Shounaka Inquires About the Name Chyavana
After hearing the initial genealogy, the sage Shounaka interrupts with a specific question: why was Bhrigu's son known by the name Chyavana? His curiosity prompts the storyteller to launch into the detailed tale behind the name.
The genealogy had been recited: Bhrigu, the great sage, had a beloved son. That son was known as Chyavana Bhargava.
Shounaka, listening, wanted more than the name. He wanted the story within the name. He turned to the storyteller, Souti, and asked the question that would open the next chapter of the history.
“O son of Suta,” Shounaka said, “why was the great-souled son of Bhrigu known as Chyavana? I am asking you, tell me.”
It was a simple question — a request for an etymology, for the origin of a single word. But in the world of these tales, a name is never just a label. It is a story compressed into a sound. “Chyavana” meant something had happened, something worthy of remembrance.
Souti, the narrator, accepted the question. The answer would require telling the entire episode of Chyavana’s dramatic birth — the very story that begins with a rakshasa, a pregnant wife, and a silent, terrified fire.