Shloka 7
Adhyaya 7 — Harishchandra Tested by Vishvamitra: The Gift of the Kingdom and the Pandava Curse-Backstory
विश्वामित्रोऽयमतुलं तप आस्थाय वीर्यवान् ।
प्रागसिद्धाभवादीनां विद्याः साध्यति व्रती ॥
viśvāmitro 'yamatulaṃ tapa āsthāya vīryavān | prāgasiddhābhavādīnāṃ vidyāḥ sādhyati vratī ||
这位威力无比的毗湿瓦密多罗（Viśvāmitra），修持无与伦比的苦行，誓愿坚固，遂着手成就诸般秘奥明知——先从获得先前已知的悉地（siddhi）及其相关神通开始。
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FAQs
The verse presents tapas joined with vrata (disciplined restraint) as the engine of transformation: extraordinary capacities (vidyā/siddhi) are portrayed not as accidents but as the fruit of sustained inner heat, moral resolve, and focused practice. Implicitly, power is legitimized only when anchored in self-mastery.
This aligns most closely with Vaṃśa/Vaṃśānucarita (genealogical and biographical accounts of sages and exemplary figures), rather than Sarga/Pratisarga. It functions as narrative exemplum within the Purana’s historical-legendary stream.
Viśvāmitra symbolizes the alchemy of consciousness: tapas is the ‘inner fire’ that refines the practitioner, while vidyā indicates awakened capacities of mind and mantra. The mention of ‘beginning with prior siddhis and so on’ suggests a graded unfolding—powers arise in sequences, and the real test is whether the ascetic remains a vratī (bound to vow) rather than becoming bound by power.