VAISHALI - A RAINDROP ON THE PARCHED LIPS AND SAGE OR RISHI RISHYASRINGA

 

VAISHALI  -  A Raindrop on the Parched Lips and Sage OR Rishi Rishyasringa

 

Vibhandaka Rishi was the legendary Indian Hindu saint or Rishi of sage Kashyapa's lineage.     Vibhandaka was the son of the great sage Kashyapa and undertook penance to the highest level. The God of thunder and rain, Lord Indra felt uncomfortable and in his fear that his supremacy could be challenged, sent Urvashi a celestial nymph, Or Apsara, to disrupt the penance of Vibhandaka.

 

By sighting Urvashi the Apsara, the mortal Vibhandaka’s penance was disrupted. Such was her beauty Vibhandaka has fallen head over heels for Urvashi. After beholding Urvashi, Vibhandaka’s vital fluid semen discharged and it spilled over the grass below and a doe ate the grass. It impregnated the doe. In fact, the doe was in reality another celestial nymph or Apsara - Apsa = water (Apsara = water nymph) cursed to be borne as a deer ages ago, and she gave birth to Rishyasringa.

 

Vibhandaka felt cheated and tricked and decided to bring up his son in the forest without exposing him to any woman. He tried to bring his son up to be pure of mind, trying to keep him celibate by making sure that he did not even know that females existed in the world. He thought that the easiest way to keep his son innocent of the worldly ways was to keep him in forest isolation.

 

He succeeded to such an extent that when the boy matured into manhood, he had never set eyes on any human being other than his own father. He was even unaware of sexual distinction. No animal, fruit, flower, fragrance, or anything relating to the feminine gender was a total taboo for Rishyasringa. Vibhandaka wanted his son to attain knowledge about Vedas and penance that can be an envy even for the gods. Rishyasringa is a forest-dweller absorbed in ascetics and self-study of Vedic scriptures, and he is not aware of women, of worldly matters, or of even worldly pleasures.

 

 

Rishi Vibhandaka’s anger was infamous and was next only to Sage Dhurvasa. He had complete control over the nature and not only the forest animals but also the falling boulders from the hillocks listened to him. Vibhandaka drawn a Laxman Rekha, a boundary, for Rishyasringa and commanded that Rishyasringa should be abide by this rule. He taught Rishyasringa the gyan and Vedic mantras and all the siddhis or such blessings he has amassed over the years. Rishyasringa soon became a scholar and was practicing celibacy unknown to nature’s law of bees and butterflies. 

  

Vibhandaka’s hermitage was situated deep inside the forest in the boundary lines of the kingdom of Anga.






 

 

 

 

 

While Rishyasringa was fostered by Vibhandaka from the prying eyes of other humans in the forest, the Kingdom of Anga was experiencing severe drought for about 12 years due to the curse of a Brahmin priest. King Romapada was disturbed by this and summoned Raj Guru (the advising Brahmin Minister) to tackle the drought by performing ‘yagnas’. The Raj Guru informs King Romapada that during the yagna he found the image of Rishyasringa playing in the forest in ‘homa kunda’ (the fire-altar) and he could perform a major yagna which will bring rains to the Kingdom of Anga and relieve Anga from the drought and famine.


By listening to this Romapada’s daughter Princess Shanta suggested that they send beautiful courtesans to seduce and bring Rishyasringa to Anga.

 

     

       

Vaishali was a bewitching beauty and budding courtesan born to Malini a Deva Daasi. Malini was conferred with many laurels and gifts by King Romapada for her services in the past and she had a secret to keep that Vaishali was born to King Romapada out of her relationship with him.

 

 

 

Any dictionary would give the meaning of courtesan as 'whore' or as 'court mistress'. But in the Indian context, the courtesan is not to be taken in such a lowly way as just a prostitute or a whore. They belong to a caste/class of artists. Juxtaposed to the Four-Caste system was a deva dasi Temple Dancers system, which is the artist's class. On receiving enough education and skills in the performing arts and as per their capabilities, they will be nominated as Court Dancers, Temple Dancers and the like. Ancients recognized sixty-four arts chatuSaSTi kala which include right from music, dance, and drama, sculpture, painting, etc., up to the art of thievery. Kings in their political or sovereign pursuits variedly used these Deva Dasis, the courtesans.

 

 

After hearing the Raj Guru (the advising Brahmin Minister of the King), the King summons Malini to his palace and requests her to send Vaishali, her daughter who is proficient in the art of seduction and nearing sixteen years in age to bring the adolescent teenager sage Rishyasringa to the Kingdom of Anga to perform a Yagna for the rains and save his country.


VAISHALI was a classic Mallu movie released in 1988 directed by Award-winning director Bharathan and scripted by prominent novelist and literary giant M.T. Vasudevan Nair.

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The film unspools the story of Vaishali and Rishyasringa.


The opening shots of the film shows vultures hovering around the Kingdom of Anga and a snake coming out of the mouth of a human skeleton and goes out in the wilderness. There the dust kicked off and the earth parched showing the aftereffects of severe drought suffered by the natives of Anga. The natives of Anga were praying for the rains and waiting for rains like the legendary bird ‘Vezhambal’ (Hornbill).


A great deal of the footage in the film shows the great seduction game of Vaishali to cajole Rishyasringa and bring him along with her to the Kingdom of Anga to perform the Yagna.

 

 

                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The photos featured in this BLOG are taken from the classic movie ‘VAISHALI’. After watching the movie we instantly fall in love with the legendary courtesan princess Vaishali. The story of the lead pair Vaishali and Rishysringa lingers in your memory for an extended period without fading even after you leave the movie theater.

       

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Vaishali episode continues…. after receiving the orders of King Romapaadan the courtesan team along with bodyguards set out on a journey through the river in a country ship studded with flowers and plants and an Ashrama in the middle to look like a hermitage. The vessel afloat in the water navigates towards Vibhandaka’s hermitage in the moon-lit nights and reaches the banks near the hermitage.

Malini along with other courtesans decides to pry on Rishyasringa and rejects the help of bodyguards. They saw that the father and son had a routine. In the afternoons, Sage Vibhandaka went into the deeper forests to meditate, whereas Rishyasringa stayed behind in the Ashram to tend the fire and clean the place.

 

 
The courtesans remembered Princess Shanta’s advice to keep away from Vibhandaka otherwise he would curse them if spotted. Malini decides to encounter Rishyasringa in the afternoon. She planned to send her daughter ‘Vaishali’ along with a couple of her friends of her age group after Vibhandaka left for his meditation in solitude in the afternoon.

After keeping a tab on Vibhandaka’s routine Vaishali appears in the garb of a Rishi in front of Rishyasringa. The playful Rishyasringa stumbles upon Vaishali chasing his pet deer. Rishyasringa was amazed by Vaishali’s fairness and beauty. A stunned Rishyasringa was captivated by her talks and got interested in the stranger. Vaishali tells Rishyasringa that she is from the neighboring ashram or hermitage. Listening to him talk made Rishyasringa want to listen to him again and again...'

              

       

Rishyasringa wearing animal skin got fascinated by the colorful costume of the stranger.  Vaishali feeds him with sweets and other delicious food brought from the ship which was a totally new experience for Rishyasringa.  The boy sage plays many games like rolling and bouncing ball with Vaishali and she clothed him with satin and velvet in saffron and other bright colors.  

 

  

 

 

He paints her body with miniature tattoos and smells the fragrance of perfume on her body. Vaishali was astonished by the commanding power of the boy Sage that not only animals but rolling boulders obeyed him. She kissed Rishyasringa and he tasted honey on her lips. Well before the time Vibhandaka was to return, Vaishali bid goodbye to Rishyasringa saying that she had to return to her Ashram to do the ‘Agnihotra puja’ and promised to return the next day.

 

After Vaishali left the premises Rishyasringa remained deep in his thoughts and had not cleaned up the ashram and had not even tended the fires.


Sage Vibhandaka came home and was surprised to find his Ashram untidy and his son looking like in a daze. Wondering what had happened, Sage Vibhandaka asked Rishyasringa, 'Son! What happened? You have not even done your duty...Is something wrong...?' He asked anxiously.

 

 

An innocent boy that he was Rishyasringa narrates the day's happenings to his father Vibhandaka in the evening saying that a Rishi from a neighborhood Ashram visited him that day. Vibhandaka senses that a female human being is in his hermitage and foresees the tricks to seduce his son. An enraged Sage Vibhandaka decides to punish the trespassers the next day. He told his son to keep away from them whom he described as demons who wanted to interrupt his Vedic studies, siddhi, or abilities of celibacy and enlightenment.

         

Rishyasringa was crestfallen. But he could not understand the reactions of his father. He did not think the Sage who had come meant him any harm...He wondered why his father behaved like this.


In the next day before Vibhandaka left to trace the strangers from the neighborhood, a hiding Vaishali and other courtesans compels Rishyasringa to join them and save the Kingdom of Anga from the destructive drought situation. An unsuspecting Rishyasringa already mesmerized by the charms and lifestyle of the new friends readily agrees to go with them.

 

 

Rishyasringa was thrilled to see the ship and its interiors and enjoyed the aura of the voyage. Vaishali and Rishyasrringa set sail and soon reached the kingdom of Anga.

 

 

The moment Rishyasriga entered the kingdom of Anga and with his royal feet touching Anga there were rain-bearing clouds to be seen which resulted in thunder and rains. The instant the holy sage stepped on the soil, the heavens opened up and poured life-giving showers. The natives of the Kingdom of Anga started singing with the accompaniment of musical instruments and danced with joy in the rain.

 

An overjoyed king offers his daughter Shanta in marriage to the great Sage Rishysringa and he accepts the wedding proposal.

 

Malini was dead in the stampede that resulted from the joyful celebrations and the king and others forget the courtesans who brought the good luck and fortunes of rains to them. Our sympathies rest with Vaishali.

The movie ends there …However, Rishyasringa performed ‘Putrakameshti’ yaga in the years to come which resulted in the birth of Lord Shri Rama and his cousins namely Laxmana, Bharata, and Shatrugna.



‘Vaishali’ was an episode lifted from the life of glamorous pleasure- injecting courtesans and made into a classical movie.

  

 

 
Vaishali enthralls the moviegoers and the taste lingers for several years in the movie watchers’ minds.


The stupendous success of my earlier BLOG about Urvashi inspired me to come out with Vaishali’s lifeline and story which made history.