About Bhrigu Rishi
Maharishi Bhrigu is known as the creator of Bhrigu Samhita and the sage who kicked Lord Vishnu on his chest to test the trinity. Maharishi Bhrigu was born from the womb of Pracheta Brahma’s wife Virini. They were two siblings from their mother. Their elder brother’s name was Angira. At the time when Maharishi Bhrigu was born, his father Pracheta was the king of Sushanagar region. At that time Pracheta, who was on the throne of Brahma, had two wives living with him. First was Bhrigu’s mother Virini and second was Urvashi of Urpur, whose son was Vashishtha.
Maharshi Bhrigu also had two marriages, his first wife was Divya, daughter of demon king Hiranyakashyap. The second wife was Paulami, daughter of demon king Pulom. Bhrigu Muni had two sons from his first wife Divya Devi, daughter of demon king Hiranyakashyap, who were named Shukra and Tvashta. Later, after becoming the Acharya of the Bhargavas, Shukra was known as Shukracharya and after becoming a sculptor, Tvashta was known as Vishwakarma. The sons of this Bhrigu Muni are known as Kavya and Tvashta as Maya in their maternal lineage (Daityakula).
The second wife of Maharishi Bhrigu was Paulami, the daughter of Pulom Rishi, the ruler of the demons. She also gave birth to two sons, Chyavan and Richik. The Munivar married the elder son Chyavan to Sukanya, the daughter of King Sharyati of Gujarat Bhadouch. With the marriage of Bhargava Chyavan and Sukanya, the Bhargavas made their debut in the south of the Himalayas. Chyavan Rishi became the king of the Gulf of Khambhat and this region came to be known as Bhrigukachchha (Bhrigu region). Maharishi Bhrigu married his second son Richik to Satyavati, daughter of Kanyakubjapati Kaushik King Gadhi by gifting a thousand black-eared horses. Now Bhargava Richik also came to Gadhipuri, south of the Himalayas.
Maharshi composed the Bhrigu Samhita in his long-term Karmabhoomi, Vimukt Bhumi. In this context, two things are worth paying attention to. The first thing is that during his stay in his birthplace Brahmalok (Sushanagar), his life was full of storms. Distressed by the death of his wife Divya Devi and expelled from his birthplace after the examination of the Tridevs, Maharshi got the opportunity to live a peaceful life only when he came to Vimukt Bhumi. By the time he reached Bhrigukachchh, his fame had spread all around. Because by that time his Bhrigu Samhita had also become famous.
According to the legends, when Maharshi reached the Gulf of Khambhat, he was welcomed royally, and the Vedic scholar Brahmins recited Swasti Vachan and praised him as a great scholar of self-knowledgeable astrology. Which proves that Bhrigu Samhita was written by Maharshi after his expulsion from Sushanagar and before going to Bhrigukachchh.
The results of three births of any person can be predicted through this Bhrigu Samhita of Maharshi. Predictions of rain etc. for life and agriculture were also made through this scientific treatise of Vedic mathematics based on the planets and constellations like Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn etc. which control this universe.
The facility of paper and printing was not available during the period of Maharshi. The hymns were memorized and its practical information was given to the disciples through Shalakas. Later when the method of writing developed and its resources like Bhojpatra, Palm leaf etc. were developed, then some scholars did the work of writing these hymns.
Maharishi Bhrigu was the most suitable medium to establish the leader of the Devkul Shri Vishnu in the south of Himalayas. One of his wives was from the Daitya clan, the other was from the Danav clan and his sons Shukracharya, Tvashta, Maya, Vishwakarma and Chyavan in Bhrigukachchh and Richik in Gadhipuri were highly respected. After this Tridev test, the reputation of Shri Hari Vishnu started getting established in the south of Himalayas. Especially taking the name of Shri Vishnu in the coronation of kings was considered to be getting the blessings and recognition of the Himalaya Parsya Gods.
According to the legend described in the Puranas, Maharishi Bhrigu, who kicked Vishnu’s chest in the test of the Tridevs, was instructed by Dandacharya Marichi Rishi to repent that the moment buds sprout in your dry bamboo stick and the deerskin falls on the earth from your waist, that earth will be the most sacred and you will chant Vishnu Sahastranaam there, then your sin will be redeemed.
When Maharishi Bhrigu reached the banks of Ganga in Vimukta Kshetra while walking from Mandaraachal, his deerskin fell down and buds sprouted in his stick. He started performing penance there. Later, this area came to be known as Bhrigu Kshetra after the name of Maharishi.
After coming to this area, Maharishi Bhrigu got the forests cleared. He taught farming to the common people who were living here only by hunting animals. He established Gurukul here and taught people to read and write. In that period, this area was considered to be the abode of cannibals. The work of making them civilized and cultured humans was done by Maharishi Bhrigu.