Bharadvāja, Father of Yavakrīta
Bharadvāja
Bharadvāja has other meanings too: see all meanings of Bharadvāja.
Bharadvāja appears in the Mahābhārata’s Vana Parva (Chapters 135 to 138) as the father of Yavakrīta and the friend of his neighbour, the ṛshi Raibhya. He wanted Vedic mastery for his son. The way Yavakrīta chased it, by passing over proper study, led to tragedy.
When Yavakrīta was killed through Raibhya’s śāpa (curse), Bharadvāja cursed Raibhya in return, saying that Raibhya would be killed by his own son. Then Bharadvāja entered the fire himself and died.
Do not confuse him
This Bharadvāja is not the more famous Bharadvāja of the Bharadvāja gotra (family line), the father of Droṇa, the weapons-teacher of the Pāṇḍavas. He is also not the Bharadvāja who is a ṛshi of the Ṛg Veda.
The two friends
The Vana Parva (Chapter 135) introduces Bharadvāja as the father of Yavakrīta and the close friend and neighbour of the ṛshi Raibhya. The two lived in āśramas (hermitages) side by side, and their friendship was long.
Raibhya had two skilled sons, Arvāvasu and Parāvasu, who became great scholars through proper study. Bharadvāja had one son, Yavakrīta, who was unwilling to follow the traditional path.
The death of Yavakrīta and the two curses
Yavakrīta was killed by Raibhya’s śāpa after he wronged Raibhya’s daughter-in-law. Bharadvāja was crushed by grief at his son’s death. He cursed Raibhya: “You will be killed by your own son.” Then he entered the fire himself, unable to outlive his son (Vana Parva, Chapter 137).
Both curses came true. Raibhya’s son Parāvasu killed Raibhya by mistake in the dark forest, so Bharadvāja’s last curse was fulfilled. The sorrow began with Yavakrīta’s shortcut to knowledge and his wrong against dharma.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 135–138 (Chapter 135 for the friendship of Bharadvāja and Raibhya; Chapter 137 for Bharadvāja’s curse and his death)