Tradition of offspring of Rishis

Adi Parva, Sambhava Parva

Adhyaya 66

Tradition of offspring of Rishis

Vaisampayana said:

It is known that the mind-born sons of Brahma were six great Rishis. There was another (mind-born son of Brahma,) named Sthanu. He had eleven sons gifted with great energy,[1]

 

 

Sthanu is Lord Siva.

 

 

Namely, Mrigavyadha, Sarpa, famous Niriti, Ajaikapada, Ahirbudhnya, the chastiser of his foes Pinaki.

Dahana, Ishvara and greatly effulgent Kapali, Sthanu and the illustrious Bhaga. These eleven are called eleven Rudras.

(It has been already said that) Marici, Angiras, Atari, Pulastya, Pulaha and Kratu, these powerful Rishis were six mind-born sons of Brahma.

It is well-known in the world that the sons of Angiras were three, namely Brihaspati, Utathya and Samvarta, all of great asceticism.

 

 

These are important personalities of the Maha-bharata and we’ll see them in details.

 

 

O king, it is said that the sons of Atri were countless, they were all great Rishis and they were all learned in the Vedas, they were crowned with ascetic successes and their souls were in perfect peace.

O best of kings, the offspring of greatly wise Pulastya were the Rakshasa, Vanara, Kinnaras and Yakshas.[2]

 

 

The name Vanara if often translated as monkeys. It is a species similar to apes but a much more advanced breed. We find the Vanaras in the Ramayana. where they helped Sri Ramacandra find and redeem Sita Devi.

We find in the Ramayana, Uttara Khanda, and the origin of the Raksasa and Yaksa.

 

 

O king, the offspring of Pulaha were, it is said, the Shalabhas  the lions, the Kimpurushas, tigeres, bears and wolves.

 

 

The Shalabhas are winged-insects.

The Kimpurushas are half lions and half men.

 

 

The sons of Kratu (Valakhilyas), who were as sacred as sacrifice, were the companions of Surya. They were known to the three worlds and they were all devoted to truth and vows,

O protector of the world, the illustrious Rishi Daksa, having his soul in complete peace and possessing great asceticism, sprang from the right thumb of Brahma.

The wife of the illustrious Daksa sprang from the left toe of Brahma. He then begot fifty daughters on her.

They were all lotus-eyed and of faultless features and limbs. As he (Daksa) had no sons of his own, he made these daughters his Putrikas.

 

 

Daksa had no sons, only daughters, who provided him with sons. The Sanskrit word for ‘son’ is putra. Pu is the name of a particular hell, and tra means ‘to deliver.’ Thus the word putra means ‘a person who delivers one from the hell named Pu.’ Therefore every married man should produce at least one son and train him properly; then the father will be delivered from a hellish condition of life. But this injunction does not apply to the serious devotees of Lord Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa, for the Lord becomes their son, father, and mother.

 

 

He (Daksa) bestowed in due form, ten of his daughters on Dharma twenty-seven on Chandra and thirteen on Kasyapa.

Hear, O king, the names of the wives of Dharma as I mention them. (They were) Kirti, Lakshmi, Dhriti, Medha, Pushti, Shraddha, Kriya.

Buddhi, Lajja and Mati. These were the ten wives of Dharma, as appointed by the self-created (Brahma).

It is known throughout the world that the wives of Chandra were twenty-seven. They were all of rigid and holy vows, they were employed to indicate time.

They are the Nakshatras and yoginis. They were engaged in assisting the course of nature. The Grandsire (Brahma) had another son, named Muni. His son was Prajapati.

 

 

The wives of the moon are twenty-seven and they are the constellations we observe in the sky. A Naksatra one of the sectors along the ecliptic and they are nicely explained in the Vedanga Jyotisha, the most autoritative texts for Vedic astrology. The names of the Nakshatras follow with the corresponding astronomical name.

1 Asvini (Beta Arietis)

2 Bharani (35 Arietis)

3 Kritika (Eta Tauri )

4 Rohini (Aldebaran)

5 Mrigshirsha (Lambda Orionis)

6 Aridra (Alpha Orionis)

7 Punarvasu (Beta Geminorium)

8 Pushyami (Delta Cancri)

9 Ashlesha (Alpha Hydroe)

10 Makha (Regulus)

11 Purvaphalguni (Delta Leonis)

12 Uttaraphalguni (Beta Leonis)

13 Hastha (Delta Corvi)

14 Citra (Spica Virginis -Vegus)

15 Svati (Arcturus)

16 Vishaka (Alpha Libroe)

17 Anuradha (Delta Scorpio)

18 Jyeshta (Antares)

19 Mula (Lambda Scorpio)

20 Purvashada (Delta Sagittari)

21 Uttarashadha (Sigma sagittari)

22 Sravana (Alpha Aquiloe)

23 Dhanista (Beta Delphinum)

24 Sadabhisa (Lambda Aquarius)

25 Purvabhadrapada (Alpha Pegasi)

26 Uttarabhadrapada (Gama Pegasi)

27 Revati (Zeta Piscum)

The ecliptic is the path that the Sun takes in a year with respect to the background of the celestial sphere.

 

 

The sons of Prajapati were eight and they were called the Vasus. I shall name them in detail. (They were) Dhara, Dhruva, Soma, Aha, Anila, Anala, Pratyusha and Prabhasa. These are known to be the eight Vasus. Dhara and the Brahma-knowing Dhruva were born of Dhumra.

Soma was born of Manasvini and Anila was born of the wise Shvasa. Aha was the son of Rata and Anala of Shandilya.

Pratyusha and Prabhasa were the sons of Prabhata. Dhara had two sons, namely, Dravina and Hutahavyavaha.

Dhruva’s son was the illustrious Kala, the destroyer of the world. Soma’s son was Varcha, Varcha’s daughter is Varchasvi.[3]

 

 

This Varsha would become an important personality in the Maha-bharata by taking birth as Arjuna’s son, the famous Abhimanyu.

 

 

The fascinating Varchasvi had three sons, namely Shishira, Prana and Ramana. The sons of Aha were Jydti, Shama, Shanta and Muni.

Agni’s son was the handsome Kumara who was born in the forest and as he was reared up by Kirtika and others, he was called Kartikeya. After him were (born his three brothers, namely) Shakha, Vishakha and Naigameya, Aniia’s wife was Shiva and her sons were Manojava.

And Avijnatagati. These two were the sons of Anila. Know, Pratyush’s son was the Rishi, named Devala.     And Devala had two sons, both greatly wise and forgiving. The sister of Brihaspati, the first of women, the utterer of the sacred truth.

And an austere ascetic, roamed over the world, having no attraction for the world. She (the sister of Brihaspati) became the wife of the eighth Vasu, Prabhasa.

 

 

The sister of Brihaspati’s name was Varastri.

 

 

She gave birth to the illustrious Vishvakarma, the founder of all arts, the creator of thousand arts, the artist of the celestials, the maker of all kinds of ornaments, the best of all artists and the maker of the celestials cars of the gods.  Mankind was enabled to live in consequence of the arts of this illustrious man and for this reason he was worshipped by all men. This Vishvakarma is everlasting and immutable.

 

 

The name Vishvakarma, etymologically comes from the word Vis, meaning “to pervade” which is also the root for the word Vishnu. Vishvakarma is the one who constructs. Vishvakarma is one of the names of the Creator.

This Visvakarma was the inventor of innumerable kinds of handicrafts, the architect of the gods, maker of all kinds of ornaments, and the most famous sculptor. He was the maker of all the aerial chariots of the Devas. There are many beautiful stories regarding Visvakarma in the Vedic scriptures (Puranas and others).

 

 

The illustrious Dharma, the dispenser of all happiness, came out of the right breast of Brahma, assuming the form of a man.

He (Dharma) had three excellent sons, charming to all creatures. (They were) Shama, Kama and Harsha, who supported the worlds by their energy.

The wife of Kama was Rati, that of Shama was Prapti and that of Harsha was Nanda; upon these the worlds were made to depend.

Kasyapa was the son of Marici and Kasyapa’s offspring were the Suras celestial and Asuras. O best of kings, therefore, he is the progenitor of all the worlds.

 

 

During the churning of the ocean of milk, many personalities and objects appeared. One of those was Varuni, also called Suri. She produced an intoxicating juice. The Deva accepted this juice, and so they came to be called Sura while the demons rejected it and they were called Asura.

 

 

Tvashtri, who had the form of a mare, became the wife of Savita. She gave birth in the sky to a twin Ashvinis.

O king, the sons of Aditi were twelve with Indra at their head. The youngest of them was Vishnu, upon whom the worlds depend.[4]

 

 

The Aditya Visnu is Vamana Deva, the dwarf incarnation who came to reclaim from Bali Maharaja the possession of the three worlds.

 

 

These were the thirty-three celestials. I shall now mention to you their progeny according their Pakshas, Kulas and Ganas.

 

 

Paksa is a party, Kula is the family and Gana is a group.

 

 

The Rudras, the Sadhyas, the Marutas, the Vasus, the Bhargavas and the Visvedevas were each a Paksha.

Vinata’s son, Garuda and the Aruna also and illustrious Brihaspati were counted amongst the Adityas.

The Ashvinis, all annual plants and all beasts were counted among the Guhyakas. O king, these are the Ganas of the celestials, narrated to you.

Which narration cleanses men of all their sins. The illustrious Bhrigu sprang forth, ripping open the breast of Brahma. Bhrigu’s son was the learned Shukra, a poet himself and the son of a poet. He, being commanded by the Self-created (Brahma) to pour rain and withhold it and to dispense and remit calamities, became a planet and he (still) traverses the sky in order to sustain the lives of all creatures Yoga philosophy, that greatly intelligent man, that wise and self-controlled Brahmachari became the preceptor of the Devas and the Danavas.

 

 

Sukracarya’s planet is Venus.

 

 

Thus appointed by Brahma to look after the welfare (of Daityas), Bhrigu’s son (Shukra) begot another son.

Named Chyavana, who was greatly famous, very virtuous minded and as effulgent as the sun. O descendant of the Bharata race, he came out of his mother’s womb in anger and thus released his mother.

 

 

Here it is said that Cyavana was Sukra’s son while in the Maha-bharata itself it is said that he was the direct son of Bhrigu.

 

[1] 189

[2] 190

[3] 191

[4] 192

 

 

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