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Brahmarshi Vishvamitra
(Sanskrit
विश्वामित्र
viśvā-mitra
"all-friend") 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. Sage
Vishvamitra is
supposed to be the
first, and Sage
Yajnavalkya the
last.
Kaushika
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 ("the
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 the legend of
Vishvamitra thus,
"There was a king
named Kusha (not to
be confused with
Kusha, son of Rama),
a brainchild of
Prajapati, and
Kusha's son was the
powerful and verily
righteous
Kushanaabha. One who
is highly renowned
by the name Gaadhi
was the son of
Kushanaabha, 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.
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 Vishwamitra.
According to Vishnu
Purana[2], kushika
married a damsel
belonging to
Puru-kutsa (later
called as
Shatamarshana
lineage -
descendents of
Ikshvaku king
Trasadasyu) dynasty
and had a son by
name Gadhi who had a
daughter named
Satyavati(not to be
confused with
Satyavati of
Mahabharata).
Satyavati was
married to an old
Brahman known as
Richika who was
foremost among the
race of Bhrigu.
Richika desired a
son having the
qualities of a
Brahman, 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 Brahman; and
Satyavati gave birth
to Jamadagni, the
father of Parasurama,
a Brahman with
qualities of a
Kshatriya.
Quarrel with
Vasishta
On one of his
exploits, he and his
soldiers took rest
in the ashram of
Rishi Vasishta.
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. Vasishta
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.
Vasishta 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. By his
yogic powers, the
great sage Vasishta,
called forth an
entire army of
fierce warriors.
They fought the army
of Kaushika and
defeated it
thoroughly. Kaushika
was captured and
presented before
Vasishta. The sage
pardoned the king
and sent him away
with words of
advice.
Alternate Version
In other version,
Vasishta destroys
Kaushika's entire
army by the simple
use of his great
mystic and spiritual
powers, breathing
the Aum syllable.
Vasishta 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 Lord Shiva,
who bestows upon him
the knowledge of
celestial weaponry.
He proudly goes to
Vasishta's ashram
again, and uses all
kinds of powerful
weapons to destroy
Vasishta and his
hermitage. He
succeeds in the
latter but not in
the former.
An enraged Vasishta
brings out his
brahmadanda, a
wooden stick imbued
with the power of
Lord Creator Brahma.
It consumes
Kaushika's most
powerful weapons,
including the
brahmastra. Vasishta
then attempts to
attack Kaushika, but
his anger is allayed
by the Devas.
Kaushika is left
humiliated while
Vasishta restores
his hermitage.
Tapasya
Menaka seduces
Vishvamitra.
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
Vasishta. He took on
the name Vishvamitra.
It is very
interesting to see
all the challenges
that Visvamitra
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
Vasishta 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 and it is in
his name that the
land of India got
its name Bharat.
Alternate Version
Kaushika seeks to
attain the same
spiritual power as
Vasishta, 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 ten
thousand years,
Brahma names him a
rishi, thus leaving
his royal lineage
permanently.
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. And hence in
the next birth she
became a monkey and
mother of Hanuman,
Anjani.
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.
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,
Lord 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
Vasishta, and their
enmity is instantly
ended.
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
beyond estimation.
Gayatri Mantra
Vishwamitra was the
author of the
revered great Mantra
- The Gayatri
Mantra. It is a
mantra come prayer
and is found in all
the three Vedas;
Rig, Yajur and Sama
Veda. Vedas clearly
state that anyone
can chant this
Mantra, and gain its
benefits.
Gayatri Mantra is so
called because it
liberates one who
chants it.
Legends
Vishvamitra is
famous in many
legendary stories
and in different
works of Sanatana
dharma.
Trisanku
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, Vasishta,
to send him to
heaven in his own
body, the guru
responded that the
body cannot ascend
to heaven.
King Trisanku then
asked Vasishta'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 Visvamitra, who
agreed to help him.
Visvamitra organized
a great sacrifice
and ritual
proptiating the
Devas, pleading that
they accept Trisanku
in heaven. Not one
Deva responded.
Angered, Visvamitra
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
heaven for Trisanku.
He had only
completed the heaven
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.
Harishchandra's
Sacrifice
While undertaking a
penance, Kaushika
helps a boy named
Shunashepa who has
been sold by his
parents to be
sacrificed at
Harishchandra'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 Sunashep is
being taken. A
devastated and
terrified Sunashepa
falls at the feet of
Kaushika, who is
deep in meditation,
and begs for his
help.
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.
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
Avatara of Vishnu,
and his brother
Lakshmana.
Vishwamitra 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.
Gotras
There are two gotras,
or lineages, bearing
the name of
Visvamitra.
Visvamitra Gotra
People belonging to
the Visvamitra Gotra
consider Brahmarishi
Visvamitra as their
ancestor.
There is an
off-shoot of "Vishvamitra
Gotra" called "Chakita
Vishvamitra Gotra".
Two explanations
have been suggested
for this off-shoot.
The group is
supposed to have
sprung from a
"surprised" reaction
of Vishvamitra. The
other, more likely,
explanation, is that
a group of
descendants decided
to split from the
main group and
started their own
branch of this line.
Kaushika Gotra
People belonging to
Kaushika ( Kaushik /Kousika/Kousikasa/Koushika/Kausika)
Gotra take Rajarishi
Kausika as their
root. Kausika was
one of the names of
Visvamitra.11 Royal
clans of 96 clan of
Marathas belong to
Kaushik gotra
including the
illustrious house of
Shivaji and
Rashtrakutas. 2 more
clans belong to the
Vishvamitra gotra.
Kaushika gotra also
belongs to Baish
clan of rajput which
includes in the
suryavanshi
rajput.Many Kashmiri
pandits belong to
Kaushika gotra.Many
Kanyakubji bramhins
found in different
states also belong
to this gotra ,as
their forefathers
have migrated from
kashmir valley
before settling
around Kanyakubja
(present day Kanauj
in U.P.India).
Geographical
Distribution
* Odisha
* Gujarat
* Rajasthan
* Himachal Pradesh
* Kerala
* Andhra Pradesh
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