Historically, Vasishtha was a Rigvedic poet and the
purohita of
Sudās Paijavana, chief of the
Bharata tribe. In Rigvedic hymn 7.33.9, Vasishtha is described as a scholar who moved across the
Sarasvati river to establish his school. At some point, he replaced
Viśvāmitra Gāthina as the purohita of Sudās. In later Hindu texts, Viśvāmitra and Vasishtha have a long-standing feud, and scholars have stated they historically had a feud regarding the position of the Bharata purohita. However, this view has been criticized due to lack of internal evidence and the projection of later views onto the Rigveda. Under Sudās and Vasishtha, the Tṛtsu-Bharatas won the
Battle of the Ten Kings. Sudās decisively won against a
Puru-led alliance by the strategic breaching of a (natural) dyke on the Ravi river thereby drowning most of their opponents; the victory is attributed to the benevolence and strategizing of
Indra, the patron-god of the Bharatas, whose blessings were secured by Vasishtha's poetics. He was married to
Arundhati, and therefore he was also called
Arundhati Natha, meaning the husband of Arundhati. Later, this region is believed in the Indian tradition to be the abode of sage
Vyasa along with
Pandavas of
Mahabharata. He is typically described in ancient and medieval Hindu texts as a sage with long flowing hair neatly tied into a bun that is coiled with a tuft to the right, a beard, a handlebar moustache and a
tilak on his forehead. In Buddhist Pali canonical texts such as
Digha Nikaya, Tevijja Sutta describes a discussion between the Buddha and Vedic scholars of his time. The
Buddha names ten
rishis, calls them "early sages" and makers of ancient verses that have been collected and chanted in his era, and among those ten rishi is Vasettha (the
Pali spelling of Vasishtha in
Sanskrit.
Ideas Vasishtha is the author of the seventh book of the
Rigveda, These hymns declare two gods,
Indra and
Varuna, as equally great. In another hymn, particularly the Rigvedic verse 7.83.9, Vasishtha teaches that the Vedic gods Indra and Varuna are complementary and equally important because one vanquishes the evil by the defeat of enemies in battles, while other sustains the good during peace through socio-ethical laws. The seventh mandala of the
Rigveda by Vasishtha is a metaphorical treatise. Vasishtha reappears as a character in Hindu texts, through its history, that explore conciliation between conflicting or opposing ideologies. According to Ellison Findly, a professor of Religion, Vasishtha hymns in the
Rigveda are among the most intriguing in many ways and influential. Vasishtha emphasizes means to be as important as ends during one's life encouraging truthfulness, devotion, optimism, family life, sharing one's prosperity with other members of society, among other cultural values. ==Attributed texts==