Kauśikī River

The Kauśikī is a sacred river. The Mahābhārata says it arose through the tapas (austerity) of Viśvāmitra Maharshi. It is auspicious and wide, and devas, ṛshis and brahmarshis all serve her. The Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa also names her as Satyavatī, daughter of King Gādhi and wife of Ṛcīka, who became this river in her later life. Her name, Kauśikī, honours her father’s line, the Kuśika family. The river is known today as the Koshī river of Nepal and Bihar.

Origin through Viśvāmitra’s tapas

In the Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhishṭhira lists the great deeds of Viśvāmitra to Bhīshma. Among them, the Kauśikī came into being through Viśvāmitra’s own power of tapas. She is called maṅgala-pradā (giver of auspiciousness), pavitrā (pure) and viśālā (vast), and she is served by devas, ṛshis and brahmarshis.

She is named among the great rivers made holy by the deeds of the ṛshis. She stands beside rivers such as Vipāśā, which came from a related episode in the same rivalry between Viśvāmitra and Vasishṭha. (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 3)

The Kauśikī as Satyavatī

The Bhārgava tradition, kept in the Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, names the Kauśikī as Satyavatī, daughter of Gādhi and wife of Ṛcīka. She had exchanged the two consecrated caru (offerings of cooked food) with her mother, and this decided the destinies of both Jamadagni and Viśvāmitra. She saw the great results of what she had done. In her later life she performed great tapas and was turned into this river. She took a name that honours the Kuśika line of her father. (Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 66)

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 3
• Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 66