Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c22.72

c22.72

A notice of these Bhārgavas is given in two accounts. One says ¹⁴—The Bhṛgus or Bhārgavas were priests to king Kṛtavīrya (of the Haihayas) and he bestowed great wealth on them. After his death the princes of his family demanded it back, but the Bhārgavas refused to give it up. They used violence to the Bhārgavas, and the Bhārgavas fled to other countries for safety. One of the Bhārgava wives gave birth to a son then who was called Aurva (p. 68). The other account says,¹ in prophetic form—The kṣatriyas fell out with the Bhārgavas and slew them, and Bhārgava Ūrva² was born then. His son was Ṛcīka. Both accounts³ say that the son born then cherished great wrath against the adversaries but stayed it awhile. That was natural. The Bhārgavas were filled with anger against the Haihayas, yet could not contend successfully against them. They could look for revenge only through force of arms, and further notices show that they turned their thoughts to arms and sought alliance with kṣatriyas in marriage. Ṛcīka was a famous rishi.⁴