Bhṛṅgarāja
Bhṛṅgarāja · bhṛṅga-rāja, “king of the bees”
Grammar: masculine noun; a compound of bhṛṅga (the large black bee) and rāja (king): “the king of the bees”. It is also called simply bhṛṅga.
Meaning: a herb (oshadhi) used in pūjā, in the rites of protection and in Āyurveda, its juice especially for the head, the hair and the eyes.
In the scriptures:
In pūjā. When the kalaśas are set up for the bath of a pratimā, Hayagrīva teaches Brahmā that the north kalaśa holds ten oshadhis: vishṇuparṇī, jolaparṇī, bhṛṅgarāja, śatāvarī, sahadevī, vacā, saiṃṭā, balā, vyāghrī and lakshmaṇā (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 57). Among the flowers and leaves fit to offer to Śrī Mahāvishṇu, Agnideva says that one who offers tamāla leaves and bhṛṅgarāja dwells in Vishṇuloka (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 202); the bhṛṅgarāja leaf is named with bilva, śamī, tulasī, kṛshṇa-tulasī and vāsaka among the leaves fit for his pūjā (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 248).
For victory and protection. Parameśvara tells the Devī that the mahaushadhis Balā, Atibalā, Bhīru, Musalī, Sahadevī, Jāti, Mallikā, Yūthī, Gāruḍī, Bhṛṅgarāja and Cakrarūpā, when worn, give victory in battle, and that it is auspicious to dig them out at the time of an eclipse (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 125). In the cakra of sixteen squares in which the oshadhis are written for the vaśīkaraṇa and other yogas, Bhṛṅgarāja is the first. The four oshadhis beginning with Bhṛṅgarāja serve for dhūpa, and ground and smeared on the body they remove the troubles caused by grahas. Bhṛṅgarāja, Mohalatā, Putrajīvaka and Adhaḥpushpā held in the mouth make the astras and śastras of enemies motionless; and a lepa of Sahadevī, Bhṛṅgarāja, Aparājitā and Śvetārka makes a woman unfortunate in love beloved (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 140). Bhṛṅga is named again among the oshadhis of the cakra of thirty-six squares (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 141).
In Āyurveda. In the Āyurveda which Dhanvantari taught Suśruta, oil purified with bhṛṅgarāja juice or āmalaka juice, given as nasya (nasal drops), is wholesome for all diseases of the head (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 279). Triphalā, bhṛṅgarāja and dry ginger, soaked in their juices and in honey and ghee, in ewe’s milk or in cow’s urine, remove the diseases of children. A hundred palas of triphalā steeped in bhṛṅgarāja juice, with viḍaṅga, iron, guḍūcī and citraka root, taken with honey, ghee and oil, takes away wrinkles and grey hair, and one lives a hundred years free of all disease (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 283). To calm upadaṃśa, the wound is washed with a decoction of triphalā and with bhṛṅgarāja juice (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 285). Among the mṛtyuñjaya kalpas, the preparations that conquer death: the juice of the five parts of the nimba, steeped with a decoction of khadira and taken with bhṛṅgarāja juice, makes one free from death; harītakī powder steeped in bhṛṅgarāja juice and taken with ghee and honey gives three hundred years free of disease; bhṛṅga juice with vārāhikā, iron powder, śatāvarī and ghee gives five hundred years; iron ash and śatāvarī steeped in bhṛṅgarāja juice give three hundred years; and ghee of bhṛṅgarāja with kauluka powder gives a hundred years (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 286).
In the bāla-tantra, when the grahī Dhāvanī seizes a child in its sixth year, its body becomes weak and dry; for seven days bali is given, and the child is bathed with bhṛṅgarāja and fumigated (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 299). Dhātrī and bhṛṅga juice, one prastha each, with oil, an āḍhaka of milk and a pala each of yashṭi and añjana, are good for the eyes, the hair and the head (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 302).
Related terms: Oshadhi · Kalaśa · Bilva · Tulasī · Triphalā · Rasāyana · Āyurveda
Other meanings
Bhṛṅgarāja has more than one meaning in the Purāṇas and Itihāsas. Besides the meaning above, it names those listed here, each with where it is told.
- Bhṛṅgarāja, the vāstu devatā: Bhṛṅgarāja, also called Bhṛṅga, is the devatā of one pada in the south of the vāstu-maṇḍala; he is satisfied with the herb śākunajihvā (Chs 40, 93, 105, 247). Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 40, 93, 105, 247
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 40, 57, 93, 105, 125, 140–141, 202, 247–248, 279, 283, 285–286, 299, 302