One of the Prajâpatis, he had a promising start as a holy skeptic. His peers gave him the job of putting the Trimurti trinity of top gods to the test to discover which one they should adore the most. Which we highly approve of.

How do you test a deity? There was no Godchecker website in those days to assist, so he wisely decided to probe their most fragile attribute — patience. In fact he tested it to the limit. To start with, he was extraordinarily rude to both Brahma and Shiva. Neither of them were impressed and he had to make abject apologies to escape with his life.

He went to Vishnu’s palace and found him asleep. With breath-taking audacity, Bhrigu kicked him in the chest. But instead of zapping him with fury, the dozing deity merely opened an eye and enquired politely if Bhrigu had hurt his foot.

What a god! Such patience and kindness! So henceforth Vishnu received all the adoration.

Sadly, all the other deities got wind of Bhrigu’s foray into experimental religion and protested vigorously. Posters bearing the slogan AGAINST DEITY TESTING appeared everywhere, Bhrigu was forced to apologize and the scientific method was banned.

Ironically, as one of the Saptarishis, BRIGHU is also known as the deity who invented astrology. Adept at reading star signs and calculating conjunctions, his horoscopes never failed to impress. Especially when they said things like: You will meet a tall, dark handsome god named VISHNU and kick him in the chest.

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Article last revised on September 18, 2018 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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