Bharadwaja

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Bharadwaja (भरद्वाज) was one of the great sages (rishis) whose accomplishments are detailed in the Puranas.

The descendants of Bharadwaja use Bhardwaj as their surname in Northern India and identify with him in the gotra 'Bharadvaja' in Brahmin and Kshatriya castes throughout Southern India. Bhardwajs belong to Brahmin community of Hindus.

He was the father of Dronacharya, which makes him the grandfather of Ashwatthama, one of the seven Chiranjeevis (immortals).(Sanskrit: अश्वत्थाम, ashvatthāma) or Ashwatthaman (Sanskrit: अश्वत्थमन, ashvatthamana) who was Dronacharya's only son.

It is said that the Marudwaja gods found him abandoned as a baby. Looking at the plight of the baby and the radiance which shone from his face, they adopted him. Young Bharadwaja was characterized by an insatiable desire to learn. He spent all his time trying to understand the Vedas. The Marudwaja gods taught him all they knew about the Vedas but Bharadwaja wanted to learn more. So he was asked to meditate upon Indra.

It is said that Bharadwaja performed rigorous penance for years resulting in his body becoming weak, and eventually he found it impossible to even sit. The Marut gods were filled with pity for him. One day as Bharadwaja fell down meditating, Indra appeared. Bharadwaja was filled with joy. Indra asked Bharadwaja what would he do if he were given a longer life. To this Bharadwaja replied that he would continue to meditate and learn more about the Vedas.

Indra told Bharadwaja that this was his third life and he had already worn out himself in the previous two lives trying to understand the Vedas. Indra then materialized three mountains, took three handfuls of soil from the mountains, and showed it to Bharadwaja. He said that the three Vedas were like the three mountains, and what Bharadwaja had learnt was the equivalent of those three handfuls, but that did not mean it was small; he had already gained more knowledge than the Gods. Indra told Bharadwaja that Vedic knowledge is endless, and while gaining knowledge is important, spreading it among the people is equally important.

Indra then advised Bharadwaja to invite Shiva and Parvati to preside over a yagna; the completion of which was deemed equivalent to mastering the Vedas. When Bharadwaja approached Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva, he was busy in the divine natyam (dance) with Goddess Parvati. Parvati noticed the sage and simply smiled. It is said Bhradawaja had to wait for several days for the natyam to complete and by that time the sage who was waiting was struck with paralysis and collapsed. Shiva and Parvati noticed this and immediately revived the sage back to consciousness and showered him with blessings.

From that day onwards, Bharadwaja decided that spreading the Vedic knowledge among the people and freeing society from poverty, disease, and war were his life's objectives. He traveled far and wide and took many virtuous kings as his disciples. Prominent among them were Abhayavarti and Divodasa. He helped the virtuous kings in times of peril, using his supreme knowledge and the help of the Gods. The Kshatriya disciples of Bharadwaja call themselves with surname varma.

With the help of Bharadwaja, a long period of peace was achieved, where people prospered both physically and spiritually. Bharadwaja was also the adopted son of the Emperor Bharata, the son of Dushyanta and Shakuntala. Though he could have taken over the vast kingdom of Bharata, the great sage Bharadwaja had no interest in worldly affairs. With his advice, Bharata carried out a yagna through which he got a son and so the line which had great warriors before and after that was continued.

Bharadwaja married Susheela and had a son called Garga, who was well versed in the Vedas and the Upanishads. It is said that when Bharadwaja's time in this world came to an end, the celestial Gods showered flowers on the couple and Indra came on his divine chariot, offered his respects to Bharadwaja and took them to heaven.

Biography of Sage Bharadwaja - from Rashtrathana Sahitya - http://www.freeindia.org/biographies/bharadwaj/index.htm