Puloma's Abduction and Bhrigu's Curse on Agni
Agni reveals to a rakshasa that the beautiful Puloma is the wife of the sage Bhrigu. The demon abducts her, but the unborn child in her womb, enraged by the violence, falls out and incinerates the rakshasa with his own energy. When Bhrigu learns Agni was the informant, he curses the god of fire to consume everything.
The trouble began with a secret Agni could not keep.
Puloma, the wife of the great sage Bhrigu, was radiant. A rakshasa (demon) saw her and desired her, but he did not know who she was. He went to Agni, the god of fire and the witness of all things, and asked him: Is this woman anyone’s wife? Agni, afraid of speaking a falsehood — for fire must always tell the truth — confirmed that she was Bhrigu’s wife, but added that she had been promised to the rakshasa before Bhrigu married her. With that knowledge, the rakshasa saw his opening.
He assumed the form of a boar. Moving with the speed of thought, he seized Puloma and carried her away.
Inside Puloma’s womb, Bhrigu’s child felt the violence of the abduction. The unborn son became enraged. That anger was so potent, so full of tapas (ascetic energy), that he could not remain contained. He fell from his mother’s womb, blazing like a second sun. For that act of falling — *chyut* in Sanskrit — he received the name Chyavana.
The rakshasa, seeing the child fall and ignite with such terrible light, let go of Puloma. It was too late for him. The energy radiating from the newborn infant burned the demon to ashes where he stood.
Puloma, her beautiful hips stained with dust and grief, almost fainted. She gathered up her blazing son and stumbled away. The creator Brahma, grandfather of all worlds, saw Bhrigu’s unblemished wife weeping, her eyes overflowing. He consoled his daughter-in-law. As her tears fell to the earth, they formed a river. This river followed in the footsteps of the sage’s wife as she walked. Seeing it trail behind her, Brahma named it Vadhusara — “the one following the bride.” It would flow forever near Chyavana’s future hermitage.
Later, Bhrigu returned. He found his wife there with their miraculously born son, Chyavana. His anger was immediate and cold. He asked Puloma, “Who told the rakshasa about you? He could not have known you were my wife himself. Tell me who spoke, for I wish to curse him in my anger. Who does not fear my curse? Who dared to transgress?”
Puloma answered truthfully. “O Bhagavan (lord), I was made known to the rakshasa by Agni. He carried me away while I cried out. I was freed only through the extraordinary energy of your son. The rakshasa let go of me, fell to the ground, and was burnt to ashes.”
Bhrigu listened. His anger did not abate; it found its target. He cursed Agni. “You told the secret. Therefore, you will be an all-consumer, an omnivore.” From that day, Agni would no longer be fastidious. He would have to accept and digest every offering — pure and impure, sacred and profane — because of the sage’s word.