Aurva
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Aurva () is a fierce sage in
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
, a member of the Bhargava race. He was born during a bloody feud between the
Kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
s and the descendants of Bhrigu. He was also the grandfather of Vatsa, after whom the
Srivatsa The Shrivatsa (Sanskrit: ; IAST: ''Śrīvatsa,'' ) is an ancient symbol, considered auspicious in Hinduism and other Indian religious traditions. Hinduism Origin Shrivatsa means "Beloved of Shri", an epithet of Vishnu, and a reference to h ...
gotra is named. His son is Richika, the grandfather of the sixth avatar of
Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
,
Parashurama Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Virarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. Hindu tradition holds him to be the destroyer of the evil on Earth. According t ...
.


Legend


Birth

According to the
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
, there was a
Haihaya Haihaya ( was a son of Indian ruler Sahastrajit. He was the founder of Haihaya dynasty and Haihaya Kingdom. According to Hindu Puranas, he was the son of great king Yadu's elder son Sahastrajit. Name According to Hindu Puranas, Chandravansh ...
king named Kritavirya who was very liberal to his priests, who belonged to the race of Bhrigu. As such, they became very rich due to his generosity. After the death of the king, his descendants fell into poverty. They begged for help from the Bhrigus, who at that time were very rich; but the Bhrigus refused to help the kings, saying that wealth which is once given to a
Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
cannot be taken back. To protect their wealth they buried their gold in a secret place. Learning of this, the Kshatriya kings invaded the
ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<


Penance

When he grew up, he intended to destroy the whole universe as a revenge for the slaughter of his family. So, he did austere penances. Seeing that the world was about to come to an end, the
Pitrs The pitris (, ) are the spirits of departed ancestors in Hinduism. Following an individual's death, the performance of the antyesti (funeral rites) is regarded to allow the deceased to enter Pitrloka, the abode of one's ancestors. The non-perfor ...
came down to him. They prayed to him to change his mind. They said that it was their own decision of dying at the hands of the Kshatriyas, for they were bored of their long lives. But they could not resort to suicide, for through suicide, they would reach
Naraka Naraka () is the realm of hell in Indian religions. According to schools of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, ''Naraka'' is a place of torment. The word ''Neraka'' (modification of ''Naraka'') in Indonesian language, Indonesian and Malaysian langu ...
and not
Svarga Svarga (, ), also known as Swarga, Indraloka and Svargaloka, is the celestial abode of the devas in Hinduism. Svarga is one of the seven higher lokas ( esoteric planes) in Hindu cosmology. Svarga is often translated as heaven, though it is reg ...
, and hence they had hid all their wealth underground to enrage the warriors. After their death, they had attained Svarga. Hearing this, Aurva decided to not destroy the universe. As suggested, he threw the fire of his penance into the ocean, which consumed water in the form of a horse's mouth, named Vadavamukha, giving rise to the Vadavagni, the submarine fire.


Refuge

An
Ikshvaku Ikshvaku (Sanskrit ; Pāli: ) is a legendary king in Indian religions, particularly Hindu and Jain scriptures Jain literature () refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initi ...
king named Subahu, and his queen, Yadavi, sought refuge in the hermitage of Aurva after fleeing
Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...
, after it was captured by the Haihayas. After Subahu died, his wife decided to self-immolate on his funeral pyre according to tradition, but Aurva halted her, informing her that she was pregnant. After a few months, a son was born to her, who Aurva named Sagara, literally, 'the poisoned one', because Yadavi had been poisoned when she was with child.


References


Further reading

* * * {{Rishis of Hindu mythology Rishis