As Vasiṣṭha continued to reassure all present, repeatedly declaring, “Do not fear,” he made a solemn vow: “Today I will destroy the son of Gādhi, just as the sun dispels the mist.” His words were filled with resolve and the power of his spiritual authority. Then, the mighty sage Vasiṣṭha, revered as the foremost among those who recite mantras, turned to Viśvāmitra, his voice trembling with anger. He rebuked Viśvāmitra, saying, “You have destroyed this hermitage, which has been lovingly nurtured for so long, O deluded one of evil conduct. Because of this, you shall not endure.” With these words, Vasiṣṭha’s fury blazed forth. Enraged beyond measure, he swiftly raised his staff, a weapon that resembled the rod of Yama, the lord of death, glowing like a smokeless fire poised for destruction. Now hear the fifty-sixth sarga. Thus addressed by Vasiṣṭha, Viśvāmitra, mighty and determined, prepared to retaliate. He invoked the missile of Agni and challenged, “Stand, stand!” Vasiṣṭha, raising his Brahma-staff—a weapon akin to Time’s own rod—spoke with righteous wrath. “O destroyer of the Kṣatriya race, I am standing here—show me your strength! Today, O son of Gādhi, I will destroy your pride in weapons. Where is your Kṣatriya power, and where is the great power of Brahman? Behold my divine Brahmanic power, O dust of Kṣatriyas!” Viśvāmitra unleashed the terrible and supreme missile of fire, but Vasiṣṭha’s Brahma-staff subdued it, as water quenches fire. Driven by rage, Viśvāmitra then released a torrent of mighty weapons: the Varuṇa, Rudra, Indra, Pāśupata, and Aiṣīka missiles; the Mānavāstra, Mohana, Gāndharva, Svāpana, Jṛmbhaṇa, Mādana, Saṃtāpana, and Vilāpana missiles; the Śoṣaṇa, Dāraṇa, the invincible Vajra missile, Brahma-pāśa, Kāla-pāśa, and Varuṇa-pāśa; the beloved Pināka missile, both dry and wet thunderbolts, Daṇḍa missile, Paiśāca, and Krauñca missile; the Dharma wheel, Time wheel, Vishnu wheel, wind weapon, churning weapon, and horse-head missile; two spears, the Kankala weapon, club, mighty Vidyadhara missile, and dreadful Kala missile; the fierce trident weapon, Kapala missile, and Kankana missile. All these weapons, Viśvāmitra discharged in his fury. Yet, for Vasiṣṭha, the son of Brahma and master of mantras, it was as if a wonder. With his Brahma-staff, he consumed all those weapons effortlessly. When Viśvāmitra saw his arsenal subdued, he unleashed the Brahma missile, the most dreadful of all. As he raised this weapon, the gods led by Agni, the divine sages, Gandharvas, and great serpents—all were alarmed. Terror swept through the three worlds. But Vasiṣṭha, with the power of his Brahma-staff, absorbed even the Brahma missile completely. As he did so, his form became terribly fierce, bewildering all creation. From every hair pore of the great-souled sage, rays burst forth like smokeless, blazing flames. The Brahma-staff in his hand shone with a brilliance like the fire of destruction, resembling another staff of Yama. Witnessing this, the hosts of sages praised Vasiṣṭha, the best among reciters of mantras: “Your power is unfailing, O Brahman; sustain your brilliance with your radiance. By you, O Brahman, mighty Viśvāmitra has been subdued. Your power is supreme and unfailing—may the worlds be free from fear.” Hearing these words, Vasiṣṭha, mighty and radiant, calmed himself. Viśvāmitra, defeated and humbled, sighed deeply and spoke: “Fie upon the power of the warrior, the strength of the Kṣatriya; the strength of Brahmanic energy is true strength. With a single Brahma staff, all my weapons have been destroyed.” Reflecting on his defeat, he composed his senses and mind, and resolved, “I will undertake great austerity, which alone is the cause of becoming a Brahman.” Now hear the fifty-seventh sarga in the glorious Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa. Viśvāmitra’s heart was scorched by grief as he recalled his defeat. He sighed again and again, having become an adversary of the great-souled Vasiṣṭha. With his queen, he journeyed southward, and there, Viśvāmitra, the great ascetic, undertook the most severe austerity. He lived on fruits and roots, practiced self-control, and devoted himself to supreme asceticism. In time, sons were born to him—Haviṣpanda, Madhuṣpanda, and Dṛḍhanetra, the great chariot-warrior—all devoted to truth and righteousness. When a thousand years of austerity were completed, Brahmā, the grandsire of the worlds, spoke sweet words to Viśvāmitra, who had amassed great ascetic merit: “The realms of royal sages are conquered by you through austerity, O son of Kuśika. By this austerity, we know you as a royal sage.” Having spoken thus, Brahmā and the gods departed to the heavenly realm, the abode of Brahmā. Viśvāmitra, hearing this, became somewhat downcast with modesty. Overcome by great sorrow and anger, he lamented, “I have performed immense austerity, yet they know me only as a royal sage. All the gods and all the hosts of sages—there is, I think, no fruit of austerity.” Thus resolved in his mind, the great ascetic, possessed of supreme self, continued his practice of austerity, determined to attain the true fruit of his efforts.