Bhrigu maharishi
Bhrigu was one of the Prajapatis. He was the son of Lord Brahma, originator of this world. Maha Rishi Bhrigu knew all the Vedas, Shastra and also he was a great Mantra gyata (familiar) of all times. Maharishi Bhrigu had two wives Mata Khyati and Mata Pulauma. His son Shukra (Venus) was the Guru of Demons. Daksha Prajapati had not invited Shiva for the Yagya that he had organized. Sati, consort of Shiva and daughter of Daksha went for the yagya without invitation. There she saw her husband Shiva being insulted and in anger burnt herself. Then, Virabhadra, a member of Shiva’s group destroyed the yagya. Maharshi Bhrigu was also present there. He pleaded Shiva for protection and Shiva assured him for his safety. During the war between Devtas and Demons, Bhrigu had fought from the side of the devtas. Bhrigu had the knowledge of Sanjeevani Vidya (the act of restoring a dead man to life) also. According to one more story, when Vishnu did not protect Bhrigu’s yagya from the demons, angry Bhrigu cursed him to take rebirths ten times. Lord Vishnu’s famous ten incarnations are the result of this curse.
According to one more story, in ancient times, many great sages gathered at the bank of river Saraswati 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 Tridev Lord Vishnu, Brahma and Mahesh who is superior and 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 superior amonst the Tridev was.
Upon being entrusted with the task Maharishi decided to test Brahmaji first. He went on to see Brahmaji in Brahmalok. On reaching Brahmalok Maharishi displayed utter disrespect to Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma got angry and wanted to punish Maharishi but Mata Saraswati, wife of Lord Brahma saved Maharishi from his anger. Angry with disrespect, Bhrigu cursed Brahmaji that no one will worship Brahma.
Maharishi Bhrigu then decided to visit Lord Shiva (Mahesh) at Kailash Parvat. On reaching Kailash Parvat, Nandi stopped him from going inside because at that time, Shiva and Parvati were sporting fun. Then, angry Bhrigu cursed Shiva that the shape of his body would be believed to be the shape of a phallus.
Then in order to test Lord Vishnu, Maharishi reached Vaikunth Dham. He entered the Dham without Lord Vishnu's permission and saw that, Lord was resting at that time. Maharishi asked him to wakeup, 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 Vats" till date).
Lord Vishnu got up after the strike and realized what has 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 Tridev. According to Hindu mythology, goddess of wealth and wife of Lord Vishnu, Mata Laxmi also witnessed the whole incident, as she was also present in the Dham at that time. She could not tolerate disrespect displayed by Maharishi Bhrigu towards Lord Vishnu and cursed him that henceforth I will never visit Brahmins and they will all live in absence of wealth.
On hearing this curse from Mata Laxmi, Maharishi told her, his very purpose of visiting the Vaikunth Dham. On hearing this, Mata Laxmi calmed down and told Maharishi, that her curse will definitely haunt Brahmins but whenever any Brahmin will worship Lord Vishnu, he will be liberated from my curse.
It is after this incident that Maharishi Bhrigu decided to write famous book of astrology "Bhrigusamhita", with the blessings of Lord Ganesha and Mata Saraswati, to help Brahmins earn their living. Maharishi Bhrigu collected nos. of birth charts, wrote their predictions for full life and compiled them together to be known as Bhrigusamhita today. Bhrigusamhita was destroyed in Banaras University but few pages of the book are still available in Hoshiarpur city in Punjab. Bhrigusamhita was the very important and first book of its kind in the field of astrology.
When Brahmājī was performing a great sacrifice on behalf of Varuṇa, Maharṣi Bhṛgu was born from the sacrificial fire. He was a great sage, and his very dear wife was Pulomā. He could travel in space like Durvāsā, Nārada and others, and he used to visit all the planets of the universe. Before the Battle of Kurukṣetra, he tried to stop the battle. Sometimes he instructed Bhāradvāja Muni about astronomical evolution, and he is the author of the great Bhṛgu-saḿhitā, the great astrological calculation. He explained how air, fire, water and earth are generated from ether. He explained how the air in the stomach works and regulates the intestines. As a great philosopher, he logically established the eternity of the living entity (Mahābhārata). He was also a great anthropologist, and the theory of evolution was long ago explained by him. He was a scientific propounder of the four divisions and orders of human society known as the varṇāśrama institution. He converted the kṣatriya king Vītahavya into a brāhmaṇa.
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