Vasishta - Saptha Rishi 6

Vasishta - Saptha Rishi 6

The story of the Great Rishi Vasishta.

the story of the Great Rishi Vasishta. He has given many good lessons to the people of the world.

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.

Vasishta belonged to 3rd century BC and a native of North India. Vasishta’s teachings are called Vasishtasutra or Vasishtasmriti.

Vasishta 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 i n 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 Vedas.

Kulapati (Acharya, The Teacher) Vasishta is supposed to have been born as the result of Brahma’s 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 Vasish 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 he Vedas.

Vasishta was affectionately addressed by his disciples as Kulapati or chiefpreceptor. 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 word mean many-coloured. Vasishta and Arundha were very fond of Nandini.

Vishwamitra Arrives as a Guest 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.

Guest Becomes Enemy
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.

Power Of Tapas 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 tool, 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 look 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." Vasish, 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 himself, "All my diving weapon are rendered powerless. The power of Vasishta is great. Tapas, truth are non-violence are 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. He became famous as a Rishi.

Hariscandra, Disciple of VasishtaHarischandra was the king 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 hardcircumstances?"

Vasishta did not agree with him. He said, "Harischandra will never utter a lie whatever be 'the hardships."

There was controversy.

Vishwamitra declared "Lock, I shall make Harischandra utter lies. It 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 testHarischandra. 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 tookfrom Harischandra his kingdom by practising duplicity and cunning. 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.

Shakti - Vasishta's Son 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 Shakti’s brothers.

Embodiment Of Forgiveness 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!

There is No Greater Virtue Than patience 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 mole-hill. 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."

If We Do Not Conquer 'I' The Ego... 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 come 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 T 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?"

Brahmarshi Vishwamitra Vishwamitra realised his mistake. He understood what T meant according to Vasishta. The 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 become 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 went off. He went to the banks of river Kaushiki and engaged himself in austere tapas again. Many hurdles were placed in h * 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.

A Great Soul's Anger Also Is For The Good Of The World 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. Dye’s 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.

If Non-Violence Does Not Succeed... 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 battle-field. 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.

A Real Priest 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 good.

One who does good 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

Nectar Of Words For People In Sorrow Raghu's 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."

Exponent Of Work - Mindedness Vasishta was a great visionary. Many of the verses in Rig-Veda were composed by him. He wrote a treatise called Vasishta- Smriti on Dharma, righteousness. He composed Ramayana also, called Vasishta Ramayana. 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.

வசிஷ்ட மகரிஷி (நன்றி: தினமலர்)

ரிஷிகளில் வசிஷ்டருக்கு சிறப்பிடம் உண்டு. ஆதிகாலத்தில் பிரம்மா படைப்புத்தொழிலைச் செய்தபோது, பிரஜாபதிகள் என்னும் பத்துப்பேரை முதலில் உண்டாக்கினார். அவர்கள் பல்லாயிரக்கணக்கான கோடிமக்களை உருவாக்கி உலகத்தை விரிவாக்கினர். அவர்களில் ஒருவர் வசிஷ்டர். அதனால் வசிஷ்டர் பிரம்மாவின் பிள்ளை என்கிறது ராமாயணம். வசிஷ்டரின்.

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Jamadagni - Saptha Rishi 4

Jamadagni - Saptha Rishi 4

Jamadagni, (Sanskrit: जमदग्नि) is one of the Saptarishis (Seven Great Sages Rishi) in the seventh, i.e the present Manvantara. He was a descendant of the sageBhrigu, one of the Prajapatis created by Brahma, the God of Creation.

Jamadagni has five children with wife Renuka, the youngest of whom wasParashurama, an Avatara of Lord Vishnu.

Execution of Renuka

Renuka was such very devoted wife and the power of her chastity was manifest. Such was this power, that she used to fetch water from the river in a pot made of unbaked clay every day. The pot would hold together because of her devotion to her husband.

One day, when she was at the river, a handsome Gandharva happened to be passing by in the sky, in his chariot. Smitten with desire for this handsome youth, for merely an instant, the damage to her powers was done. The unbaked pot that she was carrying, dissolved into the river. She was no longer chaste of mind. Afraid to go back to her husband, she waited at the river bank.

Meanwhile Jamadagni, who was waiting for fresh water to begin his morning sacrifices, noticed that his wife had not yet returned from the river. By his yogic powers, he divined all that had taken place. Exceedingly angry with his wife, he called his eldest son, told him what had happened and asked him to execute his mother. Horror-stricken, his son refused to perform this deed. He then asked all of his sons, in the order of their seniority, to execute their mother. While all the elder sons refused (and so Sage Jamadagni turned them to stone), only his youngest son,Parashurama, ever-obedient and righteous, at once beheaded his mother with his axe.

Jamadagni, pleased, offered to grant two boons to Parashurama, who at once asked that his mother be restored to life and his brothers to be unturned from stone and accepted into the family again. Impressed by his son's devotion and affection for his family, Jamadagni granted this boon and many others.

Jamadagni was later killed by a Kshatriya king Kartavirya Arjuna, over a dispute over a divine calf named kamadhenu.However Jamadagni was restored to life by Lord Shiva, as he was among a saptarishi and his devout worshipper(as quoted in Shiva Mahapurana).

The lineage of Bhrigu:

The lineage of sage Bhrigu is indeed illustrious: Chyavana, Jamadagni, Parasurama etc.

The sage Bhrigu got Chyavana through Puloma and Chyavana begot a son Rucheeka, who married Satyavathi, daughter of Gadhi, son of King Kusika. We have an interesting story about this marriage. When sage Rucheeka approached King Gadhi for the hand of Satyavathi, the king put a condition to the sage, that he would give his daughter in marriage if the sage gives him a thousand horses white in body color but with dark ears. The concept of Kanya Sulkam (a tax for giving one’s daughter) probably started that time! It may be that the king wanted to test the powers of the sage and wanted to see whether the sage can take care of his daughter after the marriage. In any case, sage Rucheeka accepted the challenge and prayed to Varuna, who obliged the sage readily. Thus the condition was met and the marriage took place.

It may be noted that the concepts of Kanya Dan and Kanya Sulka got degraded in the later ages due to the Yuga Dharma. The original concepts were with a lot of insight.

Birth of Jamadagni:

Sage Rucheeka took his wife Satyavathi and went to his ashram. When Satyavathi wanted children, sage Rucheeka told her that he would create a divine rice pudding, which would give her a child. Satyavathi requested her husband to help her mother too (Gadhi did not have a son and the life and marriage is considered incomplete without a male child). So, Rucheeka meditated on Para Brahma (The Ultimate Principle) and created two vessels with divine rice preparation. He showed her the two vessels and told her that one of them is brahmyam (full of the brahminic energies, Satva guna) and the second Kshatram (full of the fighting warrior clan’s energies, rajo guna). He tells her that after bath, she and her mother should hug a fig tree and an Aswattha tree respectively and then they should consume the respective rice puddings.

However, due to destiny, the two vessels got interchanged and Satyavathi ate the pudding bearing kshatriya energies and her mother the brahminic one. There is another variant to the story that the mother of Satyavathi interchanged the vessels deliberately because she felt that Sage Rucheeka would give the ‘better’ child to his own wife. Thus jealousy played the part of destiny! Rucheeka saw with his divine vision about the mix up and told his wife that she was bearing a cruel kshatriya foetus in her womb and not a brahminic one. Satyavathi was saddened and prayed to her husband to prevent the calamity through his yogic powers. He agreed and with his yogic powers transferred the change to his grandson (to the next generation).

On one hand, we are told that destiny is inviolable and on the other hand, we are given such instances where the destiny is changed. We come across a wonderful story in Sri Guru Charitra of a Brahmin boy being restored to life after dying from tuberculosis. When questioned about it, Sri Guru shows the questioner the wonderful incident where a part of the life span in the next birth is transferred to the present birth. The story of Markandeya is another example. How to reconcile these two points of view?

It may be that destiny is indeed inviolable but since destiny is the Will of God and no individual knows the same fully, one should do one’s duty and leave the result to God. The sages get some divine perceptions and do what is needed as per that. Sai Baba also showed many such miracles where He could modify the destiny of several devotees including Bhimaji Patil. Sai Ram. Let us now revert back to the story.

Thus a brahminic sage Jamadagni was born to Rucheeka and the kshatriya energies took shape when Jamadagni got a son Rama in due course of time (Who becomes famous as Bhargava Rama and as Parashu Rama since He was carrying a divine Axe as His weapon). Satyavathi’s mother gave birth to a wonderful child who was full of brahma teja (satvik qualities). Thus, though born as a king, Kusika’s grandson, variously known as Gadheya, Kausika and Viswamitra became world famous for his qualities as a Brahmarshi. We will learn more about him when we take up his story in detail.

The curse of Sun God:

Jamadagni married Renuka and was leading a happy married life. He was as well read as his illustrious father and forefathers in all Vedas and Shastras and he acquired enormous powers because of his penance. Once he went to the bank of river Narmada along with his wife Renuka and as fate would have it, felt the desire to have sexual relationship with her in the day time. Since the area was uninhabited, the sage felt that there is no problem for his privacy. When the couple was thus sporting, the Sun God (who is also called as Karma Sakshi, the witness to all our actions) came in human form as a Brahmin and told the sage that what he was doing is not dharma (and especially a learned sage like him should set an example to others). Renuka felt shy at the sight of a brahmin as she was naked and thus the whole mood was spoilt. (A similar story is there about Siva and Parvathi and in that case, resulted in a curse that whoever enters that area will become a woman!) The sage was angry at the interruption (that act is also not dharma, one should not interrupt a person in sleep, in the act of eating, sex, and other natural functions) and cursed Sun God to be afflicted by Rahu (the Surya Grahana has its origin in this curse). The Sun God in turn cursed the sage to meet humiliation and death at the hands of a king. In those times, the sages were beyond death because of their great tapas and were free from disease. They were honored and respected by all others, esp. the kshatriyas. This curse planted the seeds for the death of Jamadagni at the hands of Kartaviryarjuna and then later again at the hands of that king’s sons. It also led to Parasu Rama slaughtering all the kshatriya kings on the earth. We will learn more of that later. Sage Jamadagni gave a further curse to Sun God that He will be considered as a Paapi (malefic) and Lord Brahma came and intervened and pacified both of them. He modified the curses of sage Jamadagni so that the splendor of Sun God is unaffected (except temporarily like when covered by clouds and at a few other times). This story has a lot of esoteric significance and also has significance from the angle of astrology. It is explained nicely by Sadguru Sivanandamurthy in his excellent book, Margadarsakulu Maharshulu (sages as seers and as guides).

The beheading of Renuka and her coming back to life:

In course of time, Jamadagni and Renuka got five sons, Rushunvantha, Sushena, Vasu, Viswavasu and Rama (Parasurama). They were growing up nicely. It was the habit of Renuka (a temple and a pond in her honor – Renuka ji is on the way from Ambala to Simla in Himachal Pradesh and is a picturesque spot) to go daily to river and bring water in an earthen pot. Once when the pot slipped from her hands, she just scooped some river sand and shaped it into a pot by her hands, and that held water because of her spiritual powers. (A similar story is told about Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi in Shri Sai Satcharitra that He was watering the plants using raw earthen pots supplied by a disciple named Vaman Tatya and at the end of each day the pots were breaking up and fresh pots were being supplied every day). One day, as fate would have it, she saw a Gandharva king named Chitraradha sporting with his many wives in the river. She stood watching the sport and though at the conscious level she was unaffected, at the subconscious level her mental equilibrium was disturbed (the purer once aura is, the easier it is for it to get affected. The wearing of white robes is to remind oneself of utmost care in all the planes of consciousness). That day the moist sand was not getting shaped as pot and she had to return empty handed to the ashram. She realized her error and though she wanted to end her life then and there, as a pativrata, she felt that she had no individual rights over her body, mind and soul and returned to the ashram to allow her husband, her Swami, her Master to deal with the situation as he pleased. That is true egolessness, true surrender, true paativratya. (A similar story of a washerman who was serving Sri Guru (Sri Pada Vallabha) at Kurupuram watching a muslim nawab sporting with his queens in the river and thus getting the seeds of desire to enjoy similar pleasures, being blessed by Sri Guru to be born as a muslim ruler in next birth comes to mind. There Sri Guru tells us that seeds of desire should either be burnt off or allowed to grow and fructify. Karma is done with mind, speech and actions and karmic fruits have to be enjoyed till one reaches that stage of true detachment.). Renuka had to ‘enjoy’ the bitter fruits of her aura contamination because of the seeds of latent desire as we shall see below.

Jamadagni saw with his divine sight what happened and asked his sons to behead her as punishment. By accepting the punishment, one gets purified. The higher the status, the greater the punishment was the rule. The rishis had to set examples for others to follow and hence did not allow themselves the slightest benefit of doubt or lenience. The first four sons refused because they could not see through the egoistic filters the true intentions and the powers of their father. The youngest one, Rama obeyed the father’s command and killed his mother and again at the father’s command his brothers too for the sin of disobeying their father’s command. Thus we see that both Ramas (Parasurama and Dasaradha Rama) were great in obeying the commands of father, mother and preceptor. Obeying Guru is the best yagna, best tapas and best sadhana. Obeying Guru (father is the Guru in this case) is the supreme dharma as brought out in Sri Guru Charitra, Sri Sai Satcharitra, Sri Gita and Sri Ramayana etc. Jamadagni was pleased with the obedience of Rama and offered him a boon. Rama asked his father to bring back his mother and brothers to life and the sage obliged. That was the power of the sages in those ages! Their tapas gave them that power! The beheaded body of Renuka is worshipped as a Goddess by name Chinna Masta (without head), who is shown holding her own head with her left hand and three streams of blood shooting up representing the three nadis, ida, pingala and sushumna.

The death of Jamadagni:

The mighty king Kartaviryarjuna of Haihaya clan was born with two short and weak hands. The cause of that deformity is another interesting story. Sudarsana Chakra became rather proud of his own powers once and Sri Maha Vishnu cursed Sudarsana to take birth as a human with weak hands. When Sudarsana realized his error (that is the benefit of a curse, to show the ego its error, thus the curses were meant as boons indirectly), Vishnu assured him that he will rejoin Him soon and will become famous. Thus Kartaviryarjuna was born as a cripple but became a great devotee of Sri Dattatreya (the wonderful form of the Trinity in One) and got many boons from Him. He became one of the mightiest kings on earth and punished the mighty Ravana once and Ravana’s grandfather Pulastya had to visit Kartavirya and intercede on Ravana’s behalf. One of the boons that Kartavirya got was that when the end comes (anything which has a beginning has to have an end), it should be in the hands of a worthy opponent. To fulfill that boon and as promised to Sudarsana, Sri Maha Vishnu took birth as Parasurama to Jamadagni. Let us now enjoy that story.

Jamadagni had a Kamadhenu named Surabhi (there were similar cows in many other ashrams and of course Indra had it in heaven. The cow was capable of fulfilling all the desires and was being treated with love and respect. Once King Kartaviryarjuna visited the ashram of sage Jamadagni along with his retinue (it was the custom of the kings to go hunting and visit the ashrams of various sages who were living in the forest). The sages used to play host as per their capacity. When the king visited sage Jamadagni, the whole retinue was treated lavishly with sumptuous food by the grace of Surabhi. The king was impressed and requested the sage to give the holy cow Surabhi to him. The sage refused.

The king was angry and ordered his army to capture the cow by force. At a glance from the sage Jamadagni, Surabhi created a counter army and in the fight that ensued, the king’s army was defeated. This game went on for twenty times and each time, the divine army created by Surabhi was victorious. The king lost his patience and killed the sage Jamadagni (so that the divine power of Surabhi is reduced) and started searching for Surabhi, but She was to be seen nowhere. She vanished and went back to heaven.

Renuka wanted to accompany Sage Jamadagni on the funeral pyre. Sage Bhrigu (grandfather of Jamadagni) stopped her and brought her back to life along with the Sage Jamadagni. Parasurama was very angry at the turn of events and killed the king Kartaviryarjuna in battle (as per the boon given by Lord Dattatreya). When Parasurama returned from the battle and told his illustrious father about it, the sage told him that it was wrong to kill the king of the land (the king is considered to be an amsa of Vishnu and killing the king and exposing the kingdom to anarchy is a sin) and asked his son to go for tirthayatra (a visit to sacred places) for an year to achieve purification. Obeying the order of his father, Parasurama set off on a pilgrimage. Seizing this opportunity, the sons of Kartaviryarjuna killed Jamadagni. Renuka called out to her divine son twenty one times to protect his father. As per the destiny and as per Sun God’s curse, the mother’s calls to her son went unanswered and the sage Jamadagni met his end.

Jamadagni being cursed by Pitru Devatas:

There is yet another interesting story about sage Jamadagni. After death, he took birth as a mongoose and this was caused by a curse from his Pitru Devatas. Let us now enjoy that story since these stories are not only entertaining but are highly educative too.

As ordained in the scriptures, sage Jamadagni was performing the annual ceremonies for his ancestors and in those ages, they were manifesting before the person in divine forms and were accepting the offerings. As a part of preparation for the ceremony, Jamadagni collected a pot of pure cow milk and kept it aside. The Krodha Devatha (Goddess in charge of Anger), heard that the sages in the lineage of Bhrigu were rather short tempered (though their anger was always directed at world welfare similar to that of sage Durvasa, another great sage, the son of sage Atri), wanted to test sage Jamadagni and took a human form and under the pretext of doing some service in the ashram, caused the pot of milk to overturn. The sage did not get angry and remained calm. Jamadagni was personification of true satvik energies. (It is interesting to relate this to what Lord Sri Krishna tells Sri Arjuna in His Gita: Krodha is born from Kama. Anger is born out of desire, i.e. if desires are not fulfilled, anger arises. Sage Jamadagni was known for his tranquility and that shows that he was unaffected by Kama). The annual ceremony went off albeit with the minor lapse of non-availability of cow milk. The manes (the ancestors) of Jamadagni appeared to him and admonished him that what he did was wrong (not getting angry at a lapse of others that affected his performance of duties). They thus imparted a very important lesson that anger also is a useful tool if used properly and that the six internal enemies are enemies only for a weak mind and are good slaves in the case of a true Master. The Pitru Devatas advised sage Bhrigu that he should atone that lapse by taking birth as a Nakula (a mongoose and a person who has no Kula, no clan, no ancestry in another sense). When requested for forgiveness, they relented and gave the lifting of the curse to coincide with the mongoose contradicting the dharmic sayings of many Brahmins (the dharma like modern day law is complicated and the nuances are brought out through such stories). As per their curse and blessing, sage Jamadagni takes birth as a mongoose and gets release from that at the end of the Aswamedha Yaga performed by Yudhishtira in Maha Bharatha.

நாபி ஸ்தலம் என அழைக்கப்படும் நெமாவரில் ரேணுகா தேவி கோயில் உள்ளது. இது ஜமதக்னி முனிவரின் தவபூமியும் கூட! பரசுராமர் அவதரித்த தலம்.

நீண்ட காலத்திற்கு முன் ரேணு என்ற அரசன் இங்கு ஆட்சி செய்து வந்தான். அவனது பட்டத்து அரசி போக்யாவதி! வாரிசு இல்லையென்ற துக்கம் அவர்களை வதைத்து வந்தது. ஒரு முறை கௌதம முனிவர், அரசனை சந்திக்க நேரிடுகிறது. அவர்களது கவலையை அறிந்து கொண்ட கௌதமமுனிவர், துர்க்காதேவியை வழிபட அறிவுறுத்துகிறார். துர்க்கா தேவியை நினைத்து அரசன் கடுந்தவம் புரிகிறான். பிரசன்னமாகிய தேவி, தானே அவனுக்கு மகளாகப் பிறக்கப் போவதாக அறிவித்து மறைகிறாள்.

ரேணுவிற்குப் பிறந்த அந்த தெய்வீகக் கன்னிகை ரேணுகா என்ற நாமத்தைப் பெறுகிறாள். நாளடைவில் பருவத்தை அடைய, மகளின் விவாகம் குறித்து அரசன் மனதில் கவலை எழுகிறது. ரேணுகாவிற்கு தகுந்த மணமகன் கிடைப்பது அரிதாக... துர்க்காதேவி மீண்டும் அரசனின் உதவிக்கு வருகிறாள்.

ராஜகிரி மலையில் உறையும் ஜமதக்னி என்ற முனிவருக்கு ரேணுகாவை மணம் முடித்து வைக்க அரசனுக்கு உத்தரவு தரப்படுகிறது. ஜமதக்னி - ரேணுகா தம்பதிகளுக்கு நான்கு குழந்தைகள் பிறக்கின்றனர். அதில் நாலாவது மகனே ரிஷி பரசுராம். செவ்வாய்க் கிழமை ரேணுகா தேவிக்கு உகந்த நாளாகக் கருதப்படுகிறது. 

ஜமதக்னி முனிவர் ஈஸ்வரனின் பெரும் பக்தர். ஜமதக்னி சப்த ரிஷிகளில் ஒருவர். ஜமதக்னி என்ற பெயர் தீயை விழுங்குபவர் என்ற பொருளைத் தரும். அவரது தவத்தையும் ஈடுபாட்டையும் கண்டு மனம் மகிழ்ந்த இறைவர், அவர்முன் தோன்றி, வேண்டிய வரத்தைக் கேட்குமாறு பணிக்கிறார். தனது கர்மகாரியங்களுக்கும் சுற்றியுள்ள முனி சிரேஷ்டர்களுக்கும் உதவியாக இருக்க காமதேனுவை மட்டும் அருளுமாறு ஜமதக்னி வேண்டுகிறார்.

காமதேனு, ஜமதக்னியை வந்தடைகிறது. ஆனால் அவரது களிப்பும் திருப்தியும் நீண்ட நாட்கள் நீடிக்க முடியவில்லை. நர்மதைக் கரையில் மாஹிஷ்மதியைத் தலைநகராகக் கொண்டு ஆண்டு வந்த கார்த்தவீர்யார்ஜுனன், பேராசையால் காமதேனுவைக் கவர்கிறான். ஜமதக்னி முனிவரும் உயிர் துறக்க நேருகிறது. ரிஷி பரசுராம் மூலம் உனது குலமும் சத்திரியர்கள் வம்சமும் நாசமாகும் என காமதேனு கார்த்தவீர்யார்ஜுனனை சபித்துவிட்டு மேலுலகம் செல்கிறது.

ஹிமாச்சல பிரதேச மாநிலத்தின் நஹன் பகுதியில் அமைந்துள்ள முதன்மையான சுற்றுலா தலம் ஜமு சிகரமாகும். ஜமு சிகரத்திலிருந்தவாறு, பார்வையாளர்கள் 8 கிமீ தொலைவில் உள்ள ரேணுகா ஏரியையும் மற்றும் சிகரத்தைச் சுற்றியுள்ள பசுமைப் போர்வையையும் காணலாம்.

உள்ளூர் மக்களின் நம்பிக்கைப் படி ஜமதக்னி முனிவர் இந்த சிகரத்தின் உச்சியில் அமைந்திருக்கும் சிறு கோவிலின் தியானம் செய்வதை வழக்கமாக கொண்டிருந்தார். இந்து மத புராணங்களிள், ஜமதக்னி முனிவர் சப்தரிஷிகள் என்றழைக்கப்பட்ட ஏழு முனிவர்களில் ஒருவர் எனவும், அவருடைய மகனான பரசுராமர் மகா விஷ்ணுவின் ஒரு அவதாரமாகவும் சித்தரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளார்கள்.

இங்கே காணப்படும் சிறிய காலடிப்பாதையின் வழிகாட்டுதலில் இந்த கோவிலை பார்வையாளர்கள் அடைய முடியும். 932 மீ உயரத்தில் அமைந்திருக்கும் இந்த சிகரம் பார்வையாளர்களுக்கு மலையேறும் வாய்ப்புகளை கொடுக்கும் இடமாக இருக்கிறது. இந்த இடத்திற்கு வருகை தருவதற்கு ஏற்ற மாதங்களாக குளுமையும், வசதிகளும் நிறைந்த டிசம்பர் முதல் மார்ச் மாதங்களைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கலாம்.

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Atthiri - Saptha Rishi 1

About Atthiri Maharishi

Courtesy: jeevanadi.com

Hinduism owes a lot to its ancient sages. One of the most powerful saints in Hindu mythology is Atri maharishi. Now we are going to tell you about Atri maharishi's life history and his concert, mata or mother Anusuya and their power and participation in creating the whole world. They have written palm leaves which are of totally different nature. Atri maharishi's one of the seven sons (Vasistha, Bharadvaja, Jamadagni, Gautama, Atri, Visvamitra, and Agastya,) of creater Brahma. He is the ancestor of some Brahmin and Vaishya communities, who adopt Atri as their gothra. His name means the possessor of Sat (pure), Raja (medium) and Tama (dark) qualities. 

Mata or mother Anusuya is a daughter of kardama prajapati. She had three sons and one daughter including Soma, Dattatreya, and Durvasa and Shubhatreyi, who are the incarnations of define trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Siva respectively. The trinity channeled through Brahmarishi Atri when they granted boons to his wife devi Anusuya for helping, the sun to raise in the east every day.

Atri maharishi did great tapas on the Para Brahma, the fire / heat of the tapas became unbearable to the whole world, and Lord Brahma had to accept it and gave it a form of a man. He also granted a boon to sage Atri. The boon was that at the right time a son would be born to him. As he continued the tapas, the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva (Rudra) appeared before the sage. To his question, they replied that they were all equal with different roles and pleased with his great penance they promised to be born as his children. Soma is called Chandratreya or Chandratre, and Durvasa is Krishnatreya or Krishnatre.

Somatreya (Chandra) established the Someshwara Jyotirlinga, used to overcome all kinds of passion. Soma, as the incarnation of Brahma, has the power to cause any species to continue survival. Soma (Chandra) and Furvasa gave their powers to Datta (Amsa of Vishnu) and went for Tapas etc. Datta, or Dattatreya as he prefers to be known thus carries all the powers and attributes of the Trinity and thus the Nirguna Para Brahma Tatwa and became a Guru and continues even now. Sage Atri is the first among the Sapta Rishi (seven luminous or eternal sages in the sky) symbolized by the great bear (Ursa Major) and the seven stars around it.

The Power of Sage Atri Maharishi:

(i) Once when he was in need of some money, he approached Prithu Chakravarthy for help. Prithu agreed to help the rishi but, in turn requested him to help with the Aswamedha Yaga that he was taking up. He asked sage Atri to help his son who was appointed as guardian for the yaga aswa. Indra wanted to cause interruption to the yaga presumably to prevent Prithu from getting more powerful. So, he came disguised and stole the yaga aswa and was carrying it away in the sky. Prithu's son asked sage Atri whether he should kill him with his arrows. Sage Atri saw what Indra was doing and wanted to teach him a lesson and so advised that whoever is causing obstacles to the yaga deserves punishment and killing that person or injuring him is allowed by dharma. He indicated that the person was none other than Indra but no one is above dharma.

So, the son of Prithu shot an arrow at Indra and Indra was badly hurt. Indra left the horse but again stole it and became invisible. Atri made Indra visible by absorbing Indra's powers (like a black body absorbs radiation) and Prithu's son punished him again! The yaga was completed successfully and the emperor praised Atri to the sky. Sage Gautama, who was present (and is a very great sage himself) felt jealous (or pretended to be so!) and when sage Atri returned the compliments to Emperor Prithu praising him as Chandra and Indra, sage Gautama objected saying that it is against dharma. Atri maharishi responded that he did not do anything wrong and asked the assembly to pass their ruling on this tricky matter.

The assembly of learned sages could not decide and they in turn submitted the question to Sanatkumara, another manasa putra of Brahma. He confirmed that since a king of emperor cannot become so without an amsa of Vishnu in him. Atri did not err in equating the king to Indra. All sages including Gautama accepted this ruling. It is quite probable that sage Gautama wanted to bring out the subtleties of dharma through this incident and of course it is possible for the greatest soul also to momentarily succumb to the internal enemies. For us, the morals of the story are important.

(ii) Once upon a time, there was a fierce war between devas and danavas (it is a never ending war in our own mind) and Surya and Chandra lost their tejas (effulgence, energy) due to Rahu and Ketu. They approached sage Atri and prayed for his help. He restored their energies so that they can carry out their duties. He also gave them a boon that in future, they would not be adversely affected (except during the brief periods of eclipse/grahanam). It just shows the enormous powers that sage Atri had because of his tapas. Let us bow to Him and request His help in regaining our own glory and realize our true nature.

(iii) Atri Maharishi had a close connection with Mahabharatha. Drona was made the head of the Kaurava army after Bhisma's fall. Dronacharya fought ferociously and the number of wounded and the dead soldiers was thousands. Their cry of pain rented the skies, blood flowed on the battle field. Dead bodies got piled up and provided a feast for the birds of prey. In this carnage which went beyond all human estimation, Drona stood like a mad hero of demonic proportion. Sage Atri was very much worried of this because if Drona continued this he would cause destruction and human misery beyond hellish proportions.

Atri came to the battle field along with six of his companions. It was at this time Dharmaraya had shouted at the instance of Sri Krishna saying that Ashwathama was killed and this put Drona off completely. He lost all hope in his life. He became mad with anger and this sent shock wave all around. Sage Atri felt sad for him and talked to him in a friendly manner consoling him, "Dear friend, all along you have done everything against Dharma. This war you are engaged in is the best proof. It is enough now and should be stopped. Stop this carnage. You are a good man. This act is not in tune with your status. You are a scholar of Vedanta par excellence.

You have been a Brahman and you have got to practice dhrama. This cruel act does not befit you. Give up your weapons; fix your mind in our glorious Sanathana Dharma. I am sorry that you have wielded the most terrible brahmastra". Then Dronachariya decided to give up his arms and stop killing. He drove away his anger jealousy and sense of revenge and his heart became pure. He sat in a yogic posture and started to meditate amidst the cries of pain, killing, and flow of blood on the battle field. What a great change!! He concentrated on lord Vishnu and closed his eyes and never opened them again. He then left his body and started his journey towards the lord. If Atri had not come Drona would have destroyed the battle field. Hence age Atri's kind nature helped to save many men.

(iv) Sri Rama, the son of Dasaratha, visited Atri Maharishi's Ashram during his fourteen years of stay in the forest. It was Atri who showed the way to Dandakaranya after showering his hospitality on him. At his suggestion, Sita requested and learnt the innermost secrets of Pativarata Dharma from Anasuya mata. It is not that Sita was not aware of them but in an avatar, the Divine behave as if they are normal people and especially in Ramayana, Sri Rama and Sri Sita showed that it is entirely possible to be divine and yet lead a normal life as per the human values. Let us bow to Sri Sita, Sri Rama, Sri Lakshmana, Sage Atri and Anasuya Mata.

(v) Attri Maharishi is considered to be one of the great discoverers of sacred Mantras of Hinduism. In his family line, there were a few other seers of mantras namely: Shaavaashva, Avishtir, and Purvaatithi. There were also other great Rishis in that line: Mudgala, Uddaalaki, Shaakalaayani, chaandogya, etc. Rahu had masked the Sun and whole Earth was in the dark. Then Atri got the Sun out of Rahu's hands and lighted the Earth. The gods were happy and then Shiva and Vishnu were born as Durvas and Dattatreya to Atri-Anusuya.

Atri and AUM:

He is among the three main seers who propounded the sacred thread (after Brihaspati) which has three strands symbolishing Creation (Brahma and the letter A), sustainability (Vishnu and the letter U) and Dissolution (Shiva {m} and the latter M). Together these three strands show the vow that a Brahmin takes to recite and adhere to Aum. The first of three threads is provided for the Brahma vrata (promise of the Brahmin) and is related to Bhu loka (earth plane). The second set of three threads is given after marriage and is related to the Bhuva loka (solar system) while the third set of three threads Deeksha (initiation) and is related to svarga loka (heavens).

The Power of Anusuya Devi:

(i) Sage Narad praised Anusuya very much thereby making the wives of Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva jealous of Anusuya. They requested their husbands to go and break her "pativrata" vrata (being loyal to husband all the time). They went to Anusuya as guests when Atri was not there at home and asked her to serve them food (lunch) without wearing clothes. She agreed and remembering her husband put the water on their converting them to 3 babies. Here the 3 goddesses were waiting for their husbands to come back and eventually arrived at the scene to find that their husbands have been converted to babies. They repented and by the request of Anusuya the three Gods decided to be born as her 3 sons.

The spiritual power of Anusuya, which induced jealousy and envy in others. Once, sage Narada poisoned the mind of the three Goddess Saraswati, Laxmi and Parvati by telling them that Anusuya was much greater than them. Incensed by this, they requested their husbands to go and violate Anusuya's Pativrata Vrata. However, the three Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva decided to prove their jealous and envious wives, how wrong they were. They transformed themselves, into mendicants, approached the hermitage of sage Atri and begged for alms. At that time sage Atri was away at the river offering his daily oblations. Anusuya came out and offered food to them. They made a strange request; the food be prepared and served to them by Anusuya, in the nude. In the Indian tradition any 'Aithi' i.e. guest cannot be turned away, as he is considered to be an aspect of God.

Hence, she was placed in a dilemma. She smiled to herself and reflected thus, "I am totally purified by the long association with the Holy Sage Atri. What harm can the God of lust ever do to me? So, I do fear nothing. As they sought food from my hand, I look upon them as my children and not strangers and grown up men!" Her thoughts - the thoughts of a pious and chaste person - instantly became reality; the elderly guests became babies! Sage Atri, on his return to the hermitage, saw his wife Anusuya fondling three babies. Anusuya said, "These children are the gift of God to us, who have been childless so far".

Sage Atri was overjoyed and named them Datta, which means 'given'. At this, the three Gods reverted to their real forms and disclosed the truth. They extolled the power of chastity and purity of Anusuya, which vanquished the combined and colossal powers of all the three of them. Sage Atri and Anusuya prayed that they should remain as their sons. They consented and the three Gods merged into one body. This is how Lord Dattatreya incarnated.

(ii) A brahmin named Kaushik was staying in a town called Pratishthaan. He used to go to a whore in spite of being a Brahmin and having a devoted wife. Later, he suffred from Leprosy and was thrown out by the whore. Then he returned back to his wife who still accepted him. However, he still did not care for the wife, and was thinking about the whore all the time. One day he asked his wife to take him to that whore.

In that town, by mistake the sage Mandavya had been spiked instead of the real thief and he was lying on the spike in the forest. While walking through the deep forest in the night, Kaushik happened to hit his leg by mistake to Mandavya sage who cursed him to death before the sunrise. To stop the curse, Kaushik's wife with her powers stopped the Sunrise which created havoc. Then gods went to Brahma who in turn went to Anusuya and asked her to convince Kaushik's wife to allow the sunrise. She convinced Kaushik's wife and brought back Kaushik to life after the sunrise. Gods were very happy with Anusuya and she had the trio born to her.

(iii) As per description of Valmiki at one time there was no rain in Chitrakuta for ten years. There was a severe famine and nothing was left to eat or drink for animals and birds. Sati Anusuya performed hard and intensive austerities and got the river Mandakini down on earth. This led to the greenery and forests to grow which removed the sufferings of all sages and the animals. Sati Anusuya ashrama at present is a very peaceful place where various streams from the hills converge and form the Mandakini River. It is said that Rama along with Sita had visited this place to meet Maharishi Atri and Sati Anusuya. It is here Sati Anusuya explained to Sita the grandeur and importance of satitva. The dense forests of Dandaka start from this place. It was ruled by Ravana. Ravana had appointed strong rakshasas like Khara and Viradha as its rulers. The place was infected by the terror of rakshasas.

Mata Anusuya Ashram in North India:

Anusuya or Sati Anusuya, in Hindu mythology, was wife of the sage Atri and mother of Dattatreya who is considered by some Hindus (in western India) to be an incarnation of the Divine Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. Sati Anusuya ashrama is in Chitrakuta, located further upstreams the Mandakini River, 16 km from the town, set amidst thick forests that round to the melody of birdsong all day. It was here that sage Atri, his wife Anusuya and their three sons (who were the three incarnations of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh), lived and are said to have meditated.

Sage Atri and Mata Anusuya Ashram in South India:

The both great sages Atri maharishi and Anusuya devi lived together in Suchindram near Kanyakumari located 13 km. from Kanyakumari in Tamilnadu. 

அத்திரி மகரிஷி 
Courtesy: Dinamalar

 
உலகம் தோன்றிய காலத்திலேயே அவதரித்த ரிஷிகளில் அத்திரியும் ஒருவர். சிருஷ்டி கர்த்தாவான பிரம்மதேவரின் மானசபுத்திரர் இவர். இவருடைய மனைவி அனுசூயா. பதிவிரதையான அனுசூயாவால் அத்திரி முனிவருக்கும், அத்திரி முனிவரால் அனுசூயாவுக்கும் பெருமை. தவசக்தியில் இருவருமே சளைத்தவர்கள் அல்ல. வேத புராண இதிகாசங்கள் எல்லாவற்றிலும் இத்தம்பதிகள் உயர்வாகப் பேசப்பட்டுள்ளனர். ராமாயணத்தில் அத்திரி முனிவரின் ஆஸ்ரமத்திற்கே ராமனும் சீதையும் முதன்முதலில் சென்றனர். சித்திரகூட பர்வதத்திலிருந்து காட்டிற்குள் சென்ற ராமனும் சீதையும், அத்திரி முனிவர் ஆஸ்ரமத்தில் ஒருநாள் தங்கினர். அப்போது ராமசீதா தம்பதிகளிடம் அத்திரி முனிவர் தன் மனைவி அனுசூயாவை காட்டி, ராமா! அனுசூயா கோபம் என்பதையே அறியாதவள். அசூயை என்னும் சொல்லுக்கு மனதில் சிறிதும் விருப்பம் இல்லாதவள் எனப்பொருள். இவள் மண்ணுயிர்கள் எல்லாம் போற்றி வணங்கும் பெருமை கொண்டவள். குணவதி, தர்மவதி, பதிவிரதா தர்மத்தில் தலைசிறந்தவள். தர்மமும் புண்ணியமும் நிறைந்த அனுசூயாவிடம் ஆசிபெறுவீர்களாக!, என்று சொன்னார். ஒரு சந்தர்ப்பத்தில் நாட்டில் மழையே பெய்யவில்லை. தொடர்ந்து பத்து ஆண்டுகளாக வறட்சி நிலவியது. எங்கும் தண்ணீர் பஞ்சம். வாயில்லா ஜீவன்களுக்கு பசும்புல் கூட கிடைக்கவில்லை. இந்தக் காட்சியைக் கண்ட அனுசூயாவிற்கு உள்ளம் உருகியது. ஆயிரக்கணக்கான ஆண்டுகளாக தான் செய்த தவசக்தியால் கங்கையை வரவழைத்தாள். எல்லா குளங்களையும் நிறைத்தாள். தண்ணீர் பெற்று, பயிர்கள் செழித்து வளர்ந்தன. எங்கும் பசுமை உண்டானதைக் கண்டு மகிழ்ந்தாள். ஒருமுறை அனுசூயாவின் தோழியைச் சந்தர்ப்ப வசத்தால் சபித்தார் ஒரு முனிவர். பொழுது விடிந்தால் நீ விதவையாவாய் என்பதே அந்த சாபம். என்ன செய்ய முடியும்? அபலையாய் ஓடி வந்து அனுசூயாவிடம் வந்து நின்றாள் அவள். விஷயத்தை சொன்னாள். சாபவிமோசனம் என்பது யார் சாபமிட்டார்களோ அவர்களே தரவேண்டியது என்பதை அறியாதவர்கள் யார்? இருந்தாலும், நட்புக்கு கை கொடுக்க முன்வந்த அனுசூயா தன் தோழியிடம், விடிந்தால் தானே நீ விதவையாவாய்! விடியலே இல்லாமல் செய்து விடுகிறேன் என்று ஆறுதல் சொன்னாள்.

ஒரு நாள் இருநாள் அல்ல. பத்து நாட்கள் விடியாமல் இரவாகவே கழிந்தது. உலகமே திகைத்தது. தேவர்கள் கூடினர். அனுசூயாவிடம் வேண்டிக் கொண்டனர். மீண்டும் பகல்வேளை வரவேண்டுமானால் என் தோழி சுமங்கலியாக வாழ வேண்டும், என்று நிபந்தனையிட்டாள் அனுசூயா. தேவர்களும் அவ்வாறே வாக்களித்தனர். நினைத்ததைச் சாதித்து தன் தோழியைக் காப்பாற்றினாள். இத்தகைய மகாஉத்தமி அனுசூயாவின் கணவர் அத்தரிமுனிவர் என்ன சாமான்யமானவரா? அவரும் புகழிலும், தவத்திலும் யாருக்கும் இணையில்லாதவர். உலகிற்கே ஒளிதரும் சூரியனுக்கே வாழ்வு தந்த வள்ளல் அத்திரிமுனிவர். ஒருமுறை அசுரர்களில் ஒருவனான ஸ்வர்பானு தன்னைக் காட்டிக் கொடுத்த சூரியதேவன் மீது கோபம் கொண்டான். இவனே கிரகங்களில் நிழல் கிரகங்களான ராகுகேதுவாக மாறினான். தன் பகையைத் தீர்த்துக் கொள்ள எண்ணியவன் சூரியனைக் கிரகணமாகப் பிடித்தான். ராகுவின் பாதிப்புக்கு உள்ளாகி ஒளியை இழந்து நின்ற சூரியனுக்கு மீண்டும் ஒளி கொடுத்து காப்பாற்றியவர் அத்திரி முனிவரே.

சூரியன் காலையில் கிழக்கில் உதிக்கிறான். மாலையில் மறைந்து விடுகிறான். உலகமே சூரியனின் வருகைக்காகக் காத்துக் கிடக்கிறது. இரவுநேரத்தில் வெளிச்சம் இல்லாமல் சிரமப்படுவதை எண்ணி வருந்தினார் அத்திரி. அதற்கு ஒரு முடிவு கட்ட எண்ணினார். ஆழமான சமுத்திரத்தின் அடிப்புறத்தில் போய் அமர்ந்தார். தவத்தில் ஆழ்ந்தார். மனுஷ வருஷங்கள் அல்ல. பல தேவவருஷங்கள்  தவத்தைத் தொடர்ந்தார். தவக்கனல் அதிகரித்தது. அவருடைய கண்களில் அபார ஜோதி தோன்றியது. கடல் நீரையும் கிழித்துக் கொண்டு அந்த ஜோதி பூமியையும் விட்டு வேகமாக கிளம்பிச் சென்றது. பூமியை விட்டு நெடுந்தூரம் சென்ற ஜோதியைக் கண்ட படைப்புக் கடவுள் பிரம்மா, அதை அப்படியே நிலை நிறுத்தும்படி திசைகளுக்கு கட்டளையிட்டார். பிரம்மாவே நேரில் வந்து, அந்த ஜோதியைத் தன் தேரில் ஏற்றிக்கொண்டு 21 முறை பூமியை வலம் வந்தார். பிரம்மா செய்த ஏற்பாட்டினை இன்றளவும் அந்த ஜோதி செய்து கொண்டிருக்கிறது. அந்த ஜோதியினைத் தான் இரவில் நிலாவாக வான மண்டலத்தில் காண்கிறோம். இரவி<லும் பூமிக்கு ஒளி தரும் சந்திரனைத் தந்த பெருமை அத்திரி முனிவருடையதே.

யாகம் ஒன்றிற்கு அத்திரி சதுரஹம் என்று பெயர். முதன்முதலில் இந்த யாகத்தைச் செய்தவர் இவர் என்பதால் அவர் பெயராலேயே அழைக்கப்பட்டு வருகிறது. மனதில் எண்ணிய எண்ணங்களுக்கு செயல்வடிவம் தரும் மகத்தான யாகம் இது. இந்த யாகத்தை செய்பவர்கள் வேண்டிய பலனைப் பெற்று வாழ்வர் என்று வேதம் சொல்கிறது. ஆயுர்வேத சாஸ்திரம், ஜோதிடம் போன்ற கலைகளில் அத்திரிமுனிவர் மிகவும் கை தேர்ந்தவர். வைத்திய சாஸ்திரத்தி<லும், ஜோதிட சாஸ்திரத்திலும் இவரின் பங்களிப்பு சிறப்பானதாகும். பிரம்மதேவரின் நகங்களில் இருந்து தோன்றிய விகநஸ மகரிஷி அத்திரியின் மாணவர்.இந்த உலகம் தோன்றிய போதே அவதரித்த இவர், தன் தவவலிமையால் பல்லாயிரம் புத்திரர்களை பெற்றெடுத்தார். அவர்கள் தங்களை ஆத்ரேய கோத்திரம் என்று வழங்குகின்றனர். மழை பெய்ய மறுக்கும் இந்த சமயத்தில், மக்களுக்காக அன்று மழையை வரவழைத்த அத்திரி அனுசூயா தம்பதிகளை நினைவில் இருத்தி பிரார்த்திப்போம்.
 

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