Bhr̥gu

Origin and Lineage

Bhr̥gu Maharṣi was one of the nine great Prajāpatis born from the heart of Brahmādevī. Among his illustrious descendants were many revered sages and teachers, including Chyavana Maharṣi, Jamadagni, Śukracārya, and Dadhīci. In addition, Śrī Mahāviṣṇu Himself incarnated as Paraśurāma within the Bhr̥gu lineage. As the founding ancestor of this exalted family, Bhr̥gu Maharṣi’s line produced figures of profound spiritual and societal influence.

Marriage to Khyāti and Progeny

Bhr̥gu Maharṣi wed Khyāti, daughter of Kardama-prajāpati. From this union he had two sons and one daughter:

• Dhāta
• Vidhāta
• Śrī

His children by Khyāti went on to uphold dharma and contribute to the preservation of cosmic order, reflecting the greatness of their lineage.

Marriage to Uśanā and Śukracārya

With his wife Uśanā, Bhr̥gu Maharṣi fathered a son named Kavi, also known as Uśanas. This son later became the preceptor of the Daityas and is revered as Śukracārya, the teacher of demons and a master of knowledge and devotion.

Marriage to Pulomā and Chyavana

Bhr̥gu Maharṣi’s marriage to Pulomā produced the sage Chyavana Maharṣi. Chyavana’s life and wisdom became celebrated in many Purāṇic narratives, illustrating the continuing spiritual potency of the Bhr̥gu family.

Legacy of the Bhr̥gu Lineage

Through these unions and the great sons and daughters they bore, Bhr̥gu Maharṣi expanded the Bhr̥gu lineage into a source of spiritual teachers, thinkers, and guardians of dharma. Each member of this family—whether born of Khyāti, Uśanā, or Pulomā—played a vital role in upholding righteousness and guiding both gods and humans along the path of virtue.

The Crisis of the Rākṣasas and Bhr̥gu’s Vindication of Viṣṇu

Once the deva and the rākṣasa hosts clashed, the devas prevailed and drove the rākṣasas far from their realm. Defeated and scattered, the rākṣasas sought out their preceptor, Śukracārya, and pleaded:

“Gurudevā, you are our guide and protector, yet we suffer at the hands of the devas. We are driven before them, our strength wasted, our races undone. Please save us!”

Śukracārya’s Austerities and the Saṃjīvanī Mantra

Moved by their distress, Śukracārya ascended to Kailāsa and performed severe tapas to invoke Lord Śiva. He implored the Lord to grant him the Saṃjīvanī mantra, capable of restoring life to the fallen. Pleased with his devotion, Śiva imparted the words of that sacred mantra to him. With its power, Śukracārya revived every rākṣasa who had fallen in battle, ensuring the surviving host could persist.

The Rākṣasas’ Ordeal in Uśanā’s Absence

While Śukracārya remained absorbed in his long tapas, the rākṣasas found themselves bereft of their protector. Desperate, they turned to Uśanā-devī—the mother of Śukracārya and consort of Bhr̥gu Maharṣi—and begged her:

“Our guru is absent, and we are defenseless. Protect us in his stead!”

Uśanā, moved by their plight, pledged:

“Until your preceptor returns, I will stand as your guardian.”

Emerging from her hermitage, she invoked her own tapas power and froze the advancing devas—Indra and his hosts—in immobile stasis. No longer could they move an arm or a leg, and their bewildered ranks were held fast in the air by her sheer spiritual force.

Viṣṇu’s Intervention

The immobilized devas, unsure how to free themselves, meditated upon Lord Viṣṇu and appealed for his aid. Observing their predicament, Viṣṇu recognized that Uśanā’s power was ordained by dharma: as a devoted mother and the only protector available, she was justified in halting the devas. Yet she was a woman, and slaying her would conflict with certain rules of engagement.

Uśanā’s Wrath and the Fatal Curse

Indra counseled Viṣṇu:

“To rescue the devas, even a woman must be overpowered. It is the law.”

Assuming a terrible form, Viṣṇu approached Uśanā to terrify her into lifting her spell. But she, burning with righteous anger, rebuked him:

“You, Viṣṇu, protector of all, have pierced the neck of a pious woman—a devoted mother—who acts only to shelter the helpless. For this grievous act, may you be consigned to mortal birth, enduring repeated cycles of life and death in human form!”

Attempting to utter the words of the curse, Uśanā’s throat was cleft by a mighty arrow of her own spiritual power, and she fell lifeless.

Bhr̥gu’s Wrath and the Vindication of Viṣṇu

News of his wife’s death reached Bhr̥gu Maharṣi, who rushed to her side. Overcome with grief and fury, he rebuked Viṣṇu:

“O Supreme Preserver, you who enact both stern justice and compassionate protection, how could you slay my devoted wife? As your due for this sin, may you descend as a mortal, bound by the cycles of birth and death, sharing the sufferings of ordinary beings!”

Viṣṇu, unshaken, knelt before Bhr̥gu and spoke:

“Maharṣi, you granted her the right to protect those in need. I did only my duty to restore balance. There is no malice in my act—only adherence to dharma.”

Despite this defense, Bhr̥gu Maharṣi declared that no release from the curse was possible. He forbade Viṣṇu from begging forgiveness; instead, he commanded the Lord to uphold the curse’s power as a principle of righteous constraint.

Resurrection of Uśanā

Moved by Bhr̥gu’s resolve and recognizing the higher purpose of cosmic order, Viṣṇu invoked his own mantric grace. He sprinkled sacred waters over Uśanā’s body and spoke blessings of renewal. Instantly, her life returned and she stood revived. Freed from her spell, Indra and the other devas resumed their former state and departed, awe-struck by the power of Bhr̥gu and Viṣṇu alike.

Thus, the episode demonstrates the supremacy of dharma, the potency of a devoted mother’s vow, and the unfailing justice of the Lord, even in the face of the universe’s greatest protectors.

This episode is recorded in Linga Purana

Test for the Trimūrtis

The Sacrifice on the Banks of the Sarasvatī

On the banks of the Sarasvatī River, the great sages assembled to perform a mahā-kṛt, a grand sacrificial rite. During their deliberations, a question arose among them: which of the Trimūrti—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, or Rudra—was the supreme deity in terms of inner excellence and spiritual merit (āryadharma)? Not by outer attributes such as countless heads or innumerable arms, but by the highest quality of the inner self.

The Mandate to Bhr̥gu Maharṣi

Entrusted with this solemn responsibility, they appointed Bhr̥gu Maharṣi to examine and determine the preeminence among the three. Recognizing the gravity of testing the Trimūrti, Bhr̥gu first invoked the goddess of courage, Śāśālaxmī, strengthening his tapas. Resolute, he set out on his mission.

Testing Brahmā in Brahmaloka

Bhr̥gu ascended to Brahmaloka, where Brahmā—the creator of the fourteen worlds and progenitor of all sages, deities, and beings—sat enthroned, worshipped by all. Without prostrating or offering obeisance, Bhr̥gu stood erect before him in a gesture of lofty dignity. Brahmā’s countenance flushed with anger at this omission. From his anger, beams of divine wrath emerged, but Bhr̥gu countered them by sprinkling mantric water from his kamandalu onto Brahmā, calming and soothing him. Having completed his test, Bhr̥gu declared:

“I have come to determine the trial I undertook,” and departed.

Testing Rudra at Mount Kailāsa

Next, Bhr̥gu proceeded to Kailāsa to meet Śiva. Bowing and offering hymns, he sought audience, and Śiva, pleased, beckoned him to sit by placing his hand upon his palm. Yet Bhr̥gu, maintaining his majestic bearing, refused the gesture of hospitality. Offended, Śiva’s countenance grew wrathful. As initial praise gave way to affront, Śiva exclaimed:

“If I forgive your disrespect, you will only insult me again. I must chastise you!”

At that moment, Pārvatī interceded:

“O Bhr̥gu, revered among the worlds, forgive his passion; it was born of propriety. Sit in peace.”

Thus pacified, Bhr̥gu withdrew.

Testing Viṣṇu in Vaikuṇṭha

Finally, Bhr̥gu journeyed to Vaikuṇṭha, where Mahā-Viṣṇu reclined upon Śeṣa. Once more, Bhr̥gu offered no obeisance or hymn. Instead, he struck Viṣṇu’s foot with his kṣaura (knowledge staff), a profound act of disrespect. Viṣṇu, moved to descend to earth, addressed him tenderly:

“Bhr̥gu, your blow has pained me; my heart aches, yet I bear it willingly. Your strike sanctifies my very inner worlds. Please be seated upon this gem-studded throne; allow me to serve you.”

Bhr̥gu, his heart melted, offered abundant praise:

“Who can judge you? None but you transcend all tests and the three guṇas. You alone are deserving of worship.”

Recognition of the Supreme

Having examined each deity, Bhr̥gu returned to the sages on the Sarasvatī’s shore and proclaimed:

“Mahā-Viṣṇu is the supreme being of this creation. He alone embodies the highest spiritual excellence beyond the three guṇas.”

Thus did Bhr̥gu Maharṣi affirm the transcendence of Viṣṇu in the Daśama Skandha of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, a narrative also echoed in the Padma Purāṇa and other ancient texts.

The Birth of Mandhātā

In the Ikṣvākuvamśa, King Yuvanāśva performed a thousand Aśvamedha yajñas yet remained childless. In his distress, he sought the audience of Bhr̥gu Maharṣi, but the sage remained silent and did not grant him a blessing. Undeterred, the king seated himself beneath a tree near the ṛṣi’s hermitage and spent many years in devoted meditation upon Bhr̥gu. Moved by the king’s steadfast penance, Bhr̥gu at last appeared and inquired:

“What do you desire?”

King Yuvanāśva humbly requested progeny. Bhr̥gu ordained the performance of a Putrakāmeṣṭi yajña and, at the auspicious moment, instructed that the sacred waters be poured for the king’s queen to drink. To safeguard those mantric waters, the king himself guarded them within the sacrificial ground, even against the heat and drought of summer. Finding no other water, he partook of the consecrated liquid.

When Bhr̥gu learned of this, he admonished the king:

“You have drunk that which was meant for your queen. No being escapes the consequences of action (karma). Yet from this deed you shall indeed beget a son of equal stature to the Devas.”

By the ṛṣi’s command, the queen conceived. Unusually, the child remained in her womb for a full century. After one hundred years, King Yuvanāśva himself performed the Caesarean incision on the queen’s left side, and from her body a radiant son was born. He was Mandhātā, destined to become one of the six great universal monarchs (ṣaṭ-chakravartin).

Even today, on the route to the Oṃkāreśvara temple, one passes through the village of Mandhātā and later over the Mandhātā Hill, testifying to his enduring legacy in the Narmadā valley.

The Famine and the Feline-Visaged Supplicant

Once, a severe famine struck the Vindhya region, destroying all sustenance. Even offerings to the Pitr̥devatā became impossible: no grains, no fruits, no oblations remained. Unable to bear the plight of his disciples, Bhr̥gu Maharṣi withdrew with his pupils toward Kailāsa and there took up penance in a simple leaf hut upon the Manikūṭa Peak.

One day, a man with the visage of a tiger (Śārdūlamukha) arrived before the ṛṣi, accompanied by a beautiful human wife. They bowed to Bhr̥gu and explained:

“O venerable one, I am known as Sumukha. Having once visited Svarga and beheld Indra, I returned afflicted by this leonine form. My wife suffers greatly on my account. Deliver me from this affliction.”

Bhr̥gu discerned the cause of the condition:

“When you lived in the Kṛtayuga, you fasted on Ekādaśī and applied oil on Dvādaśī, thus incurring this karmic consequence. In the coming Māgha month, bathe as prescribed, and this blemish will be removed. So shall your face be restored.”

The supplicant followed the ṛṣi’s counsel. After the sacred bath, his human countenance returned, and relief came to him and his wife.

Bhr̥gu’s Blessings for Paraśurāma

Resurrection of Jamadagni

Once, while Bhr̥gu Maharṣi was immersed in tapas on Mount Kailāsa, news arrived that his son Jamadagni had been slain by Kartavīryārjuna. Jamadagni’s wife, Renukādevī, prepared to join her husband in death, but Bhr̥gu intervened. By the power of his tapas, he restored Jamadagni to life and preserved his line through past, present, and future.

Guidance to Paraśurāma

When Paraśurāma arrived to pay his respects, Bhr̥gu invited him to remain in the ṛṣi’s hermitage and continue his own tapas there. Known for his fierce disposition, Paraśurāma’s ascetic power filled his body with intense heat and radiance, so powerful that the other inhabitants of the hermitage could not endure it. Seeing the unbearable brilliance of Paraśurāma’s tapas, Bhr̥gu counseled him:

“O Vatsa Paraśurāma, perform tapas not merely to augment your own power, but for the welfare of the world. When your tapas grows strong, you may conquer all realms by your radiance alone—but abandon such desires. Resolve instead that by your tapas, the world shall prosper. Thus will your brilliance shine coolly and beneficently to all.”

Heeding this advice, Paraśurāma withdrew to the Himalayan peaks, undertook world-welfare (loka-hita) tapas, and pleased Mahādeva. Lord Śiva appeared and declared:

“O son of Bhārga, your tapas for the world’s welfare is accomplished. Though you did not ask for a boon, the fruit of your tapas is granted. Through you, injustice shall be destroyed.”

Śiva then bestowed upon Paraśurāma the radiant Bhārgavāstra garment.

Exposition to Bharadvāja Maharṣi

During his penance on Kailāsa, Bhr̥gu was visited by Bharadvāja Maharṣi. Honouring him with arghya-pādya, Bhr̥gu welcomed his venerable guest. Bharadvāja said:

“O great one, I wish to learn from you the nature of all creation. How is this manifested world established, and how do beings undergo birth and death?”

Bhr̥gu explained:

“Bharadvāja, there is one eternal, indestructible being called Nārāyaṇa. From His tapas, He brought forth a thousand-fold portion to create Manojava, the ageless mind. From Manojava arose the great Mahat principle, and from Mahat, a divine lotus emerged. From that lotus, Brahmā came into being. By Brahmā’s will, space (ākāśa) was born, from space came water, from water arose air, from air emerged fire, fire produced the meteor elements, and from them the earth was formed. All this universe exists because of Lord Viṣṇu, who is the inner self of all.”

When Bharadvāja asked, “What is the extent of these five elements?” Bhr̥gu replied:

“They are infinite and without boundary, immeasurable and beyond all measure. Since they pervade the body of Lord Viṣṇu, He is called Ananta, the infinite. If Viṣṇu is infinite, how could His creation have an end? Thus, by His very name—Ananta—the boundlessness of the universe is proclaimed.”

On Tapas and Its Aim

Bhr̥gu further taught Bharadvāja about the nature of tapas:

“True tapas seeks only Satyam, the eternal reality. One whose tapas is dedicated to the realization of truth invariably attains it. When tapas aims solely at truth, it becomes the path to liberation. Pursue tapas for the welfare of all, not for personal power or prestige. In that way, your inner radiance will no longer scorch but will heal the world.”

On Dharma, Truth, and the Mortal World

He then spoke of the human condition and the transiency of worldly experiences:

“If one’s tapas places an object beyond good and evil, then one dispels ignorance and attains divine knowledge. Yet true equilibrium lies not in avoiding both pleasure and pain, but in transcending attachment to them. Pleasure and pain alike are merely human experiences. Death is the only certain reality in this world: when death comes, the world itself vanishes for that being. In that sense, the world is unreal (asat) for the mortal. Thus, one learns that ultimate truth is beyond this transient existence.”

Thus did Bhr̥gu Maharṣi guide his disciple Bharadvāja through the profound mysteries of creation, infinity, tapas, and the true nature of dharma and reality.

This narrative is recorded in Śanti Parva of Mahābhārata

Bhr̥gu Sūtras and Nāḍī-Śāstra

Bhr̥gu Maharṣi distilled the essence of jyotiṣa into a work known as the Bhr̥gu Sūtras, a concise compendium of astrological principles. He is also credited with authoring a treatise called the Nāḍī-Śāstra, which records the destinies (jātakas) of individual souls. Among the various nāḍī manuscripts attributed to different ṛṣis—such as Agastya and Śukra—the Bhr̥gu Nāḍī is unique. It has been translated into Marathi and Gujarati under the title “Kākā Bhujendra Nāḍī,” where “Bhujendra” refers to Bhr̥gu himself.

Although nāḍī-śāstra is built upon the foundations of jyotiṣa, it is not identical to it. Whereas Parāśara’s work expounds the general science of planetary influences, Bhr̥gu’s nāḍī texts purport to preserve the detailed horoscopes and life histories of individual beings. In their present form, however, these manuscripts have largely lost the potency they once possessed, much as the Vedic hymns diminished in efficacy after the time of the Buddha.

Buddha’s Impact on Vedic Mantras

According to tradition, the Buddha—an avatāra of Nārāyaṇa—consumed the power of the Vedic mantras so that their ritual efficacy would wane in an age prone to misuse. By internalizing those hymns, the Buddha ensured that thereafter no one could invoke them to the same transformative effect. Although he critiqued their authority and declined to affirm the existence of a personal Īśvara in his teaching, his primary aim was to redirect seekers toward liberation (mokṣa) rather than ritual practice. Consequently, Vedic mantras survived only as vehicles for philosophical inquiry, not as magical formulas for worldly ends.

Authority of Nāḍī versus Jyotiṣa

While Parāśara’s treatise remains the classical source for jyotiṣa (the science of planetary omens), Bhr̥gu’s nāḍī-śāstra claims to record the jātakas—the past, present, and future lives—of individual souls. Yet, in their current condition, nāḍī manuscripts seldom yield verifiable predictions. Their decline in potency parallels that of the Vedic hymns after the Buddha’s intervention, leaving them more of historical and philosophical interest than practical guidebooks.

Continuing Relevance of Yajña and Bhāgavata Tradition

Despite the waning power of mantras and nāḍī texts, the tradition of yajña endures—now primarily within the Bhāgavata (devotional) framework rather than the pure karmakāṇḍa of earlier times. Even if those mantras no longer manifest miracles, they still proclaim the attributes of Īśvara, and sincere devotion to Him continues to invoke divine grace. Thus modern rites retain the Vedic forms and mantric recitations, not out of blind ritualism, but as expressions of bhakti (devotion) to the Lord Himself.

Legacy of Bhr̥gu Maharṣi

Bhr̥gu’s towering presence as the progenitor of a line that includes Cyavana, Jamadagni, Śukra, Dadhīcī, and Paraśurāma reflects the enduring power of his tapas and teaching. He authored works on astrology and nāḍī-śāstra, composed sutras that underpin later dharma-śāstras, and stood as the exemplar of dispassionate inquiry into the nature of reality. His pavitra-nāma-āmṛta—the nectar of his sacred name—is said to burn away impurities and confer liberation on those who remember him with devotion.