The Bhargavas also called Bhrigus claim descent from the primaeval rishi Bhrigu. Bhrigu is one among the primaeval progenitors (Prajapatis) created by Brahma. While other Prajapatis are said to have issued from different limbs of Brahma, Bhrigu is represented as having sprung from Brahma’s heart, the noblest of the internal organs of man or god. The Bhargavas claim that their ancestors taught men to kindle fire by friction and thus they are the originators of the fire cult. The Bhargavas along with the Atreyas and the Kashyapas were the oldest priestly families of ancient India.
Bhrigu’s son was Dadhicha and his sons were Chyavana and Kavi. One of the descendants of Chyavana was Richika who married Satyavati, daughter of Gadhi or Gathi, the king of Kanyakubja and the sister of the famous sage Vishwamitra. Richika’s son was the illustrious Jamadagni, and his son was the famous Parashurama. Kavi’s son was Ushanas Shukra, who was a teacher of the Asuras. His daughter was married to king Yayati and gave birth to Yadu and Turvasa.
Composers of Vedic hymns
The hymns of the Rigveda are ascribed to about two dozen rishis belonging to the Bhargava family like Bhrigu, Chyavana, Gritsamada, Jamadagni, etc., and the word Bhrigu is mentioned 21 times in the Rigveda. The Bhrigus were also the founders of the Atharvanic religion along with the Angirases and the Atharvans.
Angirases, a branch of Bhrigus ?
V.G.Rahurkar opines that Bhrigus may be a section of the Angirases because Bhriguangiras is a seer of a number of hymns of the Atharvana Veda. But according to P.L.Bhargava, Angiras and Atharvan, both of which words are connected with the meaning of fire, were only epithets of the primaeval rishi Bhrigu who is regarded as the originator of the fire cult. Thus Dadhyanch (Dadhicha), Bhrigu’s son is called son of Atharvan in the Rigveda, an Angirasa in the Panchavamsha Brahmana and a Bhargava in the Puranas. Dadhicha’s son Chyavana is called both Bhargava and Angirasa in Shatapatha Brahmana. The fourth Veda is alternatively called Bhriguangiras, Atharvangiras or simply Atharvana Veda. A rishi of the Rigveda who belonged to this family called his ancestors by all the three names, Angirases, Atharvans and Bhrigus. In later times the word Atharvan fell into disuse and the word Angirasa was appropriated by a branch of this family, so that the parent stock retained only the name Bhargava.
Bhargavas feud with the Kshatriyas
The Bhargavas were a Brahmin clan perhaps more intimately associated with the ancient Kshatriyas by matrimonial ties than other Brahmin clans. On the other hand some of them seem to have come seriously into conflict with the Kshatriyas resulting in a blood feud.
The Bhargavas were priests of king Kartavirya of the Haihayas and he had bestowed great wealth on them. After his death, the princes of his family demanded it back but the Bhargavas refused to give it up. The princes tried to forcibly extract the wealth resulting in the Bhargavas to flee to other countries for safety. Later Kartavirya’s son Sahasrabahu Arjuna killed Jamadagni, who in turn was killed by Jamadagni’s son Parashurama who probably was helped by the rulers of Kanyakubj and Ayodhya with whom the Bhargavas had matrimonial alliance.
Bhargavas, the redactors of the Mahabharata
The theory – Bhrigusation of the Mahabharata was proposed by V.S.Sukthankar based on the following factors. First of all in the original saga of the Bharata, the Bhargavas are completely absent. Secondly, though not accorded any high status in the Vedic literature, they came all of a sudden into prominence in the Mahabharata with the highest number and frequency of the Bhrigu references and myths when compared to other Brahmanic families. Also the Bhargava heroes are magnified to the colossal proportion in the Mahabharata. The conclusion of V.S.Sukthankar is that the Bhrigus with ulterior motives deliberately grabbed a pre-existing text and engrafted the fabricated myths to boost their own social position and prestige.
P.K.Choudhary challenges this hypothesis and says that while the name of Bhrigu are referred 1500 times in the Mahabharata, that of the Angirasas are referred 3200 times and hence probably for this reason N.J.Shende had proposed that the Mahabharata was the creation of Bhrigu-Angiras redactors. V.G.Rahurkar also opines that the Bhrigus along with Angiras were responsible for the final redaction of the Mahabharata and making it a Dharmashastra, Nitishastra and an encyclopaedia of the Brahmanical tradition.
As scholars of repute
The Bhargava family was famous for its scholarly works on various subjects. Bhrigu is described as one of the eighteen authors on the art of building (Vastu Shilpa). Yaska, the author of Nirukta, Shaunaka, the author of Rigveda Pratishakhya and Anukramanis were Bhargavas. Their role in the composition of the Atharvana Veda was prominent. Vyasa’s disciple, Vaishampayana who was a teacher of Yajurveda is believed to have narrated the story of Bharata War to king Janamejaya, was also a Bhargava. So also was Valmiki, the author of Ramayana, Chanakya, the author of Arthasashtra and Banabhatta, the famous court poet of Harshavardhana.
Liberal and reformists
The Bhargavas were a very open minded group which accepted many outsiders in their fold happily. This was done either by fusion (through marriage alliance) or by imbibing their (outsiders) customs and manners, let it be to any limited extent. In the Vedic literature it is said that if someone has no particular gotramantra, then he should recite the Bhrigu mantra. The Bhrigus launched the concept of vrata, puja, dana and tirthas in the place of usual Vedic sacrifice.
The Bhrigus and Kaundinyas played a crucial role in the Brahmanization of several south Indian communities. Even today Parashurama is worshipped as an Avatara of Vishnu and his mother Renuka (called as Yellamma) is the Kuladevi (caste deity) in many parts of the country. It is interesting to know that Parashurama and Yellamma are more popular among the lower castes than the higher ones in certain regions.
Reference
V.S.Sukthankar – Epic Studies VI The Bhrgus and the Bharata. A Text-Historical Study, ABORI, Vol -XVIII, 1936-37
F.E.Pargiter – Ancient Indian Historical Traditions, Oxford University Press, London, 1922
A.P.Karmakar – Dr. V.S.Suthankar’s theory of the Bhrguisation of the original Bharata and the light it throws on the Dravidian problem, ABORI, vol -20, No.1, October 1938
P.K.Choudhary – Bhrguisation of the Mahabharata reconsidered, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol – 59, 1998
V.G.Rahurkar – The Vedic Priest of the Fire Cult, Viveka Publications, Aligarh, 1982
Purushottam Lal Bhargava – India in the Vedic Age, The Upper India Publishing House Ltd, Lucknow, 1956
Vettam Mani- Puranic Encyclopedia, Motilal Banarsidass, 1975