ADṚŚYANTĪ , wife of sage Śakti, the son of Vasiṣṭha
and mother of sage Parāśara.
Kalmāṣapāda, a king of the Ikṣvāku dynasty reached
the hermitage of Vasiṣṭha during a hunting expedi-
tion when Śakti, eldest of the hundred sons of
Vasiṣṭha came walking towards him. False pride
prevented either of them from giving way to the
other. The King got angry and whipped Śakti. Śakti
cursed the king and he was converted into a demon.
This happened at a period when sages Vasiṣṭha and
Viśvāmitra were at logger-heads. Viśvāmitra got
admitted into the body of King Kalmāṣapāda a
demon called Kiṃkara, and the king set out to take
revenge upon Śakti, the son of Vasiṣṭha. The King
was further promised all support by Viśvāmitra.
Kalmāṣapāda ate up all the hundred sons of Vasiṣṭha.
Overcome with grief Vasiṣṭha attempted suicide
many a time. But the spirit (Ātman) did not quit
the body. Thus sunken in grief Vasiṣṭha lived in his
hermitage with Adṛśyantī, wife of Śakti. One day
Vasiṣṭha heard distinct sounds of the chanting of
the Vedas and Adṛśyantī told him that a child of
his son, Śakti, was developing in her womb and that
the vedic sounds heard were sounds produced by
that son chanting the vedic hymns. Vasiṣṭha thus
was happy to hear that the dynasty will not become
extinct and, so, gave up all ideas of suicide. Another
day Kalmāṣapāda in the guise of the demon hurriedly
came to devour Adṛśyantī and Vasiṣṭha gave him
redemption from the curse. He was restored to his
old state and form. Adṛśyantī duly gave birth to a
son, and the child grew up to become Parāśara,
father of Vyāsa.
While the Pāṇḍavas, in the course of their forest
life, were passing the banks of river Gaṅgā at midnight,
a Gandharva named Aṃgāraparṇa enjoying in the
river-water clashed with Arjuna, and he was defeat-
ed. The story of Adṛśyantī is one of the many
stories told by Aṃgāraparṇa to the Pāṇḍavas. (M.B.
Ādi Parva, Chapters 175-178).