To resolve the many questions in his mind, one must go to Shakti Nandan. But who is this Shakti Nandan? Where does he live? In answer to the questions arising in the mind of the sage Rishiraj, it was said that Shakti Nandan is the grandson of one of the Saptarishis. Let me first tell you about that particular sage from the Saptarishis.
He then began to narrate a wondrous tale. Once, a king went hunting in the forest with his soldiers and attendants. However, exhausted from hunger and thirst, he wandered through the forest in search of shelter and food. Suddenly, he came across an ashram of a sage. Seeing it, the king entered the ashram alone, leaving his soldiers behind. But the great sage invited all who had come with the king into the ashram and arranged delicious food for everyone.
Although the king was amazed by the entire event, he kept wondering how it was possible to provide food and drink for a thousand people within moments. After enjoying the hospitality for a day, as he was about to leave, the king asked, "Your ashram lies deep within this sacred forest—how did you manage such a magnificent arrangement? How could you so quickly gather such sumptuous food for all my men?" Hearing this, the sage smiled and took the king to a cowshed in the ashram, where he pointed to a cow and said, "All of this was made possible because of her." The king saw a light-pink-colored cow, capable of understanding everything the sage said. Pointing to the cow, the sage continued, "By her divine power, I accomplish many seemingly impossible tasks. She is a part of the celestial cow Kamadhenu, whom I obtained through spiritual practice."
The king, filled with greed and captivated by royal pride, disregarded the sage's spiritual merit and said, "I will gift you a hundred cows; in return, give me this one." The sage replied with a smile, "This cow is the fruit of my penance. She is the daughter of the divine Kamadhenu, gifted to me by the gods out of satisfaction with my devotion. Even if someone offered me a thousand cows, I would not give her away. You are driven by attachment and will not benefit from her. I honor her as a mother."
The king replied, "All that is beautiful and pleasurable in this land belongs in a king's palace." Hearing this, the sage, though internally enraged, remained silent. The king then ordered his soldiers to forcibly take the cow. The cow began to shed tears—not known whether for her fate or for her master, the sage. She turned to the sage and cried out in a sorrowful voice, as if to ask why she was being treated this way. When the sage's hundred sons tried to stop the soldiers, a battle broke out. The sage then mentally commanded the cow to resist the soldiers. At once, the cow created hundreds of warriors from her body who attacked the king's army. Seeing the terrible battle, the king fled.
Although he escaped, the king resolved to take revenge. He became consumed with the thought—what is the use of all this kingdom and throne if a mere forest-dwelling sage could defeat him? Despite having so many soldiers and weapons, he had to flee to save his honor. After much thought, he decided to renounce his worldly life, perform penance, and please the gods to gain divine powers and ultimately humiliate the sage. He handed over his kingdom to his son and went to perform penance to Lord Rudra.
After many years of penance, Rudra appeared before him and granted him the boon of mastery over all weapons. Armed with divine knowledge, the king returned to the sage Vasishtha's ashram and attacked him.
On the king's orders, a demon named Kingkara entered the body of King Saudasa and devoured the sage's hundred sons. But the king was still not prepared for what came next. He saw that all his weapons were destroyed by the sage's staff. The king had made a mistake—he had assumed that the sage was an ordinary ascetic, not realizing he was a Brahmarshi (a supreme sage). The staff he always carried was in fact a Brahma Danda, a divine weapon.
The enmity deepened. Having lost all his sons, Vasishtha was heartbroken.
He decided that his life had no meaning and chose the path of suicide. But one day, while performing his daily rituals at the ashram, he heard the sound of Vedic chanting. Unable to determine the source, he looked around and discovered that the sound was coming from the womb of his daughter-in-law, Adrishyanti. Through meditation, he realized that it was his descendant, the son of Sage Shakti. Filled with love, the sage named the child Parashara, and the knowledge of his existence rekindled his hope for life.
One day in his childhood, Parashara was playing beside his grandfather and addressed him as "Father." His mother, Adrishyanti, corrected him saying, "Child, he is not your father but your grandfather." Upon hearing this, the boy was distressed. He asked his mother, "Then who is my father?" Adrishyanti replied, "You are the son of Sage Shakti. This great sage is your grandfather. Your father passed away before you were born—he was eaten by a cunning demon."
Hearing this, Parashara was filled with rage and vowed to avenge his father's death. He studied all the scriptures and initiated a great sacrificial ritual, during which hundreds of demons were summoned and perished in fire.
At that time, his grandfather came to the site and advised him to stop. He said, "Son, the entire demon race is not responsible for the death of your father and his brothers. Your father's own anger was to blame. A Brahmin's greatest enemy is his own anger. If not controlled, it leads to spiritual downfall, and such a Brahmin can never serve society."
Though somewhat pacified by his grandfather's words, Parashara still remembered what his mother had told him. The sage realized this and added, "The true cause of your father's fate lies in the enmity between me and the royal sage. Though now a Brahmarshi, he was once a king. Even someone born in a royal lineage can become a Brahmin through intense penance. So why can't you control your own anger? And should you really act on the words of an inferior, misguided soul?"
With much persuasion, the young sage ceased the sacrificial rite and devoted himself to the worship of the Supreme.