When the sage Vasiṣṭha refused to part with the divine cow Kāmadhenu, Viśvāmitra, determined to claim her, began to forcefully drag away the spotted cow, O Rāma. As she was being led off by the great king, the cow—distressed and weeping—pondered her sorrow. "Abandoned by the supremely noble Vasiṣṭha, why am I, so miserable, being taken away by the king's men, filled with great grief?" she lamented. "What wrong have I done to that great-souled sage, that he, seeing me innocent and devoted, abandons me, though he is righteous?" Thinking thus, sighing again and again, the cow swiftly made her way to the exceedingly powerful Vasiṣṭha. Shaking off the king’s men by the hundreds, she rushed with the speed of the wind to the feet of the great-souled sage. Standing before him, weeping and crying out, she addressed Vasiṣṭha with a voice that resounded like thunderclouds. "O venerable one, son of Brahmā, why have you abandoned me, that the king’s soldiers are taking me away from your presence?" Vasiṣṭha, moved by her sorrow as if she were his grieving sister, gently replied, "I do not abandon you, Shabala, nor have you done me any wrong. But this mighty king is taking you from me by force. My strength is not equal to the king’s, especially today; he is powerful—a Kṣatriya, and lord of the earth. His full army, crowded with elephants, horses, and chariots, bristling with banners, makes him even stronger." Hearing these words, the cow, skilled in speech, humbly replied, "They do not say that the strength of a Kṣatriya is greater, O Brahman. The divine power of Brahmanic strength surpasses that of Kṣatriyas. Your strength is immeasurable; Viśvāmitra, though mighty, is not stronger than you—your energy is unassailable. Command me, O great-splendored one, endowed with Brahmanic power. I shall destroy the pride, strength, and effort of that wicked one." Thus addressed, Vasiṣṭha said, "Release your power, destroyer of enemy forces." Hearing his command, Surabhi—the wish-fulfilling cow—produced, by her bellowing, hundreds of Pahlavas. They destroyed all of Viśvāmitra’s army before his eyes. The king, greatly enraged, his eyes blazing with fury, unleashed his weapons and destroyed the Pahlavas with both great and small arms. Seeing the Pahlavas afflicted by Viśvāmitra, Surabhi again produced fierce Shakas mixed with Yavanas; the earth was covered by these warriors. Radiant and of great might, resembling golden filaments, armed with sharp swords and spears, clad in golden garments, they swept over the battlefield. That entire army was consumed, as if by blazing fires. Then the mighty Viśvāmitra unleashed his weapons, throwing the Yavanas, Kambojas, and Barbaras into confusion. Now, O Rāma, hear the next portion of the tale. Seeing these warriors thrown into confusion and bewildered by Viśvāmitra’s weapons, Vasiṣṭha urged the wish-fulfilling cow to create by her yogic power. From her bellowing were born Kambojas, radiant as the sun; from her udder emerged Barbaras, armed with weapons. From her wombs came the Yavanas; from the land of her excrement the Śakas arose; and in her hair follicles dwelled the Mlecchas, Hāritas, and Kirātas. By these hosts, in that instant, all of Viśvāmitra’s forces were destroyed, O delight of the Raghus—together with elephants, horses, and chariots. Seeing his army struck down by the great-souled Vasiṣṭha, a hundred sons of Viśvāmitra, bearing various weapons, advanced upon the sage. Then, exceedingly enraged, Vasiṣṭha, foremost among reciters of mantras, advanced upon them; with a mere roar, he burned them all up. Those sons of Viśvāmitra, along with their horses, chariots, and foot soldiers, were reduced to ashes in a moment by the great-souled sage. Witnessing the destruction of his forces, the illustrious Viśvāmitra was seized by shame and deep thought. Like the ocean deprived of its surge, like a serpent with broken fangs, like the sun eclipsed—he was suddenly bereft of brilliance. Deprived of sons and strength, dejected like a bird with clipped wings, all his power and enthusiasm gone, he fell into despair. He appointed one son to rule the kingdom, instructing him to govern the earth according to the duty of a Kṣatriya, and then departed for the forest. He went to the slopes of the Himālayas, frequented by Kinnaras and serpents, and undertook severe austerities there to win the favor of Mahādeva. After some time, the lord of the gods, the bull-bannered one, appeared before the great sage Viśvāmitra, ready to grant a boon. "For what purpose do you practice austerities, O king? Speak what you desire. I am the giver of boons—let the boon you seek be declared," said Mahādeva. Thus addressed, the great ascetic Viśvāmitra, bowing to Mahādeva, spoke: "If you are pleased, O sinless Mahādeva, grant me the knowledge of the science of archery, with all its branches, sub-branches, Upaniṣads, and secrets.