Vishvamitra

Quick Facts

About Vishvamitra

Born a king, he coveted Vashishtha's wish-granting cow, was humbled by the power of austerity, and gave up his throne to win it - becoming through ages of tapas the only kshatriya ever raised to brahmarshi. In the twelve-year famine he ate forbidden food from a chandala's hut to stay alive, teaching that survival for dharma's sake outweighs purity.

In Their Words

Between death and defilement I choose defilement - the defiled may be purified, the dead may not.

Vishvamitra

Traits

• indomitable
• proud
• transformed
• unsparing of himself

Story Appearances

• The King Who Became a SageThe king who conquered himself❧ 10 min
• The Sage and the Dog's HaunchThe sage in the famine

Stories Featuring Vishvamitra

26 further tales on this site name Vishvamitra, in canonical reading order.

• The Apsara Sent to Break a SageMenaka's fear, and the child left on the MaliniAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• Kunti Knows Her SonThe mother who recognised Karna in the arena and stayed silentAdi Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Sacrifice That Was StoppedA son's fire, put out by the men it was lit forAdi Parva
• The Mountain That Answers SpeechWhere a sage's temper made silence the price of passageVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Two Pots of RiceA mother and daughter exchange their bowls and exchange their sonsVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• Swaha and the Six DisguisesThe wives who were punished for a child that was never theirsVana Parva ‧ 20 min
• Sakamvari and the Ford of GoldThe goddess who fed the sages on herbs, and the tirtha where Vishnu knelt to RudraVana Parva ‧ 21 min
• Garuda's Map of the WorldThe four directions described from a bird's backUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Ascetic Who Would Not Be CarriedA thought Garuda never spoke aloud costs him his wingsUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• Madhavi Chooses the ForestAt her own swayamvara she passes over every king and takes the woods for a husbandUdyoga Parva ‧ 12 min
• The Head That Would Not Let GoWhy the ford on the Sarasvati is called KapalamochanaShalya Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Pupil Who Could Not LearnYears in a teacher's house, and nothing to show for themShalya Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Kingdom Poured on the FireA sage is mocked with dead cattle and burns a realm with themShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Head That Followed IndraA treaty kept to the letter and broken in every other wayShalya Parva ‧ 16 min
• Saraswati, the Vanishing RiverThe river of sages that hides in the sandShalya Parva
• The Savitri Mantra of SalutationsBhishma gives Yudhishthira the roll of names to be said at dawnAnushasana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Names That Cleanse SinAsked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Devotees of MahadevaKapila, Valmiki, Gritsamada and others tell Yudhishthira what a lifetime's devotion to Mahadeva bought them.Anushasana Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Brahmanas Who Deserve WorshipNarada tells Krishna whom he bows to, and Bhishma tells a king what it costs to forgetAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Mysteries of Religion, Part OneThe deities, the Pitris and the Rishis each give up a duty whose reason is secretAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Two Bowls of RiceHow a mother's swap made a brahmana of one line and a warrior of the otherAnushasana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Theft of the Lotus StalksSeven Sages, a King's Gold, and an Oath That Blessed the ThiefAnushasana Parva
• The Eight Who Questioned BrahmaThe ladder from the Unmanifest down to a bodyAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Rain Agastya Did Not NeedTwelve years of drought against one sage's seedsAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Kings Who Gave LawfullyIndra refuses the Rishis, a king answers too quickly, and the names of those who reached heaven by honest giftsAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Omens of DwarakaA City Watches Its Own Death ApproachMausala Parva ‧ 17 min

Places in Vishvamitra's Story

Drawn from the stories Vishvamitra appears in.

• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Hermitage of Vashishthaवशिष्ठ आश्रम
• Himavatहिमवत्
• Saraswatiसरस्वती
• Vinashanaविनशन
• Forest Hermitageवन आश्रम
• Amaravatiअमरावती
• Banks of the Malini Riverमालिनी नदी
• Kanyakubjaकन्यकुब्ज
• Banks of the Gangaगङ्गा तट
• Brahmalokaब्रह्मलोक
• Indraprasthaइंद्रप्रस्थ

Related Characters

Others counted among the Sages & Others.

• ✦Sage Kanva
• ◎Eklavya
• ★Shukracharya
• ♛Vrishaparva
• ♛Yadu
• ✧Princess Amba