Gandharva Extols Vashishtha's Virtues and Advises Arjuna
The gandharva describes the sage Vashishtha, who conquered the unconquerable passions and endured the murder of his sons without vengeance. He then turns the tale into direct counsel for Arjuna: a king who wishes to conquer the earth must first appoint a qualified Brahmana as his priest.
Prompted by Arjuna’s request, the gandharva began. He did not start with a genealogy or a birthplace. He started with a conquest.
“Desire and anger,” the gandharva said, “which even the gods find difficult to conquer, were overcome through his austerities and washed his feet.” The sage Vashishtha had mastered the inner enemies that defeat kings and celestials alike.
The gandharva then spoke of the great test. The sage Vishvamitra, once a king, had committed an evil deed against Vashishtha. The gandharva did not detail it yet, but the consequence was clear: Vashishtha’s wrath was stirred. He had the power to annihilate Vishvamitra and his line, the Kushikas. But he was noble enough not to. He held back.
Then came the greater test. Vishvamitra’s actions led to the death of Vashishtha’s one hundred sons. The sage mourned. He had the power to perform terrible deeds in retaliation, to destroy Vishvamitra utterly. He did not. He also had the power, through his tapas (austerities), to transgress Yama’s law and bring his sons back from the land of the dead. He did not do that either. “Like the great ocean does not cross its shoreline,” the gandharva said, Vashishtha did not violate the cosmic order, even in his grief.
This was the man, the gandharva explained, whom kings had sought. “Obtaining this great-souled and self-controlled supreme rishi Vashishtha as their priest, Ikshvaku and other kings conquered the entire earth.” He was their priest for many sacrifices, just as Brihaspati was for the gods.
The gandharva then turned the history into a prescription. He looked at Arjuna, a Kshatriya (warrior) of noble birth standing before him.
“Therefore, look for a Brahmana in whose heart dharma is supreme, who is learned in the Vedas and in dharma and who has all the qualities, and appoint him as your priest.” The advice was direct, tactical. “O Partha! A Kshatriya of noble birth who wishes to conquer the earth must first appoint a priest to be in front, so that the kingdom flourishes.”
The sequence was non-negotiable. Desire for conquest comes first, but action must begin with an appointment. The priest, the qualified Brahmana, must go before the king. He is the prerequisite for victory, the anchor for flourishing. The gandharva concluded with the lesson distilled: “A king who wishes to conquer the earth must have a Brahmana before him. Therefore, let a Brahmana who has all the qualities be your priest.”