Vishvamitra

“ Engaged in a dispute with the Brahmana Rishi Vasishtha, Viswamitra who was a Kshatriya king (the son of Kusika) found, by bitter experience, that Kshatriya energy and might backed by the whole science of arms, availed nothing against a Brahmana’s might, for Vasishtha by his ascetic powers created myriads and myriads of fierce troops who inflicted a signal defeat on the great Kshatriya king. Baffled thus, Viswamitra retired to the breast of Himavat and paid court to Siva. The great God appeared and Viswamitra begged him for the mastery of the whole science of weapons. ”

“ Yama said—"Consider him as the worshipper of Vishnu who never swerves from the duties assigned to his caste, who regards with an impartial eye his own self, his friends and enemies, does not steal nor injure any body and whose mind is freed from all passions. Know him to be a follower of Hari, whose heart is not sullied by iniquities of Kali who meditates on Janārddana in his mind freed from illusions. Consider that excellent man to be a worshipper of Vishnu, who, looking upon good in secret, holds that which is another's wealth as grass and devotes all his thoughts to the Lord. ”

“ And your lips will be parched; your feet will be hurt by the sharp stones; the sun will burn your cheeks. Oh, my children, we were always able to spare you the hardships we had to endure. We carried you across the fearful desert; you did not suffer then, but now, what will you suffer?' She was still weeping when another brahman came through the forest. He was an old man and walked with great difficulty. He stared at the princess with watery eyes, then he addressed Prince Visvantara. 'My lord, as you see, I am old and feeble. ”

“ In the firmness of resolve, in the bold and determined pursuit of objects, and in the intolerance of inferiority, Visvâmitra stands prominently out as an example to humanity, for all ages to come and it is meet and proper that in the next Manvantara, he will act as one of the seven sages guiding the affairs of the universe. ”

“ All hope has fled, and I shall return to my home as poor as when I left!' He wept. 'Do not weep,' said Visvantara; 'I am the man you seek. You have not met me in vain. Madri, Jalin, Krishnajina, get down from the chariot! It is no longer mine: I have given it to this old man.' The brahman was overjoyed. The four exiles continued on their way. They were now on foot, and when the children were tired, Visvantara would carry Jalin, and Madri Krishnajina. A few days later, they saw a third brahman approaching. He was going to Jayatura to see Prince Visvantara and ask him for alms. ”

“ The king was obliged to give his consent. 'When my son hears of his exile,' thought Sanjaya, 'he will take it to heart.' But this was not the case. Visvantara simply said, 'I shall leave tomorrow, father, and I shall take none of my treasures with me.' Then he went to look for Madri, his princess. 'Madri,' said he, 'I must leave the city; my father has exiled me to a cruel desert, where it will be hard to find a livelihood. Do not come with me, O beloved; too great are the hardships you will have to endure. You will have to leave the children behind, and they will die of loneliness. ”

“ I grant thee a boon.' Visvamitra said: 'May I know thee.' Indra said: ' I am Prana (breath) , O Rishi, thou art Prana, all things are Prana. For it is Pra'na who shines as the sun, and I here pervade all regions under that form. This food of mine (the hymn) is my friend and my support (dakshina) . This is the food prepared by VisvAmitra. I am verily he who shines (the sun) .'
FOURTH KHANDA 1. This then becomes perfect as a thousand of Brihati verses. Its consonants form its body, its voice (vowels) the Soul, its sibilants the air of the breath. ”

“ At that time King Sanjaya was reigning in the city of Jayatura. His wife's name was Phusati, and they had a son, Visvantara. When he came of age, Visvantara married Madri, a princess of rare beauty. She bore him two children: a son, Jalin, and a daughter, Krishnajina. Visvantara owned a white elephant that had the marvellous power to make the rain fall at will. Now, the distant kingdom of Kalinga was visited by a terrible drought. The grass withered; the trees bore no fruit; men and beasts died of hunger and of thirst. ”

“ Now, this woman is young; she seems quite strong. Let me take her for a servant. She will help me to get up; she will put me to bed; she will watch over me while I sleep. Give me this woman, my lord; you will be doing a good deed, a saintly deed, that will be praised throughout the world.' Visvantara had listened attentively; he was pensive. He looked at Madri. 'Beloved, you heard what the brahman said; what would you answer?' She replied, 'Since you have given away our children: Jalin, the best-beloved, and darling Krishnajina, you can give me to this brahman ”

“ The portions of the divine Vaishnava effulgence that were in the sun being filed off by Viswakarman, fell down shining on the earth and the artist constructed of them the discus of Vishnu—the trident of Siva, the weapon of the god of wealth, the lance of Kartikeya, and the weapons of the other celestials: all these Viswakarman made from the additional rays of the sun. ”

“ The great ascetic Vrihaspati had a sister who was the foremost of the females, virtuous and of accomplished asceticism. Without beings attached to the world she travelled all over the world. She became the spouse of Pravasha the eighth Vasu. Of her was born the noble Patriarch Viswakarma the author of a thousand arts, the architect of the celestials, the inventor of all ornaments and the foremost of the artists. He constructed the chariots of all the deities; and by the skill of that high-souled one, people obtain subsistence. ”

“ Please enter.' In the great hall, Visvantara and Madri sat on thrones of gold; at their feet, the children played on heavy rugs, and the old man presented them with many beautiful robes. Exquisite food was then served to them, and they appeased their hunger. But Visvantara was lost in thought. Suddenly, he rose from his seat, and he said to the old man, 'My lord, I am disobeying my father's commands. He banished me from Jayatura, where he is king, and he ordered me to spend the rest of my life in the desert. ”

“ The sages chant his glories, the Gandharvas sing and the nymphs dance before him; the Rākshasas follow his steps, the serpents harness his steeds and the Yakshas trim his reins and the Bālakhilyas are seated around him. The seven beings in the sun's orb rise and set every month, but Vishnu, in the shape of his energy, never rises nor sets and is at once the sevenfold sun and distinct from it. As a man, nearing a mirror kept on a stand, observe in it his own image so the energy of Vishnu is never disjoined but remains month by month in the sun which he there placed. ”

“ Moreover, although in his general nature, as a benevolent, genial being, the Vedic god corresponds on the whole to the later Vishṇu, the preserver of the world, the latter exhibits many important features for which we look in vain in his prototype, and which most likely resulted from sectarian worship or from an amalgamation with local deities. In one or two of them, such as his names Vāsudeva and Vaikuntha, an attempt may again be traced to identify Vishṇu with Indra, who, as we have seen, was one of the Vedic triad of gods. ”

“ His son Bharata became speechless as a deer.
It was necessary to put a limit to the materiality of the Earth. The hard crust that formed the shell of the planet could not be allowed to affect its heart. The Earth was not to lose all spirituality. Therefore Vishnu incarnated in Rishabha so that spirituality might be stored in our planets, for the evolution of those Jivas that dwelt over it. Look at a Parama Hansa; the ascetic that neither speaks nor moves. Judging from outside, he is no better than a mute animal, but he is all spirituality within. Such is the nature of our mother Earth. ”

“ Being desirous of relieving the world of the burden, the divine Vishnu, the source of the vast universe, beyond the understanding of all gods, demons sages, and men, past, present or future, worshipped of Brahmā and all the celestials, who is without beginning, middle or end, descended into the womb of Devaki and was born as her son Vasudeva. Yaganidrā, always proud to satisfy his orders, removed the embryo to Yasodā the wife of Nanda, the cow-herd. At this birth the earth was relieved of all sins; the sun, moon and planets shone with unclouded brilliance ”

“ Visvantara's birth being the last but one of the Lord, the person of that charitable king is held very high among Buddhists. His largesses are also considered to constitute the highest degree of practising the pâramitâ of charity. In the memorable night which preceded his attainment of the Buddhahood, the Sâkya prince had but to refer to his actions in the Visvantara-existence to demonstrate his having fulfilled that pâramitâ. In the Pâli Gâtaka that existence forms the subject-matter of the longest and last tale of the collection, but since it is the last, it is still unpublished ”

“ He searched everywhere, but he could find no trace of his deity; the gods were gone from the earth for ever.
He still flies about in his fruitless search, calling for his god and carrying the clothes round his neck, as any Hindu can see who looks at the bird. His melancholy distressed cry for Vishnu will never cease. If he found the god he would not recognise him, for in the awful birth of the kali-yuga Vishnu himself was changed from white to black. ”

“ He ridiculed the idea of Mahapralaya, or the great destruction, for as the world had no beginning, so it will have no end. He objected to absorption, facetiously observing with the sage Jamadagni, that it was pleasant to eat sweetmeats, but that for his part he did not wish to become the sweetmeat itself. He would not believe that Vishnu had formed the universe out of the wax in his ears. He positively asserted that trees are not bodies in which the consequences of merit and demerit are received. Nor would he conclude that to men were attached rewards and punishments from all eternity. ”

“ Even in his own Church, Vishṇu himself claims comparatively little attention. He is not a force like Śiva that makes and mars, but a benevolent and retiring personality who keeps things as they are. His worship, as distinguished from that of his incarnations, is not conspicuous in modern India, especially in the north. In the south he is less overshadowed by Kṛishṇa, and many great temples have been erected in his honour. ”

“ I cannot give Nandini in exchange for even thy kingdom.’ Viswamitra replied, ‘I am a Kshatriya, but thou art a Brahmana devoted to asceticism and study. Is there any energy in Brahmanas who are peaceful and who have their souls under perfect command? When thou givest me not what I desire in exchange even for ten thousand cows, I will not abandon the practice of my order; I will take thy cow even by force!’
“Vasishtha said, ‘Thou art a Kshatriya endued with might of arms. Thou art a powerful monarch. O, do in haste what thou desirest ”

“ Sometimes, as in the case of Ravana, the demons themselves would practise austerities for the attainment of power.
Very prominent figures in the poem are the great ascetics, like Vishwamitra himself, who, a Kshatriya by caste and a king by lineage, had obtained, through dire austerities prolonged over thousands of years, the exalted rank and power of Brahmanhood. A single example of his self-inflicted hardships and the consequences resulting therefrom may not be out of place. ”

“ So Viswakarman, veiling himself in mists, wrought in obedience to the Father of Gods, invisibly, awfully, with all manner of precious gems, with all colors of heaven, with all perfume of flowers, with all rays of light, with all tones of music, with all things beautiful and precious to the sight, to the touch, to the hearing, to the taste, to the sense of odors. And as vapors are wrought into leafiest lacework of frosts, as sunbeams are transmuted into gems of a hundred colors, so, all mysteriously, were ten thousand priceless things blended into one new substance of life ”

“ Kratu said,—"Nothing is difficult to attain if Janārddana is pleased, who is the soul of sacrifice in sacrifices and supreme spirit in abstract contemplation". Pulaha said,—"Do thou adore, O pious boy, that Vishnu, the lord of sacrifice, and Universe, worshipping whom Indra obtained the dignity of a king of the celestials". Vasishtha observed:—"Anything, that a man desires, may be obtained in this world by adoring Vishnu what of that exalted position". ”

“ On a previous occasion, while his mother was still living, the Brahmans of Benares asked him whether he believed in Visvesvara (the god Siva of Benares) . Vidyasagar replied,—'I have no faith in your Visvesvara.' The Brahmans were highly offended at such a reply from a Hindu, and asked him,—'What do you believe in then?' Vidyasagar answered,—'My Visvesvara and Annapurna (another name of goddess Durga, Siva's wife) are my father and mother, present here in flesh.' Here was some indication of his religious faith. ”

“ The worshippers of Vishnu and Siva form two sects, each of which proclaims the superiority of its favorite deity, denying the claims of the other, and Brahma, the creator, having finished his work, seems to be regarded as no longer active, and has now only one temple in India, while Mahadeva and Vishnu have many. The worshippers of Vishnu are generally distinguished by a greater tenderness for life and consequent abstinence from animal food, and a worship less cruel than that of the followers of Siva. ”