Vasishth is the brightest of the Saptarishi who had achieved all the knowledge of the universe. He is the one who taught Bhagwan Ram about the nature of life and spirituality.
‘Sapta’ means seven, and ‘Rishi’ means a sage or seer in Sanskrit hence, Saptarishi literally means ‘seven seers’. Saptarishi are the Brahmarishi or scholars who wrote the scientific Indian scriptures such as Ved, Puran, and Upanishad. They created and updated them from time to time. The legends say, Brahma created a series of scholars as ‘Manas Putra’ to impart wisdom and education to human beings.
Maharishi Vasishtha, one of the seven great rishis, sitting on a tiger skin; Image Source: V&A
Rishi Vasishtha
Rishi Vasishtha is one of the brightest rishis in Indian history. He was the mentor for the Ikshvaku dynasty, and he was the teacher for many kings – including Bhagwan Ram.
Rishi Vasishtha is the saptarishi who wrote many mandal of Rugved – including the 7th mandal. Apart from that, he has given immense contributions in the form of Vasishtha Samhita, Yoga Vasishtha, Agni Puran, and Vishnu Puran. He is believed to be the pioneer of the vedant philosophy. The scriptures of Yoga Vasishtha are a compilation of conversations between Bhagwan Ram and Rishi Vasishtha about the nature of life and spirituality. He was also the teacher of Bhisma and Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra. It has been noted in Buddhist scriptures that Buddha met Vasishtha along with many other revered sages of those times.
Rishi Vasishtha was a noted scholar of Astrology, and it is discussed at length in his journal Vasishtha Samhita. To king Bharat, he explained the modalities of the Natyaved – including performing arts such as theatrics, drama, dance, and music. According to Matsyapuran, Rishi Vasishtha was the pioneer of Vastushashtra as well.
The life of Rishi Vasishtha is filled with examples of benevolence, truthfulness, courage, excellence, and prudence.
He is considered to be a mind-born son of Brahma; however, some scriptures suggest that he was the son of Mitra-Varun and Urvashi. There are many other stories about his birth. He was married to Arundhati – the daughter of Rishi Kardam and Devhuti. Even today, the binary star system of Alcor and Mizar are identified as Arundhati and Vasishtha in India. They had a son named Shakti. Rishi Vasishtha is the grandfather of Rishi Parashar and the Great Grandfather of Rishi Vyas.
He had a special place in the life of Rishi Vishwamitra. Once, Rishi Vishwamitra (then King Kaushik) visited his ashram along with his army. Rishi Vasishtha welcomed him and offered him food and shelter. Later on, he tried to take away the Nandini cow, which gave endless resources. But Nandini cow chased him away. Vishwmitra again attacked his ashram and killed hundreds of Vasishtha’s sons, even after that he did forgive him.
This was the time when he decided to become a bigger scholar than Rishi Vasishtha and undertook a tough tapasya.
This rivalry, later on, turned into camaraderie, and legends say that it was Rishi Vasishtha who convinced King Dasharath to let Ram and Lakshman go along with Rishi Vishwamitra for the protection of the Yajnas. Eventually, Bhagwan Ram meets Mata Sita on this journey.
There is a Vasishtha Ashram situated near Guwahati (Assam), and also there are many Vasishtha temples in India – from Himachal Pradesh to Kerala.
