Guest guest Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 Dear all, Viswamitra or Kaushika was a king of Ancient India. He was a valiant king and ruled the earth for many thousands years. This great king once visited the ashramam of Kulapathi Vasishta along with his entire fleet of army. He spent a few days in the ashramam and Vasishta showed his hospitality with the help of the divine cow Nandini. The whole army and King Viswamitra were fed with rich and delicious food through out their stay. King Viswamitra was dumbfounded to see the abundance and efficiency of the ashramam and asked Kulapathi how he could feed so many people effortlessly. Vasishta told him how Indra gifted him with the divine cow Nandini who was the daughter of Indra's own cow Kamadhenu, the all- wish-yielding cow. King Viswamitra heard this and he tried to justify his inappropriate desire to own Nandini: " Vasishta is a sage and lives in this hermitage far away from urban civilisation. What is the use of having such a wish-yielding cow for a sage? Once in a blue moon, he may have to feed a few people. This Nandini should be with the king of the country and I can feed so many people " . Viswamitra did not realize that his was a biased and opportunistic reasoning born out of his " kaamam " or desire. Anyway, he asked Vasishta whether he would give the cow to him and told Vasishta that he would be compensated with lot of land, thousands of cows and gold. Vasishta politely refused the offer and said he would never exchange this gift from Devendra with anybody for anything . King Viswamitra grew exceedingly angry and ordered his soldiers to seize Nandini and took her to his kingdom. With the power of his Tapas or penance, Vasishta created an entire army, defeated the king's army and made Viswamitra a prisoner. Of course, Vasishta had no plans to hurt him and showed his greatness by letting him free. This failure at the feet of Vasishta humbled Viswamitra and he realized that power of penance was far greater than the physical power of a king. Gurubhyo Nama: Regards and prayers Savitri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 Respected Savitriji, It is so good to see you back with your stories. Hope your granddaughter is fine. May God bless her and your family. Jai Sree Krishna--- On Mon, 4/27/09, Savitri Puram <savitriopuram wrote: Savitri Puram <savitriopuram[Guruvayur] Namasthe- stories of Vasishta 2Monday, April 27, 2009, 12:35 PM Dear all, Viswamitra or Kaushika was a king of Ancient India. He was a valiant king and ruled the earth for many thousands years. This great king once visited the ashramam of Kulapathi Vasishta along with his entire fleet of army. He spent a few days in the ashramam and Vasishta showed his hospitality with the help of the divine cow Nandini. The whole army and King Viswamitra were fed with rich and delicious food through out their stay. King Viswamitra was dumbfounded to see the abundance and efficiency of the ashramam and asked Kulapathi how he could feed so many people effortlessly. Vasishta told him how Indra gifted him with the divine cow Nandini who was the daughter of Indra's own cow Kamadhenu, the all- wish-yielding cow. King Viswamitra heard this and he tried to justify his inappropriate desire to own Nandini: "Vasishta is a sage and lives in this hermitage far away from urban civilisation. What is the use of having such a wish-yielding cow for a sage? Once in a blue moon, he may have to feed a few people. This Nandini should be with the king of the country and I can feed so many people". Viswamitra did not realize that his was a biased and opportunistic reasoning born out of his "kaamam" or desire. Anyway, he asked Vasishta whether he would give the cow to him and told Vasishta that he would be compensated with lot of land, thousands of cows and gold. Vasishta politely refused the offer and said he would never exchange this gift from Devendra with anybody for anything . King Viswamitra grew exceedingly angry and ordered his soldiers to seize Nandini and took her to his kingdom. With the power of his Tapas or penance, Vasishta created an entire army, defeated the king's army and made Viswamitra a prisoner. Of course, Vasishta had no plans to hurt him and showed his greatness by letting him free. This failure at the feet of Vasishta humbled Viswamitra and he realized that power of penance was far greater than the physical power of a king. Gurubhyo Nama: Regards and prayers Savitri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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