Viswamitra

“ The celestials are the Adityas, Vasus and Rudras. Their king is Purandara. Vasishtha, Kasyapa, Atri, Jamadagni, Gautama, Viswamitra and Bharadwaja are the seven Rishis. And the nine pious sons of Vaivaswata Manu are the kings Ikshawku, Nabhaga, Dhrista, Sanyati, Narishyanta, Nabhanidishta, Karusha, Prishadhra and the well known Vasumat.
The incomparable energy of Vishnu, at one with the quality of goodness and preserving all created things, rules overall the Manwantaras in the shape of divinity. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Viswamitra, the tempter and accuser as represented in the Vedas, appears in the council of the gods, face to face with Indra. The question is raised by Indra, who is the most virtuous sovereign on earth. He asks, "What chief of mortals is there, who has never told a lie?" Harischandra, king of Ayodiah (Oude) is named as such a man. Viswamitra denies it. It is agreed (as in the testing of Job, according to the Bible story) that Viswamitra may employ any means whatsoever for the inducing of Harischandra to lie, unhindered by Indra or any other god. ”

“ Viswamitra, however, having completed the rites in honour of the gods and the Pitris and having gratified them duly, himself ate that meat. Burning all his sins afterwards by his penances, the sage, after a long time, acquired the most wonderful (ascetic) success. Even thus, when the end in view is the preservation of life itself, should a high-souled person possessed of learning and acquainted with means rescue his own cheerless self, when fallen into distress, by all means in his power. By having recourse to such understanding one should always preserve one's life. ”

“ For them, who are penitent after having committed many iniquities, the greatest penance is the remembrance of Hari. If a man meditates upon Hari either in the morning, at sunset, midday or at night he is released from all sins. By meditating upon Vishnu he is released from the heap of worldly afflictions. He obtains final emancipation considering even heaven as impediment. He, whose mind is devoted to Vāsudeva in prayer, burnt offering or adoration, considers, O Maitreya, even the dignity of Indra as an obstacle to the acquirement of final liberation. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Discarded by his father, Viśvaṇtara reflected that he, striving after completest insight, clothed with the armour of virtue out of good will towards the whole world, had given away even his elephant; that so long as he dwelt at home he had bestowed gifts according to his [260] means; that dwelling in the penance-forest he had to strive intensely; that as he was not capable of refusing requests, he would rather quit his home and go into the penance-forest. Thereupon the Bodisat, after having pronounced a strong vow, went to his wife, Madrī, and told her everything. ”

“ Here, for instance, we read of Vishṇu coming down to earth in the shape of animals, of sages and saints wandering between heaven and earth, of human kings visiting Indra in heaven.
Hand in hand with this fondness for introducing the marvellous and supernatural into the description of human events goes a tendency to exaggeration. Thus King Viçvāmitra, we are told, practised penance for thousands of years in succession; and the power of asceticism is described as so great as to cause even the worlds and the gods to tremble. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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". ”

“ 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. ”

“ Do you stand aloof from those persons in whose hearts resides Ananta; from him, who by his pure understanding conceives the supreme male and ruler Vāsudeva as one with his devotees and the whole world. Do you depart from those, O my emissary, who are freed from sins and who always invoke the lotus-eyed Vāsudeva, Vishnu, the upholder of the earth, the immortal wielder of the discus and the shell, the refuge of the world do not approach him in whose heart dwells the imperishable soul for he is protected against my power by the discus of his deity and he is bound for the heaven of Vishnu". ”

“ 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. ”

“ By the mercy of that imperishable being I am the agent of creation—Rudra is the agent of destruction and Vishnu is the agent of preservation. He, assuming my form creates the universe; in his own essence he provides for its duration; in the form of Rudra he devours all things; and with the body of Ananta he upholds them, In the person of Indra and other celestials he protects mankind and as the sun and moon he dispels darkness. Assuming the nature of fire he bestows warmth and maturity, and in that of earth he nourishes all beings. ”

“ But why dost thou say that she was begot by Bhrigu on Khyati?"
Thereat Parāçara said;—"That mother of the Universe—Vishuu's energy—is enduring and undeteriorating, O foremost of the twice-born ones, even as Vishnu is omnipresent, so this one also. Vishnu is the sense and she is the word; she is morality, Vishnu is justice; Vishnu is perception, and she the power thereof; he is merit, and she the act of piety.—Vishnu is the creator, and she the creation; Sri is earth,—and Hari, the supporter thereof. The reverend one is contentment, and, O Maitreya, Lakshmi is permanent peace ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ Vaishnava, Vishnuite Sect.—The name given to Hindus whose special deity is the god Vishnu, and to a number of sects which have adopted various special doctrines based on the worship of Vishnu or of one of his two great incarnations, Rāma and Krishna. Vishnu was a personification of the sun, though in ancient literature the sun is more often referred to under another name, as Savitri, Surya and Aditya. It may perhaps be the case that when the original sun-god develops into a supreme deity with the whole heavens as his sphere, the sun itself comes to be regarded as a separate and minor deity. ”

“ 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. ”

“ He, being creator, creates himself; he, being preserver, preserves himself; he, being destroyer, destroys his own universal form. He is imperishable; there is nothing distinct from him. In him is the world; he is the world; and he, the primeval self-born, is again present in the world. O king, the glorious Vishnu has incarnated a portion of himself on earth. O king, your picturesque city Kusasthali, like the city of Indra, is now called Dwārakā. There reigns a portion of Kesava in the person of Baladeva. O king, confer this daughter of thine upon him, who appears under the guise of a man. ”

“ Judged by a statistical standard, Vishṇu is only a deity of the fourth rank, less frequently invoked than Sūrya, Savitṛi, and Pūshan in the Rigveda, but historically he is the most important of the solar deities. For he is one of the two great gods of modern Hinduism. The essential feature of his character is that he takes three strides, which doubtless represent the course of the sun through the three divisions of the universe. His highest step is heaven, where the gods and the fathers dwell. ”