| Bhrigu | |
|---|---|
 A painting depicting Bhṛgu | |
| Affiliation | Saptarishi |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents |
|
| Spouse | Kavyamata,Puloma,Khyati, Divyadevi, and Paulami |
| Children | |
| Part ofa series on |
| Hindu philosophy |
|---|
 |
Sub-schools |
|
Bhrigu (Sanskrit:भृगु,IAST:Bhṛgu) is arishi in Hindu tradition. He is one of the seven great sages, theSaptarshis, and one of the manyPrajapatis (the facilitators of creation) created byBrahma.[1] He was the first compiler of predictiveastrology and also the author ofBhrigu Samhita, an astrological (jyotisha) classic. Bhrigu is considered amanasaputra ("mind-born son") ofBrahma. The adjectival form of the name,Bhārgava, is used to refer to the descendants and the school of Bhrigu. According toManusmriti, Bhrigu was a compatriot and companion ofSvāyambhuva Manu, the progenitor of humanity.[2] Along with Manu, Bhrigu made important contributions to theManusmṛti, which was constituted out of a sermon to a congregation of saints in the state ofBrahmavarta, after the great floods in this area.[3] As per theSkanda Purana, Bhrigu migrated to Bhrigukaccha, modernBharuch, on the banks of theNarmada river inGujarat, leaving his sonChyavana atDhosi Hill.
According toBhagavata Purana, he was married toKhyati, one of the nine daughters of PrajāpatiKardama. She was the mother ofLakshmi asBhargavi.[4] They also had two sons named Dhata and Vidhata. He had one more son withKavyamata, who is better known than Bhrigu himself –Shukra, learned sage andguru of theasuras. The sageChyavana is also said to be his son withPuloma, as is the folk heroMrikanda.[5] [Maha:1.5] One of his descendants was sageJamadagni, who in turn was the father of sageParashurama, considered anavatar ofVishnu.[6][7][8]
Bhṛgu is mentioned in theShiva Purana and theVayu Purana, where he is shown present during the greatyajna ofDaksha (his father-in-law).[9] He supports the continuation of theDaksha yajna even after being warned that without an offering forShiva, it was asking for a catastrophe for everyone present there. In theTattiriya Upanishad, he is described to have had a conversation with his father Varuni onBrahman.
In theBhagavad Gita,Krishna says that among sages, Bhrigu is the representative of the opulence ofGod.[10]
TheBhagavata Purana describes a legend in which sages gathered at the bank of the riverSarasvati to participate in a greatyajna. The gathered sages could not decide who among theTrimurti (supreme trinity) of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva was pre-eminent and should be the recipient of theyajna. They deputed Bhrigu to determine this answer.[11]
Upon being entrusted with the task, Bhṛgu decided to test each of the Trimurti. He first visited Brahma atSatyaloka, and to test his patience, he refused to sing in his praise or prostrate before him. Brahma grew angry, but realised that his son was testing him and allowed him to pass. Bhṛgu left forKailasha, the abode of Shiva. Upon seeing the sage, Shiva rose to his feet and moved forward with great joy to embrace the sage. Bhṛgu, however, refused the embrace, and tested him by calling the deity a maligner of social conventions and rituals. Shiva was infuriated and prepared to strike the sage with histrident, but was calmed by his consort,Parvati. The sage then travelled to the abode of Vishnu,Vaikuntha.[11] Vishnu was resting his head on the lap ofLakshmi when the sage arrived. Bhṛgu kicked Vishnu on the chest to wake him up, enraged by the perceived insult. Vishnu woke up, greeted Bhṛgu, and starts massaging his feet, regarding his chest to have been sanctified due to its contact with the sage's foot. Overpowered with emotion, Bhṛgu went back to the sages and declaredVishnu to be the greatest among the Trimurti.[12][13]
According to some traditions, Vishnu's consortLakshmi grew angry at him because the chest was considered as Lakshmi's place (vakshasthala) and left Vaikuntha to be born on earth. She was found on a lotus flower, and was raised by Bhrigu and his wife Khyati, which is why another name of Lakshmi is Bhargavi, daughter of Bhṛgu. Since she was found on a lotus, she is also called Padmavati.[11][14][15]
A variation of this is the legend behindTirupati, in which a furious Lakshmi is born as Padmavati on earth and Vishnu assumes the form ofSrinivasa andVenkateswara.[16]
Bhrigu is regarded to have had hisashram (hermitage) on the Vadhusar River, a tributary of theDrishadwati River nearDhosi Hill in the state ofBrahmavarta,[17] presently on the border ofHaryana and theJhunjhunu district ofRajasthan inIndia.[18][19]
His son Chyavana, known forChyavanprash also had his āśrama at Dhosi Hill. Bhṛgu is also worshipped atBharuch,Swamimalai,Tirumala,Ballia,Nanguneri,Thiruneermalai, andMannargudi.
An āśrama for Bhṛgu is in Maruderi,Chengalpattu district in Tamil Nadu.Khedbrahma in Gujarat is associated with Brahma and Bhṛgu's legend of testing the Trimurti. Lastly, Bhṛgu migrated to BhuinjSatara,Maharashtra where he tookSamadhi. His āśrama and hisdaughter's temple also situated there. Hisson's āśrama and samadhi are also situated on Chyavaneshwar hill near Bhuinj.
InTattiriya Upanishad, first six anuvakas of Bhrigu Valli are calledBhargavi Varuni Vidya, which means "the knowledge Bhrigu got from (his father) Varuni". It is in these anuvakas that sage Varuni advises Bhrigu with one of the oft-cited definition of Brahman, as "that from which beings originate, through which they live, and in which they re-enter after death, explore that because that is Brahman".[20] This thematic, all encompassing, eternal nature of reality and existence develops as the basis for Bhrigu's emphasis on introspection and inwardization, to help peel off the outer husks of knowledge, in order to reach and realize the innermost kernel of spiritual self-knowledge.[20]
Bhrigu decided to write his famous books of astrology, theBhrigu Samhita. Bhrigu collected birth charts, wrote full-life predictions, and compiled them together asBhrigu Samhita.Bhrigu Samhita is believed to be one of the first book of its kind in the field ofastrology.[21][22][23][24][25]
The lineage of Bhrigu includesShukra,Chyavana,Aurva, Richika,Jamadagni,Parashurama,Bhargava,Balai, andDadhichi.[26][27][28]
Shukra, son of Bhṛgu, is considered to be a Daitya-Guru, teacher of theAsuras. Shukra learned the mṛtyu sañjivinividya from LordShiva, with which he could revive the dead and grant them immortality.[29] Additionally, Shukra is also known the planetVenus in astronomical terms.[30]
Once, while Puloma was pregnant with Chyavana, Bhṛgu had gone for a bath. While he was gone, an asura who was also named Puloma came to Bhrigu's āśrama in the form of a boar and kidnapped, or carried away, Bhṛgu's wife. Because of this, Bhṛgu's wife had a miscarriage. Despite being prematurely born, the infant was radiating light like the sun, which burned the asura into ashes. Later, when Puloma went back to Bhrigu with her prematurely-born yet miraculous child, Bhṛgu asked her how the asura had come to know of the location of the āśrama. She revealed that it wasAgni who had told the asura Puloma about their whereabouts. Angered, Bhṛgu cursed Agni that he would consume all that came in his way.[31]
Aurva was the son of Chyavana and his wifeAarushi (daughter of Manu).[28][32]
After King Krutavirya's death, his sons invaded the Bhargava rishis' ashrams to get their wealth. Since theKshatriyas were hunting them down, the rishis had to leave their ashrams. Among the fleers was Aarushi, who was pregnant at that time. In order to protect her unborn child, she hid her garbha (womb) in her thigh as she fled. The Kshatriyas, however, found out about this and caught her. As she was getting captured, her thigh broke and a child came out. The child was radiating immensely, and his light blinded the Kshatriya kings. The kings realized their mistakes and asked for forgiveness. The child, who was Aurva, returned their eyesight, however, his strong hatred towards the Kshatriyas remained even as he grew older. Aurva began to perform austerities to bring justice to his ancestors (pitrus) for how the Kshatriya kings had treated them, and the rigorousness of his austerities caused the world to start burning down. Frightened by the destruction caused by Aurva's intense austerities, Aurva's pitrus appeared before him, and pleaded him to withdraw the fire, force it into the ocean, and stop his austerities to prevent further damage.[31][32]
And Daksha, Prachetas, Pulaha, Marichi, the master Kasyapa, Bhrigu, Atri, and Vasistha and Gautama, and also Angiras, and Pulastya, Kraut, Prahlada, and Kardama, thesePrajapatis, and Angirasa of the Atharvan Veda, the Valikhilyas, the Marichipas; Intelligence, Space, Knowledge, Air, Heat, Water, Earth, Sound, Touch, Form, Taste, Scent; Nature, and the Modes (of Nature), and the elemental and prime causes of the world – all stay in that mansion beside the Lord Brahma. And Agastya of great energy, and Markandeya, of great ascetic power, and Jamadagni and Bharadvaja, and Samvarta, and Chyavana, and exalted Durvasa, and the virtuous Rishyasringa, the illustrious Sanatkumara of great ascetic merit and the preceptor in all matters affecting Yoga