The gotras-ganas of the vasishthas are
shown below.
In the table below, the subdivisions of the vasishthas are listed.
The
name of the gotra is listed in the first column, and the corresponding
pravararishi set is in the second column. Since some of the pravara lineages
are specific to the followers of certain sutras, the appropriate sutra is given
in the third column. Wherever there are two or more sets of pravara rshis, it
should be taken to mean that there are different lineages that correspond to a certain
gotra. In general, the set of pravara rshis is a more accurate indicator of a
person's descent, than simply the gotra itself.
GOTRA PRAVARA RISHIES SUTRA
vasishthas vasishtha
kundinas vasishtha, maitravaruna, kaundinya
upamanyus vasishtha, aindrapramada, Abharadvasavya Baudhayana
vasishtha, aindrapramada, aupamanyava Vaikhanasa
vasishtha, Abharadvasavya, aindrapramada Katyayana, Manava, Ashvalayana
parasharas vasishtha, shaktya, parasharya
jatukarnyas vasishtha, Atri, jatukarnya Katyayana, Manava
vasishtha, Artabodha, patava Shukla yajur veda parishishTa
sankriti-putimAshas shaktya, sankrtya, gaurivita Apastamba
lohinyas vasishtha, lohinya, phalgunya Shukla yajur veda parishishta
Gotra A term applied to a clan, a group of families, or a lineage - exogamous
and patrilineal - whose members trace their descent to a common ancestor,
usually a sage of ancient times.
A gotra is of immense importance to a Hindu for it shores up his identity. All
Hindu ceremonies require a statement of the gotra. A devout Hindu speaks out
his gotra and pravara every day in the morning. Gotra also comes of use during
the performance of the rites of passage or sanskaras. People of the same gotra
(sagotra) are not allowed to marry, to prevent inbreeding. At weddings, the
gotra of the bride and the groom are proclaimed aloud to establish that they
are not breaking this socially ordained genetic precaution. Marriages between
certain gotras are also not allowed; for instance, marriages between those of
the Vasishtha and Vishvamitra gotras are not permitted. This is because these
two sages were opponents and their descendants are traditional foes.
In olden times, every gotra had a definite task to perform. Thus every Veda had
priests of specific gotras for their narration and teaching. Certain sacrifices
require priests of a specific gotra only. There are 49 established Hindu
gotras. All members of a particular gotra are believed to possess certain
common characteristics by way of nature or profession. Many theories have been
propounded to explain this system. According to the brahminical theory, the
Brahmins are the direct descendants of seven or eight sages who are believed to
be the mind-born sons of Brahma. They are Gautama, Bharadvaja, Vishvamitra,
Jamadagni, Vasishtha, Kashyapa and Atri. To this list, Agastya is also
sometimes added. These eight sages are called gotrakarins from whom all the 49
gotras (especially of the Brahmins) have evolved. For instance, from Atri
sprang the Atreya and Gavisthiras gotras. According to this theory, the
shastria and vashyas do not have a gotra and are to Gotraspeak out the gotras
of their Purohita during the various ceremonies. However according to some
Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, they are also descendants of these sages. Because of this,
many a time a Brahmin, Kshatriya and a Vaishya claim the same gotra. The
members of a gotra however need not necessarily be blood relations, but could
be spiritual inheritors or descendants of a guru's pupils.
Among the Kshatriyas, Rajputs claim to be the direct descendants of the Sun
(Suryavanshi), the moon (Chandravanshi) or the fire (Agnikula). They are also
divided into numerous clans, each bearing the name of some great ancestor.
Similarly every caste and class of the Hindus is divided into many clans.
In olden times the members of the brahminical gotras had certain characteristic
features distinguishing them from the others: the Bhargavas had their heads
shaven, the Angirasas wore five braids and so on. Gotra closely connected with
the concept of gotra is that of pravara, which is the invocation of Agni by the
name of the ancestral sage of whichever Brahmin consecrates the sacrificial
fire. As a rule, there are not more than four or five sages in one pravara. Two
gotras having a common pravara are not allowed to marry. For instance those of
the Kashyapa and Shandilya gotras cannot intermarry because they share the same
sage, Asita, in their pravaras.
Abhivada, the formal proclamation of one's ancestry, is only enjoined upon
'twice-born' males. It includes not just the gotra and pravara but, for a
Brahmin, the Veda to which he 'belongs', the Sutra or Vedic interpretation
favored by his gotra and finally his own name. It is said with the thumb behind
the ears, in the traditional gesture of invoking ancestors. Today's great
classical musicians invoke their gurus similarly before beginning a concert.
Vasishtha, Maitra - Varuna, Kaundinya Trayarishiya gotre, Apastambha sutra,
Yajushtagadhyayi, Sri Parashuraman Sharmana aham asmiboho.
In the Rig-Veda, the word gotra means a 'cowpen'. In the Vedic period, marriage
within the family was a common occurrence. The term gotra was used in its
present sense for the first time in the Brahmanas. It was systematised to
accommodate changed social rules and laws and by the time of the Sutras, it was
a well-established system. Even today almost all families abide by its rules.
At the end of last kalp (=Bramha's one day=432 crores years ), a new creation
was thought and manifested by Lord Narayana to create many from one.
In the process, came Bramha, the devdwip, from Lord's naval. Bramha's
consciousness gave us Marichi, and came Kashyapfrom Marichi's dhyan or prayers.
Bramhaji was not pleased by the rate of slow growth of manushyajati or mankind.
Thereby, he ordered his son Prajapati to marry Aditi. This new pair gave us
Vivashwan or Surya. Later, the love between Surya and Surenu gave us
Suryavanshi Manu.
The youngest of Bramha's seven sons, Rishi Vashisht, prayed Manu to perform a
putreyshti-yagya (yagya to beget a son). Unfortunately, the Rishi made a
mistake during the yagya procession that resulted in a baby girl named, Ila,
instead. However, the Rishi reverted the mistake by recreating Ila to a man
called Sudyumn. Interesting enough, Sudyumn got lost in Lord Mahadev's reserved
sports forest where Kamdev's kami Shakti resulted in Sudyumn's loss of memory.
Consequently, Sudyumn reverted to Ila, his original true form.
Here we have taken the vashishts in totality. As it is not possible to
ascertain the pin pointed vashisht. The vashisht as a seventh son of Brahma to
The present Amresh Or Adesh vashisht has no stage to differenciate hence all
the vashishts have been taken as one. Its a vashisht rishi, vashisht purohits
of Rig-Veda, Vashisht Purohit to Ayodhaya etc.
Have you seen the Pole Star? If you observe keenly you can see it at night in
the northern part of the sky shining bright always. Below the Pole Star you
will find a group of stars in the shape of inverted English letters as shown
here-u). They are seven in number and are called Saptarshi Mandala or the Great
Bear, a constellation. The seven saints after whom they are named are Marichi,
Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vasishta. Rishi or saint means a
wise man, the man who knows the secret of the Veda
Vasishta was a great ascetic. He was the preceptor of great men like Sri Rama
and Harischandra. He had conquered anger and desire. He was a great saint who
humbled insolent men. As a preceptor he imparted knowledge and became a guide
to thousands of aspirants.
Vasishta is supposed to have been born as the result of Brahmas will power. He
was a great ascetic, laboured for the welfare of the world Vasishta was not a
recluse, he was householder. He was married Arundhati. Arundhati is famous for
virtues and devotion to her husband there is a small star close to Vasisht in
the Great Bear or Saptarshi Mandal. They have named it after Arundha among the
Hindus, immediately after, the wedding, the bride is shown Arundhati and she
worships the star. It is a symbolic acceptance of the ideal of virtue and
devotion by the bride. Vasishta had his hermitage on the banks of the river
Saraswati. Arundhati spent all her time in the service of husband. He had with
him thousand of disciples and taught them the Vedas as Kulapati or chief
preceptor affectionately addressed Vasishta. In those days a teacher who fed
and taught at least ten thousand students was called Kulapati. Vasishta's daily
routine was to teach his disciples, to preach dharma to the visitors and to practise
tapas or austerities.
There was an atmosphere of peace in the hermitage. The plants and trees were
full of flowers and fruits. A variety of birds sang and flew about in the
hermitage. Herds of deer and cows lived there. There was regular performance of
several holy sacrifices for the good of the world. Several Hundreds of visitors
used to come to the hermitage to meet Vasishta.
The merit earneds by the performance of tapas was Vasishta's great strength.
He was a man of peace. He had conquered desire and anger. His Ashram needed
great quantities of milk, curds and ghee for the feeding of thousands of his
disciples, guests and performance of sacrifices regularly. Devendra had gifted
to Vasishta a divine cow, having admired his generosity and performance of
sacrifices. The cow was called Nandini. She was the daughter of Kamadhenu.
Since it was a divine cow it had extra ordinary powers. The Ashram got plenty
of milk and ghee from this cow. Since it had moonlike patches all over the
body, it was also called 'Shabala.' The words mean many-coloured. Vasishta and
Arundha were very fond of Nandini.
Vasishta's tapas, patience and the aura of God-realization were so great that
king Vishwamitra was influenced by him to give up his kingship and desired to
become a Rishi like Vasishta.Vishwamitra was a king. He went to the forest to
hunt. Once, after hunting he was returning with his tired army and happened to
pass through Vasishta's Ashram. He wished to pay his kingship and desired to
respects to Vasishta. Vishwamitra saluted Vasishta with proper respect and
humility. Vasishta was glad to meet king Vishwamitra. He entertained the king
and his army with fruits and other delicacies and spoke to him with affection.
Vishwamitra got ready to depart after this. Then Vasishta said,
"Vishwamitra, you are a guest here. You and your army may take food and
rest here and then depart."Vishwamitra thought, 'My army is big. If all of
us stay here for food, the inhabitants in the Ashram will be put to hardship'.
He said aloud, "Great soul, we are all satisfied with your kind words. I
am fortunate to have met you. I thank you for your kindness. Extend the same
love always. Allow us to depart." Vasishta said, "King, do not feel
embarrassed. I do not feel happy if you go away without taking food. All of you
should stay back." Vishwamitra agreed to do so since Vasishta pressed
him.As a result of Nandini's divine powers there were large quantities sweets
and other eatables. Vishwamitra and his followers ate to their heart content.
Vishwamitra was greatly surprise at what Nandini had performed. He felt greedy
and wished to take the cow wit him to his capital. He went to Vasishta and
expressed his desire. Vasishta said, "King, Indra gave this cow to me. I
am able to feed thousand of my disciples and guests every day only with the
help of this cow gifted to me by Indra. Even the milk, curds and ghee required
for sacrifices here and supplied by Nandini only. How can you ask for such a
cow?"Vishwamitra said, "Saint. I shall give in place of your cow one
lakh decorated cows which will supply your requirement and you will not feel
the absence of Nandini."Vasishta said, "That is not the point, King.
It is not proper to give away a gift made to me by Devas. It will go against
the wishes of the Devas." Vishwamitra argued, "it will not violate
any ethical norms. I shall supply all the requirements of your Ashram. Give me
Nandini." Vasishta argued, "Why should you bear the burden of this
expenditure? If you have ample Supply of foodgrains, use them to help your
subjects. Give them to the poor. Let them be happy. I do not wish to accept
money from a king for the use of our Ashram."
Thus the argument went on between the two. Vasishta would not agree to part
with Nandini and Vishwamitra would not accept the refusal. Finally Vishwamitra
became very angry. He thought, 'I am a great king. Whatever good things there
are in. my kingdom should belong to me. A poor saint like Vasishta is
disrespectful by his conduct and then said, "Vasishta, if you do not give
Nandini, I will take her by force. So saying, he got ready to leave.
Vasishta remained peaceful and do not say anything. Vishwamitra called his
soldiers an ordered, "Soldiers, tie up the cow will ropes and bring her
along by force. They surrounded the cow. But she dodged them and came running
to Vasishta and pleaded, "Great saint, the king's guards are trying to
drag me by force. Do you give me up? What wrong did I do?"Vasishta
answered, "Shabala, you have done no wrong. I have not given you up.
Vishwamitra is taking you by force and he has the army. Besides, he is my
guest. How can I stop him? Then Nandini said to Vasishta, "Give me
permission. I shall subdue his army. Vasishta agreed. Nandini then bellowed
once. By the divine power of her voice, lakhs of magical soldiers came into
being and faced Vishwamitra's army. There was a great battle and Vishwamitra's
army was defeated.
Vishwamitra became most worried. He felt ashamed because he was no able to face
a saint and a cow though like a fangless he had a large army snake and like a
wingless bird, he felt sad. He was burning with the desire to take revenge. He
decided to earn Powerful weapons by performing tapas. He went to the Himalayas
and worshipped Ishwara with his austere tapas and earned in return knowledge of
archery and divine weapons. Vishwamitra was insolent because of his position as
king and overlord. After winning the divine weapons, he was swollen with pride.
It went to his head. He thought he would be able to defeat Vasishta completely
and destroy him. With this determination he came to the hermitage of Vasishta.
He began to rain arrows on the Ashram and destroy it. The other saints and
disciples ran helter-skelter. The animals and bird! Of the Ashram were
terrified. There was wailing followed by destruction.
Vasishta came to know about the destruction caused by Vishwamitra. He comforted
the frightened disciples and advised them to take courage. He tools, his
Brahmadanda - the staff of a saint- and came out of his hermitage and
confronted Vishwamitra and said, "O you fool, why are you destroying the
Ashrarn without any cause? Is it proper for a king to destroy when he should
protect?" Vishwamitra got ready to release his arrow called Agneyastra, a
powerful weapon. Then Vasishta put up his saint's staff (Brahmadanda) before
him and said, "Vishwamitra, show me your valour and strenght." Then
Vishwamitra released - his Agneyastra against Vasishta. The arrow sped roaring
with fire towards Vasishta but got reduced like a burnt-out faggot and fell at
his feet like live coals dropping into a tank.
What is a Brahmadanda?
It is the staff in the hands of an ascetic. The power and strength of
Vasishta's tapas was concentrated in the staff. In his anger Vishwamitra
released one by one all his powerful weapons. Roudra, Aindra, Pashupata
followed each other to the incantation of mantras or verses. But all of them
were rendered powerless before Vasishta's Brahmadanda. Vishwamitra was furious
with anger. When he had used all his weapons in vain, he took out the divinely
endowed arrow called Brahmastra and fitted it in his bow. It frightened all in
the Ashram as well divine beings in heaven. Every one became concerned for
Vasishta Vishwamitra released it against Vasishta invoking the spiritual powers
of mantras. Vasishta stood undisturbed. I appeared like a bright flame at this
moment; sparks of fire emanated form his body. The staff in his hand looks like
the staff in the hands of Yama God of Death. The Brahmastra sped like lightning
towards Vasishta make frightening noise like thunder. It pounced on Vasishta's
Brahmadanda and was absorbed into it. The other saints who saw this praised
Vasishta's strength said, "Great man, your strength beyond our guess.
Control your I and become peaceful." Vasishta accepted their advice and
became Calm.
There was no other weapon left with Vishwamitra. He had used all his weapons
and had been totally defeated by Vasishta. He felt repentant. He realised his
mistake. He understood the truth would always win. He felt, "I took the
wrong path. It is impossible suppress truth by force." He sighed and went
away saying, "There is no value for my power and strength. The real power
is that which comes from tapas. Vishwamitra was a man determination, ambition
and strength. He said to him, "All my diving weapon are rendered
powerless. The power of Vasishta is great. Tapas, truths are non-violence is
matchless. I must become the equal of Vasishta." He gave his kingdom to
his son and went to forest to perform tapas. He started performing severe tapas.
People stopped calling him king and started calling him saint Vishwamitra.
Harischandra was the king of Ayodhya. He was famous for his truthful nature.
Vasishta was his preceptor and he was proud of Harischandra. At a meeting of
the court in heaven, one day Indra asked, "Who is truthful on the
earth?" Vasishta replied."Harischandra is truthful. He remains so
under all trying circumstances and will not utter a lie." Everyone agreed
with Vasishta. Vishwamitra stood up. He nursed ill will against Vasishta. He
said, "Devendra, what vasishta says is not true. Out of his partiality for
his disciple, he says that Harischandra is always truthful. We cannot believe
it. Who is there that will not utter a lie when he is in very hard
circumstances?"
Vasishta did not agree with him. He said, "Harischandra will never utter a
lie whatever be 'the hardships."There was controversy. Vishwamitra
declared "Look, I shall make Harischandra utter lies. If I do notsucceed,
I shall make over all the merit of my tapas to him."
The assembly was over. Vasishta returned to his hermitage. He knew that
Vishwamitra would examine Harischandra in various ways and that Harischandra
would be subjected to severe tests in this course. But Vasishta did not say a
word about it to Harischandra. What is the greatness of a man if he is
cautioned and then put to test? He did not bother about it because he knew that
a man of truth would always remain truthful. Vishwamitra got ready to test
Harischandra. His hatred of Vasishta was the only reason for his entering into
this controversy. He used all his learning to succeed in his plan. He took from
Harischandra his kingdom by practising duplicit andcunning. Harischandra was
made a debtor; his queen Chandramati and son Lohitashwa had to go to Kashi along
with him.
Even there he was pestered to repay the loan. He sold himself and his wife to
pay back the loan. But he did not utter a lie. He was reduced to the position
of a servant of the man who watched over the cemetery at Kashi and did the job
for him. Even then he did not utter a lie. Vishwamitra manipulated things in
such a way that Harischandra was expected to behead his wife. Even then
Harischandra did not give up truth. Vishwamitra did not succeed in his vow to
make Harischandra utter a single lie even in the worst circumstances. He
accepted his defeat and made over the merit of his tapas to Harischandra and
went to forest to perform tapas. Vasishta was proved right.
King Kalmashapada was driving in his chariot along the forest track. Shakti,
the eldest son of Vasishta, encountered the chariot in the forest. Shakti did
not move to a side to make way for the chariot. During the journey in those
days, if a chariot or any vehicle came against a saint, a cow, a king, a blind
man, an old man, a man carrying a load, a pregant woman, or a weak man, the
vehicle had to give the right of path to them by moving to a side. That was
considered the proper conduct. Kalmashapada saw Shakti and said, "You,
move to a side and make way for the chariot. Don't you see that I am a
king?"In reply Shakti said, "I am a saint. It is the duty of a king
to make way for a saint. Instead of that it is not proper for you to find fault
with me." The king was very vain. He became angry and lashed at Shakti
very hard with his whip. Shakti also became angry and cursed, "You rogue,
do you whip a saint! Your temperament is that of a Rakshasa. Become a Rakshasa,
Demon."
Vishwamitra who was passing that way at some distance from the scene of this
incident saw all this. It pleased him because Vasishta- -was his enemy. He
heard Shakti cursing become a Rakshasa (Demon). A little later Vishwamitra met
another Rakshasa called Kinkara. He entered into the body of Kalmashapada as
per the instructions of Vishwamitra, and the curse came true, The king lost his
wisdom and sense of righteousnes. He offended another saint who also cursed him
to become a Rakshasa. Kalmashapada came to know of the curses taking effect. As
a consequence he became degraded to the position of a Rakshasa in nature. Next
day he went to Shakti's hermitage and said to him, "You! I am reduced to
this horrible state because of you. My sense of righteousness is destroyed. You
are responsible for it. I will take revenge on you. I shall begin my career as
a Rakshasa by first eating you." He then roared and killed Shakti and ate
him up. He also killed Shaktis brothers.
Vasishta came to know all about this. He became very sad when he heard that
Kalmashapada killed Shakti and his other sons. Unable to bear his sorrow, he
became very unhappy, went away from his hermitage and wandered about in the
forest. During this period he saw a pregnant woman coming towards him. She was
Shakti's widow, Adrushyanti. Having lost her husband, she did not know how to
protect herself and so she came in search of Vasishta. He was moved to pity
when he saw her. He then took courage himself, comforted Adrushyanti and
brought her to his hermitage. He looked after her with love and affection. In a
few days, she gave birth to a son. Vasishta named him Parashara.One day
Vasishta went to forest to collect twigs for his holy fire. Adrushyanti also
went to assist him. When she was tying up the bundle of twigs, a Rakshasa came
bellowing loudly. She became frightened and started running towards Vasishta
calling for help. He told daughter-in-law not to be afraid then turning towards
the Rakish made a frightening sound. The Rakshasa stood planted to the spot
unable to move even a step. He was Kalmashapada. Vasishta understood everything
by a handful of his divine vision. He took holy water from his (Kamandalu)
water jug, recited holy verses and sprinkled the holy water on the Rakshasa's
head. He was freed from the curse and the nature of a Rakshasa. Kalmashapad
fell at the feet of Vasishta and begged "0 great sage, on account of the
curse I did what I should not have done. You are kind. Forgive me and save
me."Kalmashapada had wronged Vasishta greatly. He had committed great
crime. Vasishta forgave him and advised, "0 king, go back to your city and
rule over it as you did in the past.
Do not go against righteousness. Treat preceptors and elders with respect. Do
not become vain because of power and wealth, Because of your vanity you were
punished in the past." What a great soul was Vasishta!
Parashara, son of Adrushyanti, grew up in Vasishta's hermitage. Vasishta taught
him everything. When he grew up into a man, his mother told him all about his
father. Parashara became angry. He had mastered the four Vedas and was a saint
like Vasishta. He had earned great power by his tapas like Vasishta. He
declared, I shall kill Kalmashapada, who killed my father" and was
starting when Vasishta came and advised, "0 child Parashara, be calm.
There is no virtue higher than patience. For a person who. Performs tapas,
patience is of great value. After all Kalmashapada is the king of this country.
he is ruling righteously now.What is the benefit in killing him? Will your
father come back to life? The kingdom will become leaderless. The citizens will
be put to a lot of hardship. Taking revenge is not fit for us. Do not use the
power gained by hard tapas for a task like this. Your father also did not do
the right thing. He could have given the right of way to the king and could
have avoided conflict. He made a mountain of a molehill. See how bad the
consequences were. In his anger he cursed the king and wasted the, power he had
gained by his tapas. He became the cause of his own death. Therefore,
Parashara, do not wish Kalmashapada ill."
Vasishta was becoming more and more famous as the merit earned by his tapas
increased. Everywhere people talked about his greatness. Vishwamitra again
started practising tapas to become the equal of Vasishta. He was determined to
be recognized as such. There were many obstacles in his way, But he continued
his tapas for a long time and he comes across all the difficulties through his
brane and firm mind. Brahma appeared before him and said, "Vishwamitra,
ask what you want." Vishwamitra replied, "Brahmadeva, I must become
Brahamarshi. Vasishta must acknowledge that I am a Brahmarshi. I must get as
much power as Vasishta because of the power that goes with that position as
Brahmarshi." Brahma thought, 'There is still the spirit of competition in
Vishwamitra. There is the ego in him still' and said
"Vishwamitra, you are a great Rishi. But you have not yet reached the
stage of Vasishta and earned such merit. He will not accept you as a
Brahmarshi" and disappeared. Vishwamitra was greatly annoyed. He said to
himself, I have practised tapas most rigorously all these years. I gave up my
kingship and came to forest for this purpose. Even then I have not earned
enough merit to become Brahmarshi. Why is it that Vasishta cannot accept me as
a Brahmarshi? I shall ask him myself." At the end of this reflection he
decided to see Vasishta and came to his hermitage.It was night. The residents
of the hermitage were all asleep except Vasishta and Arundhati. Arundhati
addressed Vasishta and pleaded, "My Lord, Vishwamitra has been practising
most rigorous tapas for many year now. Brahma has appeared before him. It is
Vishwamitra's desire to be recognised as a Brahmarshi. The only hurdle is that
you will not accept him as a Brahmarshi. Why don't you yield and accept him as
a Brahmarshi?" Vasishta said, "Arundhati, you do not understand. It
is not easy to become a Brahmarshi. What is the good of Vishwamitra's austere
tapas? I must die and then alone he can become a Brahmarshi. If does not
disappear, he cannot become a Brahmarshi. "Vishwamitra overheard the
conversation. He was angry because he thought that Vasishta was adamant and
opposed his becoming a Brahmarshi. He misunder- stood and thought he could not
become a Brahmarshi as long as Vasishta was alive. He said to himself,
"Let me finish off Vasishta now itself" and entered the hut in a
state of anger. Arundhati was frightened. Vasishta was clam and said,
"Look Arundhati, How arrogant Vishwamitra is! What is the good of his
tapas? He lacks the virtue of peace and calmness. If his I (This I stands for
Aham; ie utterselfishnes) and arragance does dot die, is it possible for him to
become a Brahmarshi?"
Vishwamitra realised his mistake. He understood what I meant according to
Vasishta. I is the ego in man. Unless that ego dies, man can never claim any
merit. When Vishwamitra understood this, he was ashamed of his behaviour and
felt repentant. He prostrated before Vasishta and pleaded, "Venerable man,
I realised my mistake only today. I am a peerless fool. Kindly forgive
me."Vasishta said, "Vishwamitra, you have performed austere tapas.
What is the aim of tapas? It is not fame. It is not to gain power to perform
miracles. Then I and 'mine' should die; we must burn the vain feelings of
selfishnes and arrogance. Then the mind becomes clear. God dwells in a clear
conscience. Faith grows in that condition of the heart. You will then see God
everywhere. If the mind is not clean and pure, all our prayers and tapas are in
vain." Vishwamitra said with humility, "You are my preceptor. Forgive
me and bless me." Vasishta blessed, "Be it so. Let your effort be
successful" and wished him well. Vishwamitra prostrated before Vasishta
and left the hermitage. A great change was noticed inVishwamitra. He had got
rid of his hatred of Vasishta. Competition and arrogance had gone off. He went
to the banks of river Kaushiki and engaged himself in austere tapas again. Many
hurdles were placed in him is path. But Vishwamitra did not yield. He gave up
eating food and observed fasting very rigidly. At the end of his fasting days,
he cooked his food to break his fast. He was about to take food. At that moment
Devendra came in the form of an old man and said that he was hungry.
Vishwamitra did not hesitate for a moment. He served his food to the old man.
Without eating anything he sat for tapas again. Brahma was pleased with him. He
came with other angles and said, "Vishwamitra, you are a Brahmarshi. There
is no doubt about it." Vishwamitra's wish was fulfilled. He saluted Brahma
and Vasishta. From that day Vishwamitra and Vasishta became great friends.
There was no trace of the past bitterness between them. The credit for
converting the arrogant king Vishwamitra into a Brahmarshi by effecting a great
change in his life goes to Vasishta.
It was not only Vishwamitra that was tempted to take away Nandini, the divine
cow, but others also were tempted. Dyo was a Vasu, an angel Vasu number eight.
Dyes wife saw Nandini and was tempted to take I because it was so beautiful. It
was well built and had good-looking horns and a long tail which ended with a
tuft of hair resembling a bunch of flowers. I had well-filled udders. Dyo's
wife desired to have it. Though Dyo knew that was wrong to steal Vasishta's
divine. Cow which supplied the requirements of Vasishta's sacrifices, he stole
the cow because of his wife's cupidity. Vasishta came to know that Nandini had
hot returned to the Ashram though it was late in the evening. He went in search
of the cow. He could not find it anywhere. Then he used his divine vision and
came to know that a Vasu had stolen it. He became very angry and called out,
"You Dyo, did you steal my divine cow? Being an angel, an order higher
than man, you should have behaved in a manner exemplary to the world. Is it
proper for you to steal like an ordinary man? I shall teach you a good lesson.
Be born as a human being in the world of human beings. You were too fond of
your wife and you will go without a wife in the lower world." Dyo came to
know of this curse. He became frightened and brought back Nandini. He
apologised to Vasishta and begged for forgiveness. Vasishta took pity on him
and said, Vasu, what is done is done. My word will come to pass. Though you are
going to be born as a human being, you will earn fame and name as a good
man". Dyo was born in this world as the son of king Shantanu. He was
called Bhishma.Vasishta, out of kindness, taught Bhishma all the Vedas and the
art of warfare Bhishma learnt archery from Parashurama. Bhishma combined in him
scholarship, heroism and fame. He was an avowed bachelor. His role in
Mahabharata was great. Even when he was lying on death- bed he preached the
path ofrighteousness to Dharmaraya. He has set down the principles of morality
proper to a king, a common man, and righteousness implied in these interesting
ancient stories. His teachings are a valuable gift to the world. Thus
Vasishta's curse pronounced on Dyo, a Vasu, proved a blessing to the world.
Saint Vasishta was not committed to peace to the extent of precluding force
even when it was necessary. He believed that it was right to use force and
fight against injustice when peaceful methods failed. In Indian tradition there
is a prominent place for non-violence. When non-violence fails to prevent
unrighteous- ness, we have to use force. Waging war is proper according to the
morality of rulers. Sri Krishna also preaches in Bhagavad- geeta that Arjuna
should fight and fighting was his duty under the circumstances.
There was an Asura called Vritra. He was the bane of his citizens. He troubled
the people of the three worlds. He never listened to anyone's advice and
conducted himself in an insolent manner. Unable to tolerate his teasing, every
one went to Devendra for protection. Devendra went to war with Vritrasura. He
was master of magic with the help of his magical powers he made Devendra very
uneasy and helpless. Devendra was unable to fight against him and ran away from
the battlefield. He was so afraid Vritrasura that his mind became befogged with
fear. Then Vasishta recited a powerful imcantation called Rathantara Sama
Mantra and cleared Devendra's mind of the fogginess. He encourged him to go and
fight against Vritrasura by saying, "Indra, you are brave. You are the
Lord of the three worlds. If you sit without doing anything what will be the
fate of your citizens, Every one has faith that you will win in the battle.
Cowardice does no become you. Go to fight. You will win. With such encouraging
words from Vasishta Devendra again got ready to fight against Vritrasura. With
Vasishta' blessings he killed Vritrasura in the battle.
Desire, anger, miserliness, lust, insolence and jealousy are the six enemies of
man. They come in the way of man's growth. Great men have always advised that
we should conquer these six weaknesses and for that we should keep our eyes,
ears and tongue under our control. It is difficult to conquer them. Vasishta
had succeeded in keeping them under his control. Having admired his effulgence,
tapas and principled life, the kings of the lkshvaku dynasty had requested
Vasishta to be their preceptor and priest ('Purohita'). What does the word
'Purohita' mean? Purah-standing in the forefront.hita - one who does well. One
who does well to his disciples is a Purohita.
Vasishta was the priest to Dasharatha and also Rama and he was the preceptor
too. They did not do anything without consulting Vasishta. When Vishwamitra
came to Dasharatha requested him to send Rama to protect his sacrifices from
being defiled, he did not like to send Rama as he was young But Vasishta
advised, "0 King Vishwamitra is a great sage. Send Rama with him. It will
be for the good. Vishwamitra took him and taught him the use of divine weapons.
Sri Rama is also known as Raghava. Since he was born in the dynasty of Raghu, A
king, he is called Raghava. Raghu was a famous king of the Ikshvaku dynasty
Vasishta was responsible for him becoming so famous. There is a story, relating
to this.
King Dileepa did not have children Pained by this, Dileepa went with his queen
Sudakshina to the hermitage of Vasishta and expressed to him the reason for his
sorrow. Vasishta tried to find the reason for his childlessness with the help
of his divine vision and found it out. Once Dileepa was going on some work. He
was in deep thought and so passed by Kamadhenu who was there without saluting
her. Therefore he was childless. Vasishta gave him the remedy also. He was
advised to serve Nandini, daughter of Kamadhenu. Dileepa and his queen served
Nandini with devotion. Raghu was born as his son later. Vasishta's kindness
helped him to become famous. Raghus son was the emperor Aja. Indumati, his
wife, was as noble as she was lovely. Aja loved her very greatly. But she died
young. Aja was depressed with sorrow. He forgot his duty as king. He sorrowed
so much that he wished to die. Here is the advice that Vasishta gave Aja at
that time: "King, do not forget your duty because your wife has departed.
It is not proper for you to think of following her. Your may die but you will
not get Indumati. Birth and death are unavoidable. Set aside your sorrow and
engage yourself in the doing of your duty. Soul leaves the body, which sheltered
it. Therefore it is not surprising that it leaves behind the relatives. No one
can avoid death. Remember your parents. He who faces difficulties is the hero.
When the wind blows, plants shake but the mountain does not shake. You should
be firm like a mountain."
Vasishta was fond of cows. Once a man called Soudasa asked, "Great saint,
which is the most sacred object in this world?" Vasishta said, "I
consider the cow as the most sacred. Is then anything more nourishing than cow
milk? Its manure is very important to grow our food-grains. For men like me
everything necessary for, the performance of sacrifices comes from the cow. A
cow is like the mother. We can live where the cow lives. Let cow live with us
always. It is not enough i we worship and honour her. We must look after cows
as we look after our mothers."
Vasishta was a great visionary. He composed many of the verses in
Rig-Veda,yujurveda, samveda and arthaveda..The mandal 7 of Rig-Veda authored by
him totally dedicated to a particular class. i.e. Vashishta. He wrote a
treatise called Vasishta- Smriti on Dharma, righteousness. He composed Ramayana
also, called Vasishta Ramayana. Yog Vashishta is another marvelous writing. He
believed that divine aid and individual effort were necessary to achieve any
thing in this world. The divine and the human are the two wheels of the
chariot, the two wings of a bird. Without either, nothing can be done. We must
believe in God and do our best. This was Vasishta's firm conviction and his
message is as is the seed, so is the tree. So also is the fruit. If the seed is
good, the fruit will be good. Good is the result of good deeds. Bad is the
result of evil deeds. The Divine is like the good seed. Our effort is like
preparing the land for ' sowing; knowledge, wealth, house, friends- it is
possible to get all these only with human effort. The man who does not do
anything gets nothing. If we depend on the Divine without doing anything, there
will be nothing in return. Laziness is a disease with us and brings unhappiness.
It is because of laziness that people are illiterate and poor. If this disease
is not there, who will not become learned? Who cannot become rich? If we can
set aside laziness, we can be happy. It is wrong to believe that we can improve
with the help of others. Or that others will save us. We must save ourselves.
We are our best friends. Because of laziness, we become our worst enemies.
Vishwamitra became Brahmarshi because of his unusual effort. If he had placed
trust in God, and had done nothing, could he have attained that position?
Vasishta believed in doing his duty. His life was an example for every one in
his time. By his timely advice he helped many people to grow higher and higher.
There was the light of wisdom around him.
The important Rig Vedic Hymes on Vashishts as mention in the Mandal 7 of the
Rig Vadem
