Once upon a time there was a great sage who was also a king. His name was Rajshri[1] Kusha. He had four sons, Kushamba, Kushanaabha, Adhuurtarajasa and Vasu. The four princes grew up to be exceptionally brilliant, noble, brave and honest. Once they came of age, their father encouraged them to build their own kingdoms. The four sons departed and built 4 cities. Kushamba built the city named Kaushambii, Kushanaabha built Mahodaya, Adhuurtarajasa built Dharmaaranya, and Vasu built Girivraja[2]. King Kushanaabh married celestial Ghritaachi and became a father to 100 exceptionally beautiful daughters. One day, the princesses were entertaining themselves while out on a walk. They sang, played instruments and danced. Vayu, the wind god saw them and wanted to marry them all! He approached them and asked them to marry him. He promised them age span of Devatas if they married them. They would not get old like humans but would stay young and beautiful forever. The girls felt insulted by this proposal. They were virtuous princesses who would only marry someone that their father chose for them. They said to Vayu “Oh Vayu, we know who you are. We know your abilities, your powers and your uniqueness. But we are daughters of Kushanaabh. Each one of us can defeat you with our yogic powers. But we will not attempt to do so. Do not insult us because the day will never come when we choose a groom for ourselves and disregard our father. We will only marry him whom our father chooses for us.” Vayu became enraged and disfigured the girls. The princesses returned to their home in tears. King Kushanaabh, shocked to see their disfiguration, asked them, “Tell me, daughter, who has done this to you? How did this happen?” The princesses bowed down to their father and narrated the incident to him. King was distressed but also very proud of his daughters. He praised them for not accepting Vayu’s proposal and choosing to let their father select a groom. He then praised them for forgiving Vayu as the girls already did not bear him and ill will despite his cruelty. The princesses returned to their palaces, and the king began discussing potential suitor for his daughters with his ministers. After much discussion they agreed that King Brahmadatta, son of rishi Cuulii would be an ideal husband for the princesses. As Brahmadatta took the hand of each princess during the wedding ceremony, the power of his spirituality cured each one of them of her disfiguration. This miracle added to everyone’s joy and celebration of the wedding. After the newlyweds departed, Kushanaabh began a Vedic ritual called Putra-Kaameshti to beget a son. The ritual was successful, and it blessed him with a son named Gaadhi. The great sage Vishwamitra was Gaadhi’s son. An interesting point to note in this story is that many of Vishwamitra’s ancestors were not born the usual way but were instead “Manas-putra” or mind-born-children. This means they were not born of a womb. There was such power invested in the imagination of their existence and their bodies were manifested directly from a thought.
[1] Rajshri is the title for kings who have also achieved the status of Rishi.
[2]It is believed that Kaushambii is Kannauj of U.P and Girivraja is Rajgir city in Bihar.