Mythology and Symbolism : Vasishtasana and Vishwamitrasana

 ऋषि मूलम् नदी मूलम् न विचारयेत्

 Rishi Moolam Nadhi Moolam Na Vicharayet

Do not inquire about the origins of a Rishi (a yogi) and a River

1) The standing joke in the yoga room and in the great epic, Mahabharata

There is a standing joke in the ashtanga vinyasa school of yoga that every few years, Vasishtasana and Vishwamitrasana, the first two poses (shown below) of the Advanced-A series (Sthira Bhaga) will have their names switched. David Robson, the well known Ashtanga Yoga teacher, jokes in this video (1:15) that when someone (typically from another school of yoga) would interchange the names, there will be a lot of skirmish and tension created (by the Ashtanga yoga police) in the Mysore yoga room.

Ashtanga Vinyasa jokes aside, the epic feud between Rishis Vasishta and Vishwamitra, two great Rishis of Indian mythology, is uttered throughout Indian Mythology. Similar to the Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga joke, there is also a Mahabharatha Joke. When Arjuna was born to Pritha (Kunthi), the great sages came to visit the baby and his mother. Vyasa was planning to write "Vasishto Vishwamitras cha", which means Vasishta and Vishwamitra, since it rhymes well in the poem. However he realized that the name of his work itself was mahabharatha (the great war) and he did not want to create a mini-battle inside the book on the epic war by putting their names together and therfore inserted Kashyapa in between their names in the poem even though it did not rhyme (Ref: Dushyant Sridhar, youtube video @ 6:20).  Perhaphs, the Ashtanga Vinyasa school should take note and insert Kashyapasana between the two poses to end the squabble that is bound to arise when the two are next to each other in any way.

2) The feud

More on the feud between Vasishta and Vishwamitra can be found in the  "Mythology and Symbolism behind asanas-2" workshop (slides, video, audio in the link above). Vashishta was known as one of the most benevolent Rishis (sages). His descendants are illustrious and have contributed to some of the greatest scriptures and epics of Sanatana Dharma - Vishnupurana (Parashara narrate's Vyasa's composition), Mahabharata (Vaishampayana narrates Vyasa's composition) and Shrimad Bhagavatham (Shuka narrates Vyasa's composition). The lineage from Vashishta to his great great grandson Shukacharya is recited in the dhyana shloka of the Vishnusahasranamam (00:15 of the Vishnu Sahasranamam chant)

The story goes that the king Kaushika was once returning from a hunt with his retinue and stops by at Vasishta's hermitage. Vasishta feeds the king and his entire retinue. When asked how he was able to feed such a large number of people, Vasishta attributes it to the divine cow Kamashenu, the bestower of wishes. Kaushika asks for the cow and tells Vasishta that the cow would better serve the king since he can then use it to feed an entire kingdom but the Rishi refuses. Kaushika, then, repeatedly tries to steal the cow but Vasishta, with his yogic powers, is able to thwart all of the attacks. The angry Vishwamitra, then, stoops so low as to make a demon eat Vasishta's son, Shakti. Vasishta still  forgives King Kaushika but refuses to give the cow, Kamadhenu, over to the king.