Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Bharadvaja - Wikipedia
Bharadvaja - Wikipedia
Bharadvaja
Bharadvaja (Sanskrit: भारद्वाज, IAST: Bharadvāja; also spelled
Bharadwaja) was one of the revered Vedic sages (maharishi) in Bharadvaja
Ancient India. He was a renowned scholar, economist, grammarian
and physician. He is one of the Saptarishis (seven great sages or
Maharṣis).[2]
Contents
History
An early 19th-century painting
Texts
showing Bharadvaja
Epics and Puranic scriptures
Personal
Rāmāyaṇa
Religion Hinduism
Notes
Children Drona
References
Bibliography Garga
Ilavida
Katyayani
History Shrutavati
His full name in Vedic texts is Bharadvaja Barhaspatya, the last Parents Brihaspati (father)
name referring to his father and Vedic deity-sage Brihaspati. His Mammata (mother)[1]
mother was Mamata, wife of Utathya Rishi who was the elder
brother of Barhaspati.[1] He is one of the seven rishis mentioned four times in the Rigveda as well as in
the Shatapatha Brahmana, thereafter revered in the Mahabharata and the Puranas.[8] In some later
Puranic legends, he is stated to be the son of Vedic sage Atri.[3]
In Buddhist Pali canonical texts such as Digha Nikaya, Tevijja Sutta describes a discussion between the
Buddha and Vedic scholars of his time. The Buddha names ten rishis, calls them "early sages" and
makers of ancient verses that have been collected and chanted in his era, and among those ten rishis is
Bharadvaja.[2][9][note 1]
The ancient Hindu medical treatise Charaka Samhita attributes Bharadvaja learning medical sciences
from god Indra, after pleading that "poor health was disrupting the ability of human beings from
pursuing their spiritual journey", and then Indra provides both the method and specifics of medical
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharadvaja 1/5
8/6/2021 Bharadvaja - Wikipedia
knowledge.[10][11]
The word Bharadvaja is a compound Sanskrit from "bhara(d) and vaja(m)", which together mean
"bringing about nourishment".[12]
Bharadvaja is considered to be the initiator of the Bharadvāja gotra of the Brahmin or Bhumihar
caste.[5] Bharadvaja is the third in the row of the Pravara Rishis (Aangirasa, Barhaspatya,
Bharadvaja) and is the first in the Bharadvaja Gotris, with the other two rishis also being initiators of
Gotras with their respective names.
Texts
Bharadvaja and his family of students are 55.[13] Bharadvaja and his family of students were the
traditional poets of king Marutta of the Vedic era, in the Hindu texts.[14]
Bharadvaja is a revered sage in the Hindu traditions, and like other revered sages, numerous treatises
composed in the ancient and medieval eras are reverentially named after him. Some treatises named
after him or attributed to him include:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharadvaja 2/5
8/6/2021 Bharadvaja - Wikipedia
Mahabharata, Bharadvaja trained Drona in the use of weapons.[27] Bharadwaja had two disciples:
Agnivesa and Drupada. Agnivesa taught Drona the mastery of the weapon Agneya, while Drupad became
the king of Panchala kingdom.
Rāmāyaṇa
In the epic Ramayana, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana meet Bharadvaja at his asrama (hermitage) at the
start of their fourteen-year exile. The sage asks them to stay with him through the exile, but they insist
on going deeper into the forest to Chitrakuta which is three kos away from the ashram. Bharadvaja gives
them directions. Also, Bharath along with Sumanth received at Ashram by Bharadvaja while Bharath
went on to the forest in search of Lord Ram for a re-union and to bring Lord Rama, Sita and Laxmana
back to Ayodhya.[28] He reappears at various times in the epic. According to James Lochtefeld, the
Bharadvaja in the Ramayana is different from the Vedic sage mentioned in Panini's Ashtadhyayi.[29]
Notes
1. The Buddha names the following as "early sages" of Vedic verses, "Atthaka (either Ashtavakra or
Atri), Vamaka, Vamadeva, Vessamitta (Visvamitra), Yamataggi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vasettha
(Vashistha), Kassapa (Kashyapa) and Bhagu (Bhrigu)".[9]
References
1. Roshen Dalal (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide (https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vm
D8ghdMC). Penguin Books. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
2. Sanjana, Darab Dastur Peshotan (1898). "17. Gotama in the Avesta" (https://doi.org/10.1017%2Fs00
35869x00025417). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain. Cambridge University Press.
30 (2): 391–394. doi:10.1017/s0035869x00025417 (https://doi.org/10.1017%2Fs0035869x0002541
7).
3. George M. Williams (2008). Handbook of Hindu Mythology (https://books.google.com/books?id=N7L
OZfwCDpEC&pg=PA82). Oxford University Press. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-0-19-533261-2.
4. Roshen Dalal (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide (https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vm
D8ghdMC). Penguin Books. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
5. Barbara A. Holdrege (2012). Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture (https://books.
google.com/books?id=YlvikndgEmIC&pg=PA657). State University of New York Press. pp. 229, 657.
ISBN 978-1-4384-0695-4., Quote: "Bharadvaja (Vedic seer)..."
6. Stephanie Jamison; Joel Brereton (2014). The Rigveda: 3-Volume Set (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=fgzVAwAAQBAJ). Oxford University Press. pp. 1680–1681. ISBN 978-0-19-972078-1.
7. http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp076.htm
8. Barbara A. Holdrege (2012). Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture (https://books.
google.com/books?id=YlvikndgEmIC&pg=PA657). State University of New York Press. pp. 229–230,
243–244. ISBN 978-1-4384-0695-4.
9. Maurice Walshe (2005). The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=Uj86AwAAQBAJ). Simon and Schuster. pp. 188–189. ISBN 978-0-
86171-979-2.
10. Ariel Glucklich (2008). The Strides of Vishnu: Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective. Oxford
University Press. pp. 141–142. ISBN 978-0-19-531405-2.
11. Kaviratna & Sharma 1913, pp. ii–iii, 1–3 (Volume 1 of 5).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharadvaja 3/5
8/6/2021 Bharadvaja - Wikipedia
Bibliography
Kaviratna, Avinash C.; Sharma, P. (1913). The Charaka Samhita 5 Vols (http://catalog.hathitrust.org/
Record/002074393). Sri Satguru Publications. ISBN 81-7030-471-7.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharadvaja 4/5
8/6/2021 Bharadvaja - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharadvaja 5/5