Bharadvaja
Bharadvaja (, IAST: ; also spelled Bharadwaja) was one of the revered Vedic sages (maharishi) in Ancient India. He was a renowned scholar, economist, grammarian and physician. He is one of the Saptarishis (seven great sages or Maharṣis). His contributions to ancient Indian literature, specifically the Rig Veda, provide significant insight into ancient Indian society. He and his family of students were the authors of the sixth book of the "Rigveda". In the epic Mahabharata, Bharadwaja was the father of the teacher (Guru) Droṇācārya, the instructor to Pandava and Kaurava princes. Bharadwaja is also mentioned in Charaka Samhita, an authoritative ancient  Indian medical text. History. His full name in Vedic texts is "Bharadvaja Barhaspatya", the last name referring to his father and Vedic deity-sage Brihaspati. His mother was Mamata, wife of Utathya Rishi who was the elder brother of Barhaspati. He is one of the seven rishis mentioned four times in the "Rigveda" as well as in the "Shatapatha Brahmana", thereafter revered in the "Mahabharata" and the "Puranas". In some later Puranic legends, he is stated to be the son of Vedic sage Atri. In Buddhist Pali canonical texts such as "Digha Nikaya", Tevijja Sutta describes a discussion between the  Buddha and Vedic scholars of his time. The Buddha names ten rishis, calls them "early sages" and makers of ancient verses that have been collected and chanted in his era, and among those ten rishis is Bharadvaja. The ancient Hindu medical treatise "Charaka Samhita" attributes Bharadvaja learning medical sciences from god Indra, after pleading that "poor health was disrupting the ability of human beings from pursuing their spiritual journey", and then Indra provides both the method and specifics of medical knowledge. The word Bharadvaja is a compound Sanskrit from ""bhara(d) and vaja(m)"", which together mean "bringing about nourishment". Bharadvaja is  considered to be the initiator of the "Bharadvāja" gotra of the Brahmin, Kayastha and Bhumihar caste. "Bharadvaja" is the third in the row of the Pravara Rishis ("Aangirasa", "Barhaspatya, Bharadvaja)" and is the first in the "Bharadvaja Gotris", with the other two rishis also being initiators of Gotras with their respective names. Texts. Bharadvaja and his family of students are 55. Bharadvaja and his family of students were the traditional poets of king Marutta of the Vedic era, in the Hindu texts. Bharadvaja is a revered sage in the Hindu traditions, and like other revered sages, numerous treatises composed in  the ancient and medieval eras are reverentially named after him. Some treatises named after him or attributed to him include: Epics and Puranic scriptures. According to one legend, Bharadvaja married Susheela and had a son named Garga and a daughter named Devavarshini. According to some other legends, Bharadvaja had two daughters named Ilavida and Katyayani, who married Vishrava and Yajnavalkya respectively. According to "Vishnu Purana", Bharadwaja had a brief liaison with an apsara named Ghritachi, and together they had a child who grew up into a warrior-Brahmin named Droṇācārya. While in Mahabharata, Drona is born when Bharadwaja ejaculated his  semen in a pot. Bharadwaja is therefore directly linked to two important characters of the epic Mahabharata — Dronacharya and Aśvatthāma, the son of Dronacharya. According to the Mahabharata, Bharadvaja trained Drona in the use of weapons. Bharadwaja had two disciples: Agnivesa and Drupada. Agnivesa taught Drona the mastery of the weapon Agneya, while Drupad became the king of Panchala kingdom. One legend in the Mahabharata states the relation of Bharadvaja with King Bharata, the son of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala. His wife Sunandadevi was a very pious and a chaste woman. Unfortunately they had no children and those who were  born to them did not survive. They even performed the Maruisoma Sacrifice to beget children on the banks of river Ganges. The Maruts along with Bharadvaja reached the place where the sacrifice was happening. Maruts made a suggestion to King Bharata. They suggested that he adopt Bharadvaja who they told was very brilliant and belonged to the Angiras lineage.And thus Bharadwaja was adopted by King Bharata. Bharata on his part was very happy. When he came of age he was married to a Kshtriya princess Suseela, a very beautiful and righteous woman well-suited for Bharadwaja. He was proclaimed  the crown prince. Bharadwaja was least interested but Bharata did not have any other children. Bharadwaja decided to do something about it. He decided to invoke Agni and help the king get a child. His prayers were answered and King was blessed with a baby boy who was named Bhumanyu. Unfortunately around the time of his birth Bharata died, so Bharadvaja stayed on in the kingdom and took care of Bhumanyu till came of age, handed him the kingdom and retired to the life he loved the most. Rāmāyaṇa. In the epic "Ramayana", Rama, Sita and Lakshmana meet Bharadvaja at  his "asrama" (hermitage) at the start of their fourteen-year exile. The sage asks them to stay with him through the exile, but they insist on going deeper into the forest to Chitrakuta which is three kosa away from the ashram. Bharadvaja gives them directions. Also, Bharatha along with Sumanth received at Ashram by Bharadvaja while Bharath went on to the forest in search of Lord Ram for a re-union and to bring Lord Rama, Sita and Laxmana back to Ayodhya. He reappears at various times in the epic. According to James Lochtefeld, the Bharadvaja in the "Ramayana" is  different from the Vedic sage mentioned in Panini's "Ashtadhyayi".