When all his efforts failed, Vishwamitra asked Vasishtha the secret of his great power and strength. “My strength comes from my inner being and is created by meditation and austerities,” replied Vasishtha. “l have been a powerful king and want for nothing. And yet today I am humbled by a sage in a forest. l must acquire this power,” Vishwamitra decided. He called his son and asked him to rule the kingdom. He himself chose to stay in the forest, leaving behind all his pomp and ceremony. He began practicing austerities till he could please Lord Shiva. When Shiva appeared, Vishwamitra asked for power to match that of Vasishtha and defeat him. He specially asked for the brahmastra, an invincible weapon. Shiva granted him the boons. He immediately attacked Vasishtha who calmly planted his staff at the ashram gate and went back to his meditation. Vishwamitra’s weapons, including the brahmastra, were stopped by the staff.
Once again, Vishwamitra asked Vasishtha the secret of his power. “What is the use of being a powerful Kshatriya, when I can be defeated by a mere sage?” he wondered. “I must be a Brahma Rishi like Vasishtha !” With this desire, Vishwamitra began to perform more austerities. But even after years, he was recognized as a Raja Rishi, not a Brahma Rishi! At that time, King Trishanku ruled in the Suryavanshi dynasty. He was extremely handsome and loved his looks so much that he wanted to remain young and handsome always. Vasishtha, his teacher, advised him not to be so foolish. So, he asked Vasishtha’s sons. Angry that he should violate their father’s advice, the sons cursed him to become a chandal, a keeper of cremation grounds. He became ugly. He went to Vishwamitra, who took pity on him. He began a yajna, by which Trishanku went to heaven.
When Trishanku went to heaven, Indra refused to admit him as he had disobeyed his teacher, Vasishtha. He was returning when Vishwamitra held him up. That is why Trishanku was caught between earth and heaven for all time! Vishwamitra had used up all the merit of his austerities, so he began them all over again. This time the devas were worried, so they sent the apsara, Menaka, to disturb his meditation. His meditation was broken by Menaka with whom he spent some time. Then, remembering his wish to be a Brahma Rishi, he started his austerities again. His meditation was deep and firm this time and finally, Brahma was so pleased that he hailed him as a Brahma Rishi. Vishwamitra had learnt a lot from his mistakes. He went to Vasishtha humbly to seek his agreement too. He was satisfied only when Vasishtha accepted him as a Brahma Rishi!
This was the who came to Dasharatha’s palace. Vishwamitra was going to perform a great sacrifice and wished to do so without Mareecha and Subahu spoiling it. But Dasharatha was stunned by the request. How could he send his beloved Ram, who was so very young, to fight against strong demons? Vasishtha saw him sitting silent and realized what he must be thinking. He rose to speak to Dasharatha, “Have no fear or anxiety, O King! Send Ram and Lakshman with me, for they are strong and intelligent. The sage will bring them great good fortune. No ill shall befall them.” Dasharatha was devoted to Vasishtha, and reassured by his words, he called his sons and give them into the care of Sage Vishwamitra. They set off into the forest with the sage, crossing the river Ganga into a dense forest beyond the Dandakaranya, that was full of wild animals.
Once home to many sages and forest dwellers, now the forest was deserted because of the terror caused by a demoness, Tadaka, and her son, Mareecha, who had a hundred elephants also to do their bidding. Vishwamitra told the princes to be alert as the rakshasas were stronger at night and would attack any time without warning. He asked the princes to kill them as soon as possible. Ram strung his bow and the twang of the string echoed all over the forest. Tadaka, Mareecha’s mother, heard it and responded to the challenge immediately, charging out of the trees to attack Ram and Lakshman. A fierce combat followed till an arrow from Ram’s bow tore into Tadaka, killing her on the spot. Mareecha and Subahu followed to avenge Tadaka’s death. Subahu was killed immediately. Mareecha was flung miles away by the force of the attack by the brothers, not daring to return.
Vishwamitra completed his sacrifice and then took the princes Mithila, the capital of King Janak, where he was holding a swayamvara for the marriage of his daughter, Sita. On the way, they came to a beautiful but deserted ashram where once Sage Gautama used to live long ago with his wife Ahalya. One day Indra, the king of gods, in love with Ahalya’s beauty, came to the ashram when Gautama had gone out. He took Gautama’s form and went to Ahalya, who thinking him to be her husband Gautama, behaved very lovingly towards him. Gautama saw Indra returning, and realizing what had happened, he cursed him. Then, he turned Ahalya into a rock with a curse. She would only be redeemed when Ram’s feet led him to the ashram. As Ram entered the ashram, the curse broke. Ahalya came to life, bowed to Ram and was blessed to return to her abode.
