Many have taken to austere penance as a means to gain spiritual power, to obtain boons to boost one’s strength, for atonement and so on. When Vasishta is a helpless witness to the atrocity of the sacred cow Nandini being dragged forcibly by Vishwamitra, she tells the sage that the power of his penance is far superior to the strength and might of the king, said Sri R. Krishnamurthy Sastrigal in a lecture. As a result of the long-standing association with the sage whom she has served faithfully all these years, she knows that even all the might of kshatriyas has a limit. She adds that there is none more powerful than the sage who is steeped in Brahmopasana. She prays to the sage to give her permission to act so that she can make the king realise that his ego that prompts him to do this unrighteous act is nothing compared to the power of Brahmopasana. With the sage’s consent, she creates a powerful army to counter that of the king. A fierce fight ensues and despite the king’s retaliation, his entire army is routed. He feels humiliated and is determined to somehow show the sage his might.
He hands over the kingdom to his son and begins severe penance. He gains mastery of Danur Veda and resumes the fight with Vasishta. Vasishta is provoked to use his Brahma Danda this time and is able to vanquish Vishwamitra’s efforts once again. He now decides to equal Vasishta’s status in penance and resumes his austere penance. After years of penance beset with obstacles in many forms, he attains in stages the status of raja rishi, maharishi and then Brahma rishi. Vishwamitra plays an important role in bringing about the marriage of Rama with Sita. Sadananda recalls these past achievements of Vishwamitra to Rama and Lakshmana.
