India’s most revered sage Maharishi Vishwamitra not only enriched the Indian religion and culture on the strength of his knowledge and penance, but also on the strength of his sadhana and penance, he changed from Kshatriyahood to Brahminhood and succeeded in joining the Saptarishis of the seventh Manvantara. And as the first person of the movement of purification (making Aryan) by his actions, he also became the announcer of Krivanton Vishwamaryam. Vishwamitra, who became a Brahmarshi from a Rajarshi, proved through his deeds that everything can be made possible on the strength of worship and penance and a living being should save his energy from lust and anger, otherwise the path of life becomes more time-consuming and difficult. Suffering becomes doable.
4 November- Maharishi Vishwamitra Jayanti
Maharishi Vishwamitra, the seer (seer) of Gayatri Mantra, has a special place in Vedic thought. Vishwamitra is the seer of the third mandala out of the ten mandalas in the Rigveda. For this reason the third division is called Vaishvamitra Division. In the third mandala, along with the praises of deities like Indra, Aditi, Agni, Usha, Ashwini etc., there is description of knowledge-science, spirituality and cow glory. The description of Gayatri Mantra is mentioned in the 62nd Sukta of the third section of Rigveda –
ॐ Bhurbhuva: Sva: Tatsavitur Varenya Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi Dhiyo Yo Na: Prachodyat.
That is, let us hold in our hearts that life-giving, suffering-destroying, happiness-giving, superior, brilliant, sin-destroying, God-like Supreme Being. May that God direct our intelligence to the right path.
Gayatri Mantra is said to be the root of all Veda mantras. From a proper study of the detailed descriptions written about Vishwamitra in the Vedic and mythological texts, it becomes clear that sage Vishwamitra was the first man of the Shuddhi (Aryan making) movement. He was the Maharaja born in the glorious caste of Bharat in the Sapt Sindhu region known as Arya Bhoomi during the period of Devasura war i.e. the vast region spanning Sindhu, Saraswati, Drishdwiti, Shatadra, Parushni, Asikri and Vitasta, which extended through Tibet till Bindhya. He was the son of Gandhi. The story of his birth is also interesting. Even after Maharaj Gandhi reached old age, he was worried that no son would be born as his successor. Although he had a daughter, Satyavati, who was married to sage Bhrigu Richik. Satyavati asked her husband Bhrigu to pray to Varun Dev for the birth of a brother, that is, a daughter of her mother. When Satyavati repeatedly asked for this, Bhrigu Richik prayed to Varun Dev. King Gadhi and Richik Rishi i.e. Satyavati had a son together. King Gadhi’s son was named Vishvaratha and Satyavati’s son was named Jamadagni. Both uncle and nephew started living together. Both never wanted to be separated, as if two bodies were one soul. Both of them were sent to the Gurukul of Rishi August to get education. Children of many kings of Aryavarta also studied in that Gurukul, but these two were very bright.
Therefore within a short time he became his Guru’s most beloved disciple. Once, on the orders of Guru August to aim at a rotating pot in a competition organized in Gurukul, Vishwaratha meditated on Lord Varun and released the arrow, which hit the target exactly. King Diodas was also present there as the chief guest in August’s Gurukul and his son Sudas was also present as an old student of the Gurukul. All the new and old students were showing their skills in the competition. Vishwarath became everyone’s favorite due to his accurate aim at the pot in the competition. By then only three months had passed since Vishwarath had come to the Gurukul.
By the time he got education in Gurukul, he had become the greatest master in the entire Aryavarta. Then his father Bharat Raj Gandhi died. August could not leave him with incomplete education. Vishwarath was not interested in state affairs. By that time he had started seeing mantras. Therefore his desire was to become a sage. He did not feel like leaving the ashram. He wanted to know why Rishi August wanted to end the bandit rule? Why is Varuna not kind to the demons?
At that time two types of directions of thinking were visible. Sage Vashishtha used to talk about blood purification (hereditary), whereas Vishvaratha believed in the right to make everyone Aryan. Asur Raj Shambar, the lord of 99 forts, was very powerful, but he was hated among the Aryans. Bandits could only become slaves. Bandit women could only be slaves. This was the difference between Vishvaratha and Vashishtha. Vishvaratha was in favor of penance, while Vashishtha was in favor of satsang. In today’s language, Vishvaratha was a nationalist, while Vashishtha was a ritualist. Vishvaratha Krivanto was the rightful successor of Vishwamariam. Coincidentally, at this time, Shambar Raj’s soldiers accidentally kidnapped Vishwaratha and his friend Riksha.
Shambar did not know that the person being kidnapped was a prince of the Bharat dynasty. The demons had no fight with the Bharatas. August wanted that all the Aryans should come under one Kshetra. Although this kidnapping happened unknowingly. And even at the time of Vishwaratha’s arrival at Dasyuraj Shambar’s place, he could not be introduced properly. While living his life in captivity, Shambar Raj’s son fell ill. The Rajguru there was called for treatment, who was a Shaiva (Ugradev), and a worshiper of Lord Shankar. All the demons were worshipers of Shankar, that is, they worshiped Shivalinga. It did not take long for Vishvaratha to understand that the conflict was between Varun Dev and Shivalinga worshipers (Shaivas). Asur Rajpurohit told Shambar Raj that even the God of Death could not bring him back. Everyone became disappointed. The child’s mother became distressed and started crying. Vishwarath could not see his sorrow. He said to Dasyuraj that he has already died, give me one chance, maybe I can pray and bring him back to life with my blessings. Aghori did not accept this, but the king gave permission. Vishwaratha appealed to Varun Dev and prayed to him saying – O Varun Dev, after all this is your child too, please bring him back to life. He put his penance at stake. Varun Dev was pleased and brought that child back to life. Vishwarath’s influence was established in the bandit family. The bandit princess Ugra fell in love with him. But how could Vishvaratha accept that non-Aryan Ugra? But the gods accepted that all humans should be made Aryans. Vishwarath accepted it with the permission of God. They started living as husband and wife. But where was August supposed to sit? He attacked Dasyuraj. Hearing of the kidnapping of the Bharata prince, the Aryans united and conquered 99 forts of the Dasyuraja. Ugra saved Vishvaratha from being sacrificed. By giving timely information to August, he got his fort attacked. Aryans won. Ugra’s father Shambar called Ugra a traitor and called her sinful. But he drank all the insults and gave life to Vishwarath. August started putting pressure on Vishvaratha to leave the ugly non-Aryan Ugra or make her his maid.
This was not acceptable to Vishwarath. He did not believe in any difference between humans. Vishvaratha chants the Gayatri Mantra to convert Ugra into an Aryan, but the people still refuse to accept Ugra. Soon Ugra gives birth to a son, but to save the son from angry people, Lopamudra, the eldest woman saint of that time, sends the child to a safe and secret place. People kill Ugra. Due to this, Lopamudra and Vishvaratha become extremely sad, but Ugra’s son is saved. Vishwarath did not know this. Gradually this child grows up and is present at the function of King Ambarish to sacrifice himself. By this time Vishwamitra had started having darshan of gods and mantras. He is not interested in politics. Now he left Tatsu and went to Bharat village. His coronation also took place there. But his mind was that of an ascetic. He saw the Gayatri Mantra while doing penance. He announced Krivanto Vishwamaryam. He not only saw the universe but also heard the sound of its struggle in the form of Gayatri Mantra – O3m Bhurbhuvah Swah Tats.. And by this the process of purification of all human beings and making everyone Aryan started.
Under the reform movement, the practice of this mantra spread among women and all castes. And said that recitation and chanting of Gayatri Mantra is open to everyone. Therefore, by chanting it widely, humans should become superior. In fact, as the greatest master of Aryavarta, he had no competition with Vashishtha. He was the only sage of his path. The talk about his desire to become a Brahmarishi is wrong and a rumour. Being the first mantra seer of Rigveda, he was a Brahmarshi in his own right. While studying as Vishvarath, he became Vishwamitra and Maharishi by becoming a mantra seer. Tatshus, Bharatas all became the priests of Aryavarta. At the peak of his long penance journey, the yoga power of sage Vishwamitra had also reached its peak. Reaching this point, Lord Brahma, under the leadership of Indradev, gave the title of Brahmarshi to King Kaushik and gave him a name – Vishwamitra, that is, one who is a friend of all, who has unlimited compassion in his heart.
He had witnessed the battle between gods and demons directly. He saw everyone as equal and considered both Shiva and Varun as gods. He had experienced it firsthand. Devasura Sangram was nothing but a conflict between the supporters, followers or followers of Shaiva and Varuna or the followers of those cultures. Through his actions he became revered by both of them. He wanted to take the nation in a stronger direction. He did not want to let everyone be deprived of becoming Aryans. The resolution to unite both, by establishing Shivalinga in Rameshwaram by Lord Shri Ram, the best dynasty of Aryavarta, to turn the whole of India into Aryavarta, by proving that both are one, by developing a new method of worship, gave India the form of a nation and Aryavarta. Sage August and Sage Lopamudra also agreed with their beloved disciple. He completed this great work of Vishwamitra in the south.
According to another story, Jamadagni and Vishwamitra went to perform Narmedh Yagya to free King Harishchandra from the curse of Varun Dev. All the kings of entire Aryavarta were present there. They had come to see the majesty of Vishwamitra and wondered how Vishwamitra would be defamed in the entire Aryavarta if a human sacrifice took place today? What will they say today? But due to the majesty of Vishwamitra, Veda mantras started being chanted from the mouth of Shunashep brought for sacrifice and everyone saw the god. There was cheering on this. He accepted that Shunashep as his son. He crowned his son as the heir to his kingdom. And adopted Shunshep as his spiritual successor. Now he was not the priest of Maharaja Sudas or Aryavarta. The Bharatas had found their king.