Vasishtha
Vasishtha | |
---|---|
Brahmarishi, Maharishi | |
Personal | |
Religion | Hinduism |
Spouse | Arundhati |
Children |
|
Parent(s) | Brahma or Mitra-Varuna and Urvashi |
Vasishtha (
The
Etymology
Vasishtha is also spelled as Vasiṣṭha and is Sanskrit for "most excellent", "best" or "richest". According to Monier-Williams, it is sometimes alternatively spelt as Vashishta or Vashisht (vaśiṣṭha, वशिष्ठ).[16]
History
Historically, Vasishtha was a Rigvedic poet and the
He was married to Arundhati, and therefore he was also called Arundhati Natha, meaning the husband of Arundhati.
Ideas
Vasishtha is the author of the seventh book of the
According to Ellison Findly – a professor of Religion, Vasishtha hymns in the Rigveda are among the most intriguing in many ways and influential. Vasishtha emphasizes means to be as important as ends during one's life encouraging truthfulness, devotion, optimism, family life, sharing one's prosperity with other members of society, among other cultural values.[32]
Attributed texts
Excellence
Practise righteousness (dharma), not unrighteousness.
Speak the truth, not an untruth.
Look at what is distant, not what's near at hand.
Look at the highest, not at what's less than highest.
— Vasishtha Dharmasutra 30.1 [33]
Vasishtha is a revered sage in the Hindu traditions, and like other revered sages, numerous treatises composed in ancient and medieval era are reverentially named after him.[34] Some treatises named after him or attributed to him include:
- Vasishtha Samhita is a medieval era Yoga text.[35] There is an Agama as well with the same title.
- Yoga Vasishtha is a syncretic medieval era text that presents Vedanta and Yoga philosophies. It is written in the form of a dialogue between Vasishtha and prince Rama of Ramayana fame, about the nature of life, human suffering, choices as the nature of life, free will, human creative power and spiritual liberation.[38][39] Yoga Vasishtha teachings are structured as stories and fables,[40] with a philosophical foundation similar to those found in Advaita Vedanta.[41][42][43] The text is also notable for its discussion of Yoga.[44][45] According to Christopher Chapple – a professor of Indic studies specializing in Yoga and Indian religions, the Yoga Vasishtha philosophy can be summarized as, "Human effort can be used for self-betterment and that there is no such thing as an external fate imposed by the gods".[46]
- Agni Purana is attributed to Vasishtha.[12]
- Vishnu Purana is attributed to Vasishtha along with Rishi Pulatsya. He has also contributed to many Vedic hymns and is seen as the arranger of Vedas during Dvapara Yuga.[citation needed]
Literature
Birth
According to Mandala 7 of the Rigveda[, from which Vasishtha is born after a few days.
Vasishtha's birth story is retold in many later Hindu scriptures. The
According to Agarwal, one story states that Vasishtha wanted to commit suicide by falling into river
Rivalry with Vishvamitra
Vasishtha is known for his feud with Vishvamitra. The king Vishvamitra coveted Vasishtha's divine cow Nandini (Kamadhenu) that could fulfil material desires. Vasishtha destroyed Vishvamitra's army and sons. Vishvamitra acquired weapons from Shiva and incinerated Vasishtha's hermitage and sons, but Vasishtha baffled all of Vishvamitra's weapons. There is also an instance mentioned in the Mandala 7, of the Rigveda about the Battle of the Ten Kings. This battle was fought as King Sudas of Bharata tribe appointed Vashishtha instead of Vishvamitra as his main priest. However later, Vishvamitra betook severe penances for thousands of years and became a Brahmarshi. He eventually reconciled with Vasishtha.[50]
Disciples
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2022) |
Vasishtha is known as the priest and preceptor, teacher of the Ikshvaku kings clan. He was also the preceptor of Manu, the progenitor of Kshatriyas and Ikshvaku's father. Other characters like Nahusha, Rantideva, lord Rama and Bhishma were his disciples. When the Bharata king Samvarta lost his kingdom to the Panchalas, he became the disciple of Vasishtha. Under Vasishtha's guidance, Samvarta regained his kingdom and became the ruler of the earth.[51]
The Vasishtha Head
A copper casting of a human head styled in the manner described for Vasishtha was discovered in 1958 in Delhi. This piece has been dated to around 3700 BCE, plus minus 800 years, in three western universities (ETH Zurich, Stanford and UC) using among other methods carbon-14 dating tests, spectrographic analysis,
The significance of "Vasishtha head" is unclear because it was not found at an archaeological site, but in open Delhi market where it was scheduled to be remelted. Further, the head had an inscription of "Narayana" suggesting that the item was produced in a much later millennium. The item, states Edwin Bryant, likely was re-cast and produced from an ancient pre-2800 BCE copper item that left significant traces of matter with the observed C-14 dating.[25]
Vasishtha Temples
There is an Ashram dedicated to Vasishtha in
Guru Vashishtha is also the primary deity at Arattupuzha Temple known as Arattupuzha Sree Dharmasastha in Arattupuzha village in Thrissur district of Kerala. The famous Arattupuzha Pooram is a yearly celebration where Sri Rama comes from the Thriprayar Temple to pay obeisance to his Guru at Arattupuzha temple.[citation needed]
See also
Notes
- ^ Kasyapa is mentioned in RV 9.114.2, Atri in RV 5.78.4, Bharadvaja in RV 6.25.9, Vishvamitra in RV 10.167.4, Gautama in RV 1.78.1, Jamadagni in RV 3.62.18, etc.;[6] Original Sanskrit text: प्रसूतो भक्षमकरं चरावपि स्तोमं चेमं प्रथमः सूरिरुन्मृजे । सुते सातेन यद्यागमं वां प्रति विश्वामित्रजमदग्नी दमे ॥४॥[7]
- ^ The Buddha names the following as "early sages" of Vedic verses, "Atthaka (either Ashtavakra or Atri), Vamaka, Vamadeva, Vessamitta (Visvamitra), Yamataggi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vasettha (Vashistha), Kassapa (Kashyapa) and Bhagu (Bhrigu)".[27]
References
- ^ Motilal Bansaridas Publishers Bhagavat Purana Book 2, Skandha IV Page: 426
- ^ Pratap Chandra Roy's Mahabharata Adi Parva Page: 409
- ISBN 978-0-8239-3180-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-88-7652-818-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-972078-1.
- ISBN 978-3-900271-18-3.
- ^ Rigveda 10.167.4 Archived 29 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Wikisource
- ISBN 9788122310726. [1]
- ^ Rigveda, translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith, archived from the original on 13 October 2013, retrieved 20 June 2013,
A form of lustre springing from the lightning wast thou, when Varuṇa and Mitra saw thee;
Tliy one and only birth was then, Vashiṣṭha, when from thy stock Agastya brought thee hither.
Born of their love for Urvasi, Vashiṣṭha thou, priest, art son of Varuṇa and Mitra;
And as a fallen drop, in heavenly fervour, all the Gods laid thee on a lotus-blossom - ^ Maurice Bloomfield (1899). Atharvaveda. K.J. Trübner. pp. 31, 111, 126.
- ^ Chapple 1984, p. xi.
- ^ a b Horace Hayman Wilson (1840). The Vishńu Puráńa: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition. Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. p. xxxvi.
- ^ Horace Hayman Wilson (1840). The Vishńu Puráńa: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition. Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. p. lxix.
- ISBN 978-0-19-934111-5.
- ^ "Rishi Vasistha - One of the Mind-born Sons of Lord Brahma". vedicfeed.com. 18 June 2020. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-888789-03-4.
- ^ Witzel, Michael (1995). "Ṛgvedic history: poets, chieftains and polities". In Erdosy, George (ed.). The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. De Gruyter. pp. 248–249, 251.
- ^ Jamison & Brereton 2014, p. 1015-1016.
- from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ISBN 9780199370184.
- ^ Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 70.
- JSTOR 3814692.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-516947-8.
- ISBN 978-81-260-1298-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-86171-979-2.
- ^ OCLC 246746415.
- ISBN 90-04-09467-9.
- ISBN 90-04-09467-9.
- OCLC 9098360
- JSTOR 3269890.
- ^ Olivelle 1999, p. 325.
- ^ Olivelle 1999, p. xxvi.
- ISBN 978-81-89485-37-5.
- ^ Lingat 1973, p. 18.
- ^ Olivelle 2006, p. 185.
- ^ Chapple 1984, pp. xi–xii.
- ISBN 978-0521047791.
- ^ Venkatesananda 1984, pp. 51, 77, 87, 121, 147, 180, 188, 306, 315, 354, 410.
- ^ Chapple 1984, pp. ix-x with footnote 3.
- ISBN 978-0835674973.
- ^ Leslie 2003, pp. 104.
- JSTOR 2181797.
- ^ F Chenet (1987), Bhāvanā et Créativité de la Conscience, Numen, Vol. 34, Fasc. 1, pages 45-96 (in French)
- ^ Chapple 1984, pp. x-xi with footnote 4.
- ISBN 978-81-7505-923-8. Archivedfrom the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ "Story of Vasiṣṭha". www.wisdomlib.org. 28 January 2019. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- JSTOR 42930266.(subscription required)
- ISBN 978-1-897829-50-9. Archivedfrom the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ "Rishi Vasishtha : Ishta Guru Of Lord Ram - Humans Of Uttarakhand". 3 June 2021. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ Harry Hicks and Robert Anderson (1990), Analysis of an Indo-European Vedic Aryan Head – 4500-2500 B.C. Archived 7 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine, in Journal of Indo European studies, Vol. 18, pp 425–446. Fall 1990.
Bibliography
- Chapple, Christopher. Introduction. In Venkatesananda (1984).
- Lingat, Robert (1973). The Classical Law of India. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-01898-3.
- Olivelle, Patrick (1999). Dharmasutras: The Law Codes of Ancient India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-283882-7.
- Olivelle, Patrick (2006). Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-977507-1.
- Atreya, B. L. (1981) [1935)]. The Philosophy of the Yoga Vashista. A Comparative Critical and Synthetic Survey of the Philosophical Ideas of Vashista as presented in the Yoga-Vashista Maha-Ramayan. Based on a thesis approved for the degree of Doctor of Letters in the Banaras Hindu University. Moradabad: Darshana Printers. p. 467.
- Leslie, Julia (2003). Authority and meaning in Indian religions: Hinduism and the case of Vālmīki. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 0-7546-3431-0.
- Atreya, B. L. (1993). The Vision and the Way of Vashista. Madras: Indian Heritage Trust. p. 583. OCLC 30508760. Selected verses, sorted by subject, in both Sanskrit and English text.
- Vālmīki (2002) [1982]. The Essence of Yogavaasishtha. Compiled by Sri Jnanananda Bharati, translated by Samvid. Chennai: Samata Books. p. 344. Sanskrit and English text.
- Vālmīki (1976). Yoga Vashista Sara: The Essence of Yoga Vashista. trans. Swami Surēśānanda. Tiruvannamalai: Sri Ramanasramam. p. 29. OCLC 10560384. Very short condensation.
- OCLC 11044869.