Bharadvaja

Bharadvaja (Sanskrit: भरद्वाज, IAST: Bharadvāja; also spelled Bharadwaja) was an ancient rishi associated with a pastoralist group of the same name among the early Vedic people. The name further designates the gotra of his descendants, the Bharadvajas, many of whom appear as rishis and brahmanas in Vedic and later texts. Hymns ascribed to members of this family form a major portion of the Rigveda, above all the sixth mandala, together with others in the fourth, ninth and tenth. The family is represented by some sixteen seers. Bharadvaja, son of Brihaspati, is traditionally regarded as its founder, though many of the hymns later attributed to him or to Bharadvaja Barhaspatya were more probably composed by remote descendants. Early Bharadvajas worshipped the pastoral god Pushan; subsequent Rigvedic hymns incorporated him into the wider pantheon as Indra’s brother or helper and linked him with Soma. With this rise in Pushan’s status the Bharadvajas became sacrificial officiants for pastoralist tribes, and their compositions, including the earliest hymn praising the sacred character of the cow (VI.28), were given a place in the Rigveda. The sixth-mandala hymns reflect both pastoral life and a martial aspect, with references to Atharvanic magic and connections to the Atharvangirases. In later literature the name gains greater prominence. The Shatapatha Brahmana mentions a Bharadvaja teacher. Puranic and epic mythology, often inconsistent, feature a sage as well as a son of Brihaspati. The latter myths centre on the adoption by King Bharata of a son of Brihaspati named Bharadvaja, referring to the double pregnancy of Mamata by Utathya and Brihaspati. From this figure, a brahmana by birth and king by adoption, both brahmanas and kshatriyas are said to have descended. The epic Mahabharata also records martial traditions, including the recovery of Kashi by Pratardana with Bharadvaja's aid, the birth of Drona by...