Tirupati Balaji Temple, where devotees give money to Lord Vishnu to repay his debt.
Bhrigu is one of the seven sages. Nowadays he is also famous because the Sanskrit astrology article 'Bhrigu Samhita' compiled by him is being used in predictions. It is believed that a bundle of palm leaves, on which Bhrigu was the first to write, contains the future of all humanity. These palm leaves are with only a few families who even understand their meaning. People wishing to know their future ask these families to find the palm cards applicable to them.
Knowing the future is essential to achieve luck and stay away from misfortune. Therefore Bhrigu is called the god of fortune and Lakshmi (goddess of fortune) is his daughter i.e. Bhargavi. Prophet Bhrigu is a highly respected sage. But who is Bhrigu?
Bhrigu is frequently mentioned in many contexts in Hindu texts. It is said that he was the one who brought fire from the gods to humanity. Once a demon kidnapped one of his wives, Puloma. During the kidnapping their son Chyavana slipped out of Puloma's womb. The demon died due to the glory of this child. Agnidev was responsible for Puloma's protection, due to which Bhrigu blamed him for her kidnapping. Bhrigu cursed them that from then on Agnidev would destroy everything, whether pure or impure.
Chyavan and his wife Arushi had a son named Aurav. During the attack of Kshatriyas on his hut, Aurav slipped out of his mother's womb. He too could have destroyed the Kshatriyas, but Bhrigu stopped him from doing so. Therefore, Aurav 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.
Bhrigu had a son named Mrikanda with his wife Khyati. It is said that Mrikanda had woven the world's first cloth from the fiber of the lotus plant. Therefore he is considered the father of the weaver community.
Another wife of Bhrigu was Kavyamata and she gave birth to Shukracharya. One day the demons hid behind Kavyamata. To capture the demons, Vishnu beheaded Kavyamata. For this, Shukracharya cursed Vishnu that he would be born as a human being thrice in the form of Parashuram, Ram and Krishna.
From Bhrigu arose the Bhargava dynasty, which had many battles with the Kshatriyas. Parashurama, who belonged to the Bhargava dynasty, was called Bhargava-Rama. He killed many clans of Kshatriyas. Parashurama stopped this work only after seeing Rama reestablishing Dharma. Thus, Bhrigu is associated with Vishnu and bringing Dharma to earth.
The most famous story about Bhrigu is related to Vishnu. Vishnu was sleeping in Vaikuntha. Therefore, Bhrigu kicked the right side of his chest to wake him up. As soon as he woke up, Vishnu asked for forgiveness from Bhrigu and Bhrigu told him that he would have to incarnate on earth to replace anarchy with Dharma.
But Lakshmi was angry with Vishnu for not protesting against Bhrigu's insult to her. Therefore Lakshmi also came to earth so that Vishnu could get another reason to come to earth. Even today, the footprint of Bhrigu is found on the right side of Vishnu's chest in traditional Vishnu temples. This is called Bhrigupad. Since both Vishnu and Lakshmi had to come to earth because of Bhrigu, he is the most important Saptarishi.
Lakshmi appeared on earth in a lotus flower and was nurtured in the house of Bhrigu. Hence she is also called Padmavati and Bhargavi. To marry her, Vishnu had to take a huge loan from Kuber. It is believed that Vishnu will remain stuck on earth until this debt is repaid. Therefore, even today, devotees in Tirupati Balaji temple give money to Vishnu to repay his debt. But by taking money from his devotees, Vishnu becomes indebted to them and hence he has to fulfill their wishes. It is clear from these stories how Bhrigu is associated with destiny and hence he is also called the father of destiny.
Graphics Source: NavJivanIndia | VaskarAssets
