Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 65: Viśvāmitra Becomes a Brahmarṣi
Text 1.65.20
ब्राह्मण्यं यदि मे प्राप्तं दीर्घम् आयुस्तथैव च।
ओंकारश्च वषट्कारो वेदाश्च वरयन्तु माम्॥
brāhmaṇyaṁ yadi me prāptaṁ dīrgham āyus tathaiva ca
oṁkāraś ca vaṣaṭkāro vedāś ca varayantu mām
brāhmaṇyam = the position of a brāhmaṇa; yadi = if; me prāptam = I have obtained; dīrgham = a long; āyuḥ = life; tathā eva ca = and; oṁkāraḥ ca = Oṁ; vaṣaṭkāraḥ = Vaṣaṭ; vedāḥ ca = and the Vedas; varayantu = may accept; mām = me.
If I have obtained the position of a brāhmaṇa and a long life, may Oṁ, Vaṣaṭ and the Vedas accept me.
1 Like Oṁ, Vaṣaṭ is a sacred mantra used in certain Vedic rituals.
“May Oṁ, Vaṣaṭ and the Vedas accept me” means “May I become qualified to teach them and use them in worship.”1
Even though Lord Brahmā has blessed him [by recognizing him as a brahmarṣi], Viśvāmitra wanted to be accepted as such by a like-minded person. With this in mind, he speaks the following verse.