Vishvamitra
Vishvamitra is a sage who performs penance. Menaka becomes infatuated with him, but he resists her sexual advances. Angered by his rejection, she curses him, and Vishvamitra retaliates by cursing her with old age.
↻ synthesized from 3 sources
When
- First attested
- 500 BCE
- Attested period
- -500 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Referenced in the Skanda Purana.
Relationships
Mentioned by
Sources
Source passages
“The central motif remains consistent: Vishvamitra's succumbing to Menaka's beauty results in the loss of his accumulated ascetic power (tapas). This theme is emphasized by later commentators. For example, the medieval scholar Govindaraja, in his commentary on the Ramayana, explains that the episode illustrates Vishvamitra's lack of sensual control.”
#8003 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Realising Indra had sent another nymph to lure him, an infuriated Vishvamitra curses her to transform into a rock for ten thousand years till a Brahmin relieves her from the curse.”
#8032 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“During this time, Vishvamitra had brought Rama and his brother Lakshmana to the forest for the protection of a yajna (ritual sacrifice). Hearing about the svayamvara, Vishvamitra asked Rama to participate in the ceremony with the consent of Janaka”
#28950 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001