Bhrigu

Maharishi Bhrigu (Sanskrit: Bhṛgu) was one of the seven great sages, the Saptarshis, one of the many Prajapatis (the facilitators of Creation) created by Brahma (The God of Creation), the first compiler of predictive astrology, and also the author of Bhrigu Samhita, the astrological (Jyotish) classic. Bhrigu is considered as a Manasa Putra (mind-born-son) of Brahma. The adjectival form of the name, Bhargava, is used to refer to the descendants and the school of Bhrigu.

According to Manusmriti, Bhrigu was a compatriot of and lived during the time of Manu, the Hindu progenitor of humanity. Bhrigu had his Ashram (Hermitage) on the Vadhusar River, a tributary of the Drishadwati River near Dhosi Hill in the Vedic state of Brahmavarta, presently on the border of Haryana and Rajasthan in India. Along with Manu, Bhrigu had made important contributions to 'Manusmriti', which was constituted out of a sermon to a congregation of saints in the state of Brahmavarta, after the great floods in this area, nearly 10,000 years ago. As per Skanda Purana, Bhrigu migrated to Bhrigukut, modern Bharuch on the banks of Narmada river in Gujarat, leaving his son Chyavana at Dhosi Hill.

He was married to Khyati, the daughter of Daksha. He had two sons by her, named Dhata and Vidhata. His daughter Bhargavi, married Vishnu (Narayana).

He has one more son through Kavya (Usana), who is better known than Bhrigu himself – Shukra, learned sage and guru of the asuras. The sage Chyavana is also said to be his son through Puloma. One of his descendants was sage Jamadagni, who in turn was the father of sage Parshurama, considered an avatar of Vishnu.

Bhrigu finds mention in Shiva Purana and Vayu Purana, where he is shown present during the great Yagna of Daksha Prajapati (his father-in-law). He supports the continuation of the Yagna of Daksha even after being warned that without an offering for Shiva, it was asking for a catastrophe for everyone present there.

In the Bhagavad Gītā, Krishna says that among sages, Bhrigu is representative of the opulence of God.

Testing the divine Trimurti

Many great sages gathered at the bank of river Sarasvati to participate in Maha yagya organized at that time. Maharishi Bhrigu was also present there. All the great saints and sages could not decide that out of the Trinity Lord Vishnu, Brahma and Shiv who is pre-eminent and to whom should they offer Pradhanta (Master) of that yagya. With the consent of all the great saints present there, it was decided that Maharishi Bhrigu will test and decide who was pre-eminent.

Upon being entrusted with the task Maharishi Bhrigu decided to test Lord Brahma first. He went on to see Lord Brahma in Brahmaloka. On reaching Brahmalok Maharishi displayed utter disrespect to Lord Brahma on purpose. Lord Brahma got angry and wanted to punish Maharishi but Maha Saraswati, wife of Lord Brahma saved Maharishi from his anger. Angry with disrespect, Maharishi Bhrigu cursed Lord Brahma that no one will worship Brahma in Kaliyuga. To this day, there are very few temples devoted to Lord Brahma (the notable exception being the Brahma Temple at Pushkar).

Maharishi Bhrigu then decided to visit Lord Shiva at Kailash Parvata. On reaching Kailash Parvat, Nandi stopped him from going inside because at that time, Shiva and Parvathi were in love. Bhrigu curses Lord Shiva to be only worshipped in Linga form. However, there is a statue form of lord Shiva in Kashi (Maha Mrityunjaya Temple) said to be over 400 years old.

Then in order to test Lord Vishnu, Maharishi reached Vaikunth Dhama. He entered the Dhama without Lord Vishnu's permission and saw that the Lord was resting at that time. Maharishi asked him to wake up, but Lord was in deep sleep. On seeing no reaction from Lord, Maharishi hit Lord Vishnu on his chest. That strike by Maharishi Bhrigu left a foot print on Lord's chest and that foot print is known as "Shri Vatsa". Lord Vishnu got up after the strike and realized what had happened. On realizing that Maharishi had hit him with his foot, Lord asked him, “Maharishi, are you hurt in your foot? My chest is strong but your foot is not so strong". Seeing the decorum of Lord Vishnu, Bhrigu was pleased and declared him superior amongst the Tridevas.

According to Hindu theology, goddess of prosperity and wife of Lord Vishnu, Maha Laxmi also witnessed the whole incident, as she was also present in the Dhama at that time. She could not tolerate disrespect displayed by Maharishi Bhrigu towards Lord Vishnu and cursed him that henceforth she would never visit Brahmins and they will all live in absence of wealth. On hearing this curse from Maha Laxmi, Maharishi told her about the true nature of his visit. Maha Laxmi then told Maharishi, that her curse would still haunt Brahmins but whenever any Brahmin would worship Lord Vishnu, he would be liberated from the curse.

When the sages heard Bhrighu’s report, they retorted, "Who was he to test the trimurtis? How could he disturb their privacy? More so, how could he even dare to curse the deities who, by their mercy, had bestowed upon him many favors and made him so illustrious? Even when he had been unimaginably haughty, the Gods had displayed forbearance and kindness when they could have burnt him to ashes by a mere glance."

Only then Bhrighu realized that the best of merits was to remain free of vain pride and conceit. He begged pardons from the Gods who were glad to bless him, seeing that he had realized his folly. Since then the Trimurtis have been the supreme owners of the purnahuti and the devotees could offer the aahuti to the God of their choice and devotion.

Bhrigu Samhita

After the incident of testing of trinity, Maharishi Bhrigu decided to write his famous book of astrology, the Bhrigu Samhita, to help Brahmins earn their living. Maharishi Bhrigu collected birth charts, wrote full-life predictions and compiled them together as Bhrigu Samhita. Bhrigu Samhita is believed to be the first book of its kind in the field of astrology. A few parts of Bhrigu Samhita have survived the wear of time and are still available in different parts of India.