Bhrigu is one of the famous Saptarishis. These days he is also famous because the Sanskrit astrological text ‘Bhrigu Samhita’ compiled by him is being used for predictions. It is believed that the future of the entire humanity is contained in a bundle of palm leaves, on which Bhrigu was the first to write. These palm leaves are with only a few families who also understand their meaning. People wishing to know their future ask these families to find the palm leaf applicable to them.
Knowing the future is essential to attain fortune and to stay away from misfortune. Therefore, Bhrigu is called the god of fortune and Lakshmi (goddess of fortune) is called his daughter i.e. Bhargavi. The prophet Bhrigu is a highly respected sage.
Know more about him
Bhrigu is frequently mentioned in many contexts in Hindu scriptures. It is said that he brought Agni from the gods to humanity. Once an Asura kidnapped one of his wives Puloma. During the abduction, their son Chyavana slipped out of Puloma’s womb. The glory of this child led to the death of the demon. Agni Deva was responsible for protecting Puloma, for which Bhrigu blamed him for the kidnapping. Bhrigu cursed him that from then on Agni Deva would destroy everything, whether it is pure or impure.
Chyavana and his wife Aarushi had a son named Aurava. When the Kshatriyas attacked their hut, Aurava slipped out of his mother's womb. He too could have destroyed the Kshatriyas, but Bhrigu stopped him from doing so. So Aurava transformed his anger into a horse. This horse spewing fire from its mouth fell into the sea. The sweat of this horse made the sea salty and fog was formed over the sea.
With his wife Khyati, Bhrigu had a son named Mrikanda. It is said that Mrikanda wove the world's first cloth from the fiber of the lotus plant. Therefore, he is considered the father of the weaving community.
Bhrigu had another wife, Kavyamata, and she gave birth to Shukracharya. One day, the demons hid behind Kavyamata. To catch the demons, Vishnu beheaded Kavyamata. For this, Shukracharya cursed Vishnu to be born as a human being three times as Parashurama, Rama and Krishna.
Associated with Vishnu
Bhrigu gave birth to the Bhaargava clan, which fought many battles with the Kshatriyas. Parashurama, who belonged to the Bhargava clan, was called Bhargava-Rama. He killed many clans of Kshatriyas. Parashurama stopped this only after seeing Rama re-establishing Dharma. Thus, Bhrigu is associated with Vishnu and bringing Dharma to earth.
The most famous story about Bhrigu is associated with Vishnu. Vishnu was asleep in Vaikuntha. So, Bhrigu kicked him on the right side of his chest to wake him up. As soon as Vishnu awoke, he asked forgiveness from Bhrigu, who told him that he would have to descend to earth to replace anarchy with dharma.
Bhrigupada
But Lakshmi was angry with Vishnu for not protesting against Bhrigu's insult to her. So Lakshmi also came to earth to give Vishnu another reason to come to earth. Even today, traditional Vishnu temples show Bhrigu's footprint on the right side of Vishnu's chest. It is called Bhrigupada. Since Bhrigu caused both Vishnu and Lakshmi to come to earth, he is the most important Saptarishi.
Father of Destiny
On earth, Lakshmi appeared in a lotus flower and was raised in Bhrigu's house. Hence, she is also called Padmavati and Bhargavi. To marry her, Vishnu had to take a huge loan from Kubera. It is believed that Vishnu would remain trapped on earth until he repaid this loan. Hence, even today devotees in Tirupati Balaji temple offer money to Vishnu to repay his debt. But by taking money from his devotees, Vishnu becomes indebted to them and therefore has to fulfill their wishes. These stories clearly show how Bhrigu is connected with destiny and hence he is also called the father of destiny.