Bhrgu

In Hindu mythology, one of the sons of
Brahma and one of the seven sages
whose names mark exogamous clan
“lineages” (gotra); the others are
Kashyapa, Bharadvaja, Vasishtha,
Gautama, Atri, and Vishvamitra. All
brahmins are believed to be descended
from these seven sages, with each
family taking the name of its progenitor
as its gotra name. In modern times these
divisions are still important since
112
Bhoja
marriage within the gotra is forbidden.
After her marriage the bride adopts
her husband’s gotra as part of her
new identity.
Bhrgu is most famous for testing the
three major Hindu gods, which results
in Vishnu being declared the greatest of
the three. Bhrgu first goes to Brahma’s
house where the god does not pay Bhrgu
appropriate respect, and in revenge
Bhrgu curses Brahma to receive no worship. Next he goes to see Shiva, who
refuses to meet with him because he is
making love to his wife Parvati at the
time. In turn, Bhrgu curses Shiva to be
worshiped as the linga, the pillarshaped symbol that has undeniable
phallic associations. Lastly he visits
Vishnu and, finding him asleep, gives
him a sound kick in the chest. Vishnu
wakes up, but shows no anger at this disrespect. Instead he massages Bhrgu’s
foot, gently inquires whether it has been
hurt, and promises to retain its mark on
his chest forever, where it appears as the
shrivatsa. Vishnu’s magnanimous
behavior leads Bhrgu to proclaim him
the best of all the gods. Not surprisingly,
this version of the tale appears only in
Vaishnava sectarian literature. See also
marriage prohibitions.