Stories From The Bhagawatham - The Quest To Become A Brahmarishi - Part 1
There once lived a king named Kaushika who was a just ruler and
was loved and respected throughout his kingdom.
One day, while roaming around with his army, he came across a
beautiful Ashram where lived Sage Vashishta. As it was considered disrespectful
for a Kshatriya to just pass by the Ashram of a Rishi without paying him his
due respects, Kaushika entered the Ashram and prostrated before Rishi Vashishta
who welcomed him warmly. After exchanging pleasantries, the sage requested the
king to have a meal in the Ashram, along with his entire army. Kaushika was
worried that the sage might not have enough to feed the entire group, so he
politely declined. However, the sage insisted, and the king finally agreed.
Rishi Vashishta called out, ‘Shabale! Please come here.” To the
king’s amazement, a beautiful cow walked up to them. The cow was none other
than Kaamadhenu, the giving cow that could present anything that was asked of
her.
“Shabale, this king and his army will be having meals here.
Please provide a grand fare for them.” To his immense amazement, Kaushika found
a royal feast laid out for him and his entire army.
The meal was delicious, and the guests heartily partook of the
royal fare. Kaushika was absolutely enamoured with the cow. He pleaded to the
sage, “I have never had such a wonderful meal before. This cow is precious. Such
a giving cow should be in the possession of the king of the region. Please give
her to me. I can give you any amount of riches in exchange.”
“She is not just a cow.” The sage said gravely. “She is like a
daughter to me. No amount of money or jewelry can replace her. I am sorry, but I
won’t part from her.”
The king was shocked that his favor had been refused. He curbed
his rising anger and again pleaded. And again, the sage refused.
Overcome by anger, the king said, “If you do not give Shabala to
me willingly, I know how to take her by force.” He commanded his army to
forcibly take the cow away. The cow cried piteously and kept looking at Sage
Vashishta. Finally she broke free from the army and came to him, shedding
tears. Vashishta stroked her gently and said, “Create an army which can fight
against this king’s army.”
Within seconds, hundreds of warriors sprang up in the Ashram and
put up an intense fight with the king’s army. The king’s ego was severely
humbled, realizing that his army was being defeated by an army summoned by a
cow. He himself got involved in the fight and started slaying the other army’s
warriors. Seeing the king’s involvement, Shabala summoned even more warriors.
The final blow to Kaushika was when his sons who were fighting
beside him were burnt to ashes by Rishi Vashishta. The death of his sons
defeated the king’s spirit, and he withdrew from the fight.
Having returned to his kingdom, the king could not forget his
humiliating defeat at the hands of a sage. Unable to manage his kingdom
properly, the king handed over the reins to his surviving sons and went to the
forest when he started an intense Tapas to seek Lord Mahadeva.
When the lord appeared before him, Kaushika requested Him to
grant the knowledge of using divine weapons. Mahadeva granted him his request.
The king once again attacked the Ashram with much more
confidence and pride now that he had the divine weapons at his disposal. Without
giving any warning to the residents of the Ashram, the king started firing his
weapons, creating panic among the birds and the animals that lived there. The sages
in the Ashram ran in panic to save themselves.
“Why are you destroying my peaceful hermitage?” Rishi Vashishta
came face to face with the king and demanded angrily. He lifted his staff which
started glowing brightly. Not to be outdone, Kaushika invoked the Agni Astra.
“I see you are challenging me with your divine weapons.” The
sage said calmly. “I am standing right in front of you. Go on and show me what
you can do with all the astras. Let the world decide today which is stronger –
Kshatriya-bal (the power of the warrior) or Brahma-bal (the power of the sage).”
The Agni Astra flung by Kaushika extinguished when it touched
the Rishi’s staff, his Brahmadanda. Soon more astras followed. Varuna, Raudra,
Aindra, Pashupata and Aishika – all these astras met the same fate as Agni
Astra. They simply extinguished on touching the Rishi’s Brahmadanda. The king
kept flinging one weapon after another but nothing could touch the sage. As a
last resort, the king hurled the Brahmastra and even this one failed.
The Devas had assembled in the skies and were witnessing this
fight between the king and the sage. The Rishi’s aura glowed like fire, along
with his Brahmadanda. A voice rang out from the heavens – “Rishi Vashishta,
your power is unlike any other that we have seen. You are the greatest and the
most powerful in the universe today. The king has failed. Please abandon your
anger and end this fight now.”
Hearing this, Rishi Vashishta calmed down and held back his
staff.
And the king? He threw his
bow and arrow afar. “Kshatriya-bal??” He thought in silent anger. “It is
nothing compared to the power of a Brahmin. With a mere staff, the sage managed
to defeat me and my entire army. I will perform intense Tapas, and I will not
stop until I gain Brahmanatva and my power equals that of this Rishi!”
The shame of defeat, the hatred for Rishi Vashishta and the
obsessive need to gain equal strength as that of the sage made the king retreat
to the forest where he began his quest to become Brahmarishi.
After a lot of penance, Lord Brahma appeared before Kaushika and
blessed him. “Pleased with your Tapas, I now proclaim you as Rajarshi Kaushika.”
The king was far from pleased, for this was not his aim. He wanted
to become a Brahmarishi. He thought that perhaps he had not done enough and he
started doing more penance.
In the next part, we will read about a mortal who wanted to
reach the heavens while still alive, and how Rajarshi Kaushika got involved
with him.
Om Namo Bhagawathe Vaasudevaaya!
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