We do not know the origin of the word á¹›si, popularly used in the Indian scriptures to denote to individuals who “know”.  It was possibly an old social belief that some persons had more insight than others, or, the belief could be that some individuals could apply their knowledge better than others.  á¹›sis had a characteristic of detachment by living away from the society.  They survived in solitude.  The solitude and the tranquility gave them an opportunity to “observe” the society from a distance and comment on it as they thought fit.  These compositions have come down to us as hymns that taught people how to conduct life.  á¹›sis had poetic talents.  It could be the reverse that persons of poetic talents observed the society and wrote about life and conduct.  Poets and á¹›sis became synonymous.  A new word kavi was developed to denote all composers.  All á¹›sis are kavis, the reverse may not be true. VālmÄ«ki is a á¹›si and a kavi, the older ViÅ›vāmitra is a á¹›si.

While the hymn composers were called á¹›sis at the Vedic times, a new phrase mahará¹£i was used in the later scriptures to distinguish individuals who had much higher contribution than others.  mahará¹£i would denote a “great” á¹›si, the greatness could be due to social prestige, productivity or public admiration.  ViÅ›vāmitra has been given the title mahará¹£i by the poet VālmÄ«ki, who was himself conferred the title by the later writers.  Since ViÅ›vāmitra is a historical personality identified in the Vedic hymns, the linguists place the Rāmāyaṇa events to the Vedic times.  VālmÄ«ki portrays him as a person of skills with high ambitions.  He cultivated engineering methods and studied the material nature of objects.  He designed arrows and had skills in navigating airflow.  He was a rebel to the existing Brahmanical order of the society.  He wanted to view the universe in a direct scientific way.  His efforts to rule the world by force did not however succeed.

VālmÄ«ki introduces ViÅ›vāmitra where the latter showed up in King DaÅ›aratha’s court to ask for Rāma to accompany him in the difficult task of protecting his hermitage from the disturbance of two rāká¹£asas, MārÄ«ca  and Subāhu.  ViÅ›vāmitra had gone to a location called siddhāśrama on the Vindhya mountain range which had the reputation for being the holiest site to practice penance and austerities.  The rāká¹£asas did not appreciate encroachment into their roaming territory. They would do tricks to disturb and hound away the intruders.  The á¹›sis liked the southern mountains for the solitude and the tranquil environment.  There was a conflict.  VālmÄ«ki does not say why ViÅ›vāmitra thought that Rāma was the only person who can provide protection to the hermitage.  It is possible that people took note of the valor of the youth in the country.  It is also possible that ViÅ›vāmitra had gained insight into the future course of Rāma’s life. He was possibly preparing Rāma for the task without revealing what he knew.

Rāma was only a fifteen years old when ViÅ›vāmitra asked King DaÅ›aratha to part with his son. ViÅ›vāmitra was known for his anger and he expected his words would be followed to the letter.  Apparently he had merited the powers to curse individuals.  The curses could destroy people.  There is a peculiar yogic accomplishment when one’s word could yield results.  ViÅ›vāmitra would use it in a negative way in his whim. He would curse people to test their inner strength and stamina.  He would bless them if they survived the curse.  We do not know how many did not survive his curse; the King HariÅ›candra was cursed and then rewarded.  ViÅ›vāmitra would move around to test his powers.  He was aware of his accomplishments but always wanted more through further austerities in yogic life.

It is possible that after long years in austere life ViÅ›vāmitra was tired and wanted to pass on his knowledge to an able-bodied young man.  Interaction with Rāma and fixing him up with SÄ«tā in wedding was his last act before he retired to the Himalayas.  During the course of their travel to Janaka’s court ViÅ›vāmitra tested Rāma with various tasks and rewarded him with new weapons.  He taught him the knowledge of executing the weapons at every step.  His important instruction was that a weapon would not achieve its desired goal unless it was supported by the meditative energy relayed to it through special yogic chants.  Such techniques were exclusive to him and he taught them to Rāma as a part of his tutelage.  He would also make sure that Rāma learned the technique well by letting him apply it on various road encounters.

Like Rāma, ViÅ›vāmitra’s father Gādhi was born through a sacrifice intended to procure a son.  Gādhi’s father was KuÅ›a, a pious ascetic man.   ViÅ›vāmitra is called KauÅ›ika because of this lineage.  He had an elder sister called SatyavatÄ«,  who was married to the sage Rucika.  ViÅ›vāmitra thought that his sister lived as the holy river KauÅ›ikÄ«, next to the Himalayas.  He lived close to the river assuming her proximity.  He however had the desire of achieving new skills through self-discipline.  He went around various holy places to engage in meditative practices and austerities.

ViÅ›vāmitra was of royal pedigree and never relinquished the idea of ruling over others.  Such conduct was not appreciated for a person of á¹›si attitude, but he remained an exception.  Through a whim he was successful in amassing a large army and then made an expedition to conquer the world. On his journey he encountered the sage Vasiṣṭha who trounced him and his army with a faith-laden stick.  Known as Brahmará¹£i Vasiṣṭha, he possessed other latent powers that ViÅ›vāmitra lacked.  Having realized his folly, ViÅ›vāmitra went back to the mode of penance.   ViÅ›vāmitra failed again because of his worldly weaknesses.

The sage ViÅ›vāmitra could be called a haughty showman.  He had mastered enough knowledge of gravity and projectiles that he did not hesitate to dispatch a man to the outer space.  It could have been the first interplanetary travel by a human being.  He had possibly calculated the trajectory with planets as mutually separated point objects, but was unaware of the asteroid belt.  The King TriÅ›aṁku got stuck in the asteroid belt and could not go further.  Neither he was able to descend down.  Apparently he is still revolving along the asteroid belt.  The Indian languages picked up a new word triÅ›aṁku denoting a “stuck” position.

A good quality the sage had was to respond to calls of distress of people who approached him for help.  His own nephew S’unaḥśepa was being hounded away for a human sacrifice and the nephew accidentally met the sage near a river.  He taught his nephew special chants that could please the heavenly bodies and get him released from his sacrificial post.  Later he engineered the release of Ahalyā from her husband’s curse through the interaction with Rāma.  He was a master of the techniques in chants of life and longevity.  VālmÄ«ki does not indicate if he took other students besides Rāma to part his craft.

Being aware of the Brahmanical powers, ViÅ›vāmitra’s goal was to receive a title of Brahmará¹£i by his peers and to be blessed by Lord Brahmā.  Apparently Lord Brahmā would show up to express his pleasure to a person’s deep penance and self-discipline.  ViÅ›vāmitra’s path was not easy. He was tested many times and would fail through his weaknesses.  His eventual success was a desperate move.

The dramatic entry of ViÅ›vāmitra to the Rāmāyaṇa story sets it in an adventurous direction.  Rāma journey in the forest along with his receiving weapons and learning the useful chants add excitement to the story.  ViÅ›vāmitra was a good teacher and Rāma receives good instructions on history and geography through the sage.  By reading the story, it would appear that it was ViÅ›vāmitra who knew the latent traits in Rāma and hardened him through training to prepare him for the difficult task later.

Let Sai bless all.