Vashishtha recounts the massacre of the Bhrigus by Kshatriyas
To calm Parashara's apocalyptic rage, Vashishtha tells a story of an ancient conflict. The wealthy Bhrigu priests hid their treasure from the needy descendants of King Kritavirya. When the Kshatriyas discovered the hoard, their anger led to a massacre that spared not even children in the womb.
Vashishtha began his tale to dissuade the grief-stricken Parashara.
There was once a great king named Kritavirya. His priests were the Bhrigus, learned in the Vedas. At the end of his soma sacrifice, the king gratified them with many presents of grain and riches. When that tiger among men ascended to heaven, a time came when his descendants were in need. Knowing the Bhrigus were affluent, those kings went to them in the disguise of beggars, to ask for riches.
Fearing danger from the Kshatriyas, the Bhrigus acted. Some buried their indestructible riches in the ground. Others gave their wealth away to other Brahmanas. A few gave the Kshatriyas as much as they wanted, thinking some other use might be found for them.
Then one day, some of the Kshatriyas dug up the ground in the Bhrigus' dwelling place and discovered the buried treasure. All the assembled bulls among the Kshatriyas saw it. What followed was anger and contempt. Those supreme archers shot down the Bhrigus with sharp arrows, though they craved for mercy. They travelled all over the earth, killing even the children in wombs.
Many Bhrigu wives fled in fear to the mountains of the Himalayas. Among them was a lady with beautiful thighs. She resolved to perpetuate her husband's race and kept her immensely energetic embryo hidden in her thigh, so it would not be discovered.
The Kshatriyas found the Brahmana lady, who blazed in her radiance. Then the child appeared, tearing her thigh open. Its light was like the midday sun, and it blinded the eyes of the Kshatriyas.
Deprived of their sight, the kings began to wander around the difficult mountain passes. Frustrated, frightened, and out of their minds with pain, they sought refuge with that unblemished Brahmana lady. "O illustrious lady!" they said. "Through your grace, may the Kshatriyas regain their eyesight. All of us will depart from here with our evil deeds. You and your son should show us mercy. Save these kings by restoring their eyesight to them."