Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 56: King Viśvāmitra Decides to Become a Brāhmaṇa
Text 1.56.16
तदप्यस्त्रं महाघोरं ब्राह्मं ब्राह्मेण तेजसा।
वसिष्ठो ग्रसते सर्वं ब्रह्मदण्डेन राघव॥
tad apy astraṁ mahā-ghoraṁ brāhmaṁ brāhmeṇa tejasā
vasiṣṭho grasate sarvaṁ brahma-daṇḍena rāghava
tat = that; api = even; astram = weapon; mahā-ghoram = greatly terrible; brāhmam = Brahmāstra; brāhmeṇa = by dint of his brahminical; tejasā = prowess; vasiṣṭhaḥ = Vasiṣṭha; grasate = devoured; sarvam = in its entirety; brahma-daṇḍena = by his brahminical staff; rāghava = O Raghu’s descendant.
O Raghu’s descendant, by dint of his brahminical prowess, Vasiṣṭha devoured even that greatly terrible Brahmāstra weapon in its entirety using his brahminical staff.
By dint of his brahminical prowess, that is, the prowess born of his practice of spiritual meditation, Vasiṣṭha devoured the Brahmāstra. He merely used his staff to accomplish this; his staff did not devour the Brahmāstra.1 Therefore, this text does not contradict the next text.
1. Vasiṣṭha had devoured the Brahmāstra using his staff, but his staff had by itself devoured all of the other weapons hurled at him.