the title of Brahmrishi.
The Appearance of Goddess Gayatri
Vishvarath moved towards the south direction and he started harsh austerity. Many years had passed since he started God's penance. Vishvarath did not have any contact with the real world and remained lost in meditation. He had settled in the highest stage of austerity called "samadhi" while doing intense austerity for many years. At the stage of deep"samadhi", he pronounced a mantra.
।। ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं।।
।। भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्॥
With the pronunciation of this mantra, Goddess Gayatri appeared there with her entire splendour. Rajrishi Vishvarath bowed down to her and praised her in many ways.
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| Goddess Gayatri |
Vishvarath spoke, "Goddess, I see the combined form of goddess Lakshmi, goddess Parvati and goddess Saraswati in you. All the great powers of this world are emerging in you. "O Goddess" please introduce yourself."
Goddess dialected, "I am Goddess Gayatri and my place of residence is in the middle of the Sun. O Vishvarath, you have given me a corporeal form by the power of your mantras. Vishvarath, you have become a friend of this whole world by revealing me. So from today, you will be known as Sage Vishvamitra." Goddess Gayatri gave several blessings to Vishvamitra and disappeared from there.
Vishvamitra and Trishanku
A king Satyavrat ruled in the city of Ayodhya. He was a very religious king. With the intense desire to attain heaven, he went for the penance in the Vanaprastha ashram by giving the throne to his Son Harishchandra. Satyavrat began to think that he had done many virtues in his life and his body had been a witness to it. So he should attain heaven with his body.
Satyavrat went to his guru Sage Vasistha and urged him to take measures by which he would go to heaven with his body. Vasistha uttered,"No one from the Earth folk can attain heaven with his body. Hence give up your persistence."
He also gave a variety of temptations to Sage Shakti. Sage Shakti got very angry with his proposal and cursed him to be a chandal. He said to Satyavrat, "You did three types of sins in front of me, So from today you would be known as Trishanku."
The cursed king wandered in the Earth as a chandal but he could not leave the fascination to go to heaven with his body. His officials advised him that only Sage Vishvamitra could save him.
The cursed king Trishanku approached Rajrishi Vishvamitra. He narrated all his anguish to him. King spoke," I have done only good deeds in my life so I think, I can go to heaven with my body. Vishvamitra consoled him and said,"Soon I will perform the sacrificial Yagya to send you to heaven along with your body.
Rajrishi Vishvamitra started the "Yagya" for Trishanku but the Deities did not accept any of their offerings. Sage Vishvamitra became very furious with the act of Gods and spoke to cursed Trishanku, I am going to send you in the heaven with your body by the strength of my mantras."
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| Lord Indra, Trishanku and Sage Vishvamitra |
Trishanku reached heaven with his body by the powerful mantras of Vishvamitra. Lord Indra knocked him down from heaven. "Save me, O Vishvamitra, save me". Trishanku said these words while falling from heaven. Vishvamitra stopped him in the space through the power of his divine mantras.
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| Lord Indra, Trishanku and Sage Vishvamitra |
Rajrishi Vishvamitra got very irritated with the work of Lord Indra. He decided to create a new paradise for Trishanku. Vishvamitra created a new heaven and sent Trishanku there through his powerful mantras.
Deities became extremely frightened after the creation of a new heaven. All the Gods felt their supremacy appear to be in danger. Lord Indra sent Sage Narad and their mentor Vrahspati to convince Vishvamitra. Guru Vrahaspati urged to Vishvamitra to stop the construction of a new heaven.
Vishvamitra spoke, "If you allow Trishanku to live in your heaven only then I will stop the work of new heaven." Dev Guru Vrahspati accepted his proposal and finally convinced him. Then he went to heaven.
Indra's Attempt To Dissolve The Penance Of Vishvamitra
The only purpose of Rajrishi Vishvamitra was to attain the title of Brahmrishi. So once again he was absorbed in deep austerity. Lord Indra started feeling scared of his harsh penance. Even though the purpose of his austerity was attainment of the title of Brahmrishi, but, Lord Indra thought that Sage Vishvamitra would demand the kingdom of heaven for Trishanku as a result of his penance.
Lord Indra therefore created a divine man with the power of all the Deities, and sent him to dissolve the penance of Sage Vishvamitra. But he could not dissolve the penance of Rajrishi Vishvamitra even after several attempts. Then Indra sent a nymph Rambha. She went to ashram to dissolve the penance of Vishvamitra.
Rambha was full of great confidence and pride. He was absorbed in the penance like a stone statue. Rambha released salacious bonds to him with the help of Cupid.
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| Rambha and Vishvamitra |
It did not affect Vishvamitra and he became furious at Rambha. He cursed her to become a stone. On seeking forgiveness of Rambha, he said that shortly, A Sage will free her from this curse.
Arrival Of Fairy Menka
Lord Indra felt astonished by the formation of Rambha as a stone. He asked Guru Vrahspati to solve the problem. Vrahspati proposed him the name of fairy Menka to dissolve the penance of Sage Vishvamitra. The lovely daughter of Sage Kashyap and Goddess Kapila, Nymph Menka, was a great virtue. Lord Indra ordered nymph Menka to dissolve the penance of Vishvamitra.
Menka reached to the place of Vishvamitra and bowed down to him. Rajrishi Vishvamitra was absorbed in intense austerity at the same time. Menka sought the blessings from her mind that she would succeed in the work she has come for.
Fairy Menka started living near the cottage of Sage Vishvamitra. Sometimes she arranged flowers for his worship and sometimes she prepared food for him. She made several attempts to dissolve his penance but the Sage paid no attention to it. A long time had been passed since Menka was living near Sage Vishvamitra but she was not successful in her aim yet.
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| Sage Vishvamitra and Menka |
Sage Visvahmitra used to take a bath in the lake every day in the morning. One day when he went to take a bath, he saw fairy Menka was bathing in the lake. Vishvamitra kept on looking at her beauty every moment. After bathing, Menka bowed down to him.
Maharishi Vishvamitra came to his hut. Now he was repeatedly thinking about Menka. Now his mind did not seem to be in austerity. When he sat down to do penance, Menka came there and began to propose him. Now the Sage was fully trapped in Menka's beauty trap. He left penance and told to Menka that he wanted to marry her.
Menka became happy to hear the words from Vishvamitra. They performed Ganderva marriage. Fairy Menka and Rajarshi were living happily. In time, Menka gave birth to a girl named Shakuntala. Vishvamitra was very happy with the birth of Shakuntala.
The Arrival of Lord Indra
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| Lord Indra |
After the dissolution of Sage Vishvamitra's penance, Lord Indra came to Menka and insisted her to move to heaven. He came there several times to take Menka. Nymph Menka told Vishvamitra about the entire story of her arrival.
Vishvamitra got very repentant about himself after hearing the whole story. He left fairy Menka and Shakuntala, and went to do the penance again. Nymph Menka also departed to heaven with Lord Indra. By destiny, Sage Kanava reached there and he accepted Shakuntala as his daughter.
Once again Vishvamitra became absorbed in harsh austerity. A divine bowl of "Kheer" had appeared as a result of his harsh penance. No sooner, Maharishi Vishvamitra sat to eat the divine bowl of Kheer, a tramp reached to his place and asked for food. Vishvamitra had with his divine vision, got to know that he was Lord Indra. He gave the divine bowl of Kheer to him. Indra gave many blessings to him and departed to heaven.
The Legend of King Harishchandra
Once Lord Indra held an assembly in heaven in which all the Brahmrishies were invited. At the behest of Brahmrishi Vasistha, he also invited Maharishi Vishvamitra to that house.
Lord Indra asked all the Sages, "What is the most precious thing in the world?" Vasishta said that truth is the most valuable thing in the world. A person who speaks truth is never alienated from his religion.
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| King Harishchandra |
Sage Vasistha gave an example of King Harishchandra. He told everyone that he is so truthful that he can never be alienated from his religion. Maharishi Vishvamitra told to Sage Vasistha, that he must take the test of king Harishchandra, and if he succeeds, he would give him half of the power of his penance.
Act of granting The Kingdom To Sage Vishvamitra
Once Vishvamitra appeared in the dream of King Harishchandra. In the dream, Harishchandra donated his entire kingdom to Vishvamitra.When Harishchandra woke up in the morning, he began to think about his dream. On the same day, Vishvamitra reached in the court of King Harishchandra and told about the dream to him.
Mahrishi spoke, "You have bestowed your entire state to me in your dream. So I have a right to this state." King Harishchandra accepted the dream and granted his entire state to Maharishi Vishvamitra.
Sage explained, "Without donation, a charity is not completed. So I want 1000 gold coins from you as a donation." Harishchandra told,"you can take 1000 gold coins from the king's treasure." Sage Vishvamitra replied, "You have donated me your entire state, so I have the right to the king's treasure."
King Harishchandra took a period of month to pay the donation of Sage Vishvamitra. Sage Vishvamitra ordered Harishchandra to leave the city with his wife and Son. Harishchandra left his capital, Ayodhya, and moved to another state and began to work hard.
The duration taken from Vishvamitra for the donation was about to complete. Vishvamitra went to Harishchandra and told, if you leave your truthfullness, I would return your empire back to you. Harishchandra replied, "I can sacrifice his life but not the truth."
Harishchandra Selling Himself, His Wife And His Son
Harishchandra arrived at the great city of Kashi along with his wife Taramati and Son Rohit. As he couldn't think of any other way to arrange money in less time, he decided to sell himself, and his family. Harishchandra reached the business site of Kashi with his wife and Son.
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| Harishchandra selling his wife and Son to a Brahmin |
He sold his wife Taramati to a Brahmin with Son Rohit. Nevertheless, he was able to raise half the money that he could give to the Vishvamitra. Harishchandra also sold himself to a chandal. He went with Chandal after giving donation to Vishvamitra.
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| Harishchandra giving donation to Sage Vishvamitra |
Chandal reached at the crematorium with his slave
Harishchandra. The Chandal gave the task of burning the dead bodies to him. Chandal told to his slave he must receive five gold coins from those people who come here to burn the dead bodies.
On the other hand, the life of Taramati and his son Rohit was very miserable. The Brahmin used to make them work very hard and behaved very badly. One day Taramati sent his Son Rohit to collect the wooden sticks to ignite for food. Rohit went to take wooden sticks but he died because of snakebite.
Tarmati took the body of his Son and reached to the crematorium. Harishchandra became very disappointed to see the body of his Son and he mourned a lot. Harishchandra told his wife that he can not cremate the body without taking five gold coins because of his master's command. So somehow manage five gold coins to cremate the body.
When Taramati went to arrange the gold coins she saw the dead body of a child on the way. It was the body of the prince of that city. The king's Soldiers arrived there at the same time. They took Taramati to the King as the assassin of the Prince. The king sentenced Taramati to death.
Vishvamitra accepts His Defeat
The soldiers reached the crematorium with the Taramati. Chandal ordered Harishchandra to cut off the head of Taramati. Harishchandra took his sword and came to Taramati. As soon as he raised his sword to kill Taramati, Vishvamitra appeared there and accepted his defeat.
Vishvamitra said, "O King Harishchandra, you are blessed, you are blessed that the truthful king like you had neither appeared in the past and nor in the future."
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| Deities with Harishchandra and his family |
Vishvamitra told to King Harishchandra that Lord Dharamraj himself was taking his test as Chandal and Lord Shiva as a Brahmin. Then Vishvamitra made his Son Rohit alive. He returned his entire kingdom with health wealth and prosperity to him. Vishvamitra paid the half strength of his penance to King Harishchandra.
Attaining the title of Brahmrishi
Once again Sage Vishvamitra was absorbed in the penance of Lord Brahma to accomplish his goal. Lord Brahma gave him visions and he honoured him as Brahmarishi. Sage Vishvamitra told that he will only obtain this title in front of Vasistha. In the presence of all the deities along with Brahmrishi Vasistha, Maharishi Vishvamitra acknowledged the title of Brahmrishi from Lord Brahma. Vasistha highly appreciated him.
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| Sage Vishvamitra |
Thereafter, he went in the court of King Dashrath to take Ram and Laxman for the completion of his sacrificial fires. Brahmrishi Vishvamitra had provided the knowledge of many divine weapons to Lord Ram and Laxman.
In his divine presence, Lord Rama slaughtered many demons including Tarka and saved the stone-made Ahilya. In the same way, Lord Rama broke the Shiva's bow and married to Sita the (daughter of King Janak of Mithila) in the divine presence of Brahmrishi Vishvamitra.
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| Sage Vishvamitra with Lord Ram and Lakshman |
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| The Constellation |
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