Vishvamitra, son of King Gadhi, was a Rajrishi and one of the seven Brahmrishis of the ancient India. Reputedly, he wrote most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda and authored the Gayatri Mantra. Vishvamitra was so adept at the arcane sciences that when Lord Indra disallowed Trishanku to bodily enter into the heaven, he decided to create an alternate swarga for his yajaman and made the alarmed devas beg him to desist from such a venture. Resolute in achieving his spiritual and material goals, it took a Menaka to seduce him away from his set course to attain the status of a Brahm-rishi. Rambha, another apsara, also tried to sway Vishvamitra’s heart; but enraged, he turned her into stone.
At Raja Dashrath’s court
We meet Vishvamitra first in Canto 18, Balkand, of the Balmiki’s Ramayan. Raja Dashrath felt blessed that a Brahmrishi has deigned to arrive at his door. Accompanied by learned Brahmins, he showed him all the respects due to a man of his stature. Himself a king, Dashrath was well versed in courtly language. “Venerable Sage!” he addressed him with extreme courtesy, “Your auspicious arrival here is a joyous occasion: as if a dying man were to receive ambrosia; a scorched land had got a rain-shower; an issueless man had begot a son by his beloved wife, a long last treasure was found; or a grand festival had brought joy to one and all. You are heartily welcome. What excellent desire you have in your mind that I may fulfil?”
Expressing joy at his fulsome welcome, Vishvamitra told Dashrath that he would express his desire to him only if the latter vowed to remain firm on his word. Assured by Dashrath on that count, he revealed to him the purpose of his visit. Back at his ashram, he was performing a complex rite for attaining a ‘sidhi’ – a supernatural power. The process was near completion. But two Rakshasas – Marich and Subahu – who possessed the ability to change their forms at will, were making it difficult for him to complete the rite. He could have finished them himself, but that would negate the efforts he had put in to achieve his mission. Would Dashrath send his son, Ram, with him to put an end to the villainous Marich and Subahu? Vishvamitra demanded of Raja Dashrath in plain words, promising him at the same time that he would provide absolute security to the young prince.
Raja Dashrath was caught in the tangle of his own words. He had no wish to part with Ram and yet he was chary of displeasing the great sage. So, he replied plaintively that Ram was barely 16 and had no capability to fight such ferocious rakshasas. In place of Ram, he would march his massive army, himself at its the lead, against the foe, if the Brahmrishi so desired. Dashrath went on pleading with the sage. He had got his son with great difficulty at the age of sixty thousand years (it was the Treta Yug, lest we forget) and he begged him not to take away his offspring from him. But Vishvamitra would have none of it. He rejoined: “O King! First you vow to give me what I desire and now you want to break your vow? Such conduct portends ruination of your family!” Muni Vashisht, who was standing by, did not let the matter go out of hand. Calmly, he soothed the enraged rishi and persuaded Raja Dashrath to send Ram and Lakshman with him.
If Ram were a mere mortal like anyone of us, we won’t be faulted for saying that Brahmrishi Vishvamitra was his mentor. Under the tutelage of the sage, Ram and Lakshman familiarised themselves with every square yojan of their land and the adjoining realms. They acquired practical experience of the warfare of the day. They killed mighty rakshasas such as Tadka and ensured that the ascetic-community was not bothered by disruptive elements. Vishvamitra introduced Ram to the prominent sages who were immersed in their austerities in deep forests. He blessed the young princes with the psychic powers of ‘balaa’ and ‘atibalaa’ (Balmiki Ramayan, Balkand, Canto 22) and he gifted Ram with divine weapons, along with instructions on how to use them, making the young warrior invincible (ibid, Canto 27 and 28). And it was Vishvamitra who took Ram and Lakshman to Mithila, there to introduce them to Raja Janak, Sita’s father; with a happy sequel of the marriage of Ram and the other three sons of Dashrath to the princesses of Mithila. Truly then, the Brahmrishi repaid Raja Dashrath for his favour many times over.
A trying guest
Vishvamitra was not always that munificent. Born to the Kush Dynasty, he ruled over a prosperous kingdom and had a vast army at his disposal. It came to his mind once to tour the lands beyond his realm. Passing through numerous cities, nations, high mountains, thick forests and rivers, he arrived with his army at Muni Vashisht’s ashram. The simple grace and upkeep of the ashram amazed him. Vashisht proposed to provide hospitality to him and his entourage, to which he consented too readily.
The arrangements that Muni Vashisht made were beyond Raja Vishvamitra’s expectations. Everything there – from excellent food to luxurious lodgings – were just right. How could a mere hermit provide these treats in a deep forest, and to such a large number of guests, pondered Vishvamitra.
He soon learnt that it was made possible thanks to a dappled cow which the sage kept in his shed. That, in fact, was the ‘Kamdhenu’ – the wish-fulfilling divine cattle. When the time came for his departure, Vishvamitra demanded of Vashishta that the cow be handed over to him. The sage demurred and the raja forcibly took it away from him. Now, Kaamdhenu was no ordinary bovine creature. On Muni Vashisht’s instructions, it spontaneously created the Shak, Yavan and Pehlav warriors, who annihilated Raja Vishvamitra’s vast army, as also his sons, who numbered one hundred. Having performed the task, the Kamdhenu returned to the sage.
Vishvamitra, the proud Kshatriya warrior, was not the one to give in easily. By virtue of his arduous penance to appease Mahadev, he had acquired divine weapons which he used on Muni Vashisht’s ashram. The ashram was burnt down and the disciples as well as other dwellers in the vicinity ran away in fear. Muni Vashisht, in his defence, took out the ‘Brahmdand’ which rendered all the weapons used by Vishvamitra ineffective. The fight between the combating divinities rose to such intensity that gods had to descend from heaven to pray to Muni Vashisht to calm down, as his rage was likely to annihilate the whole universe. Vishvamitra, conceding his defeat, decided to retreat to mountains with the intention to do further penance for achieving ‘Brahmanatva’. Godly in stature he was; yet he could not shed off the human failings of arrogance and avarice.
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