By Swami Harshananda
Bābhravya literally means ‘descendant of Babhru’.
Being a patronymic name it represents anyone who is a descendant of the sage Babhru. Following sages were known as Bābhravyas :
- The sage Girija of the Aitareya Brāhmana
- The sage Śaṅkha of Jaiminīya Upaniṣad Brāhmana
- The sage Gālava mentioned in the Mahābhārata was a great yogi and had organized the science of euphony of the Vedas (called Śikṣā).
- The Skāndapurāna also mentions about the existence of one Bābhravya.
- One Bābhravya is said to have produced a condensed version of Kāmaśāstra (the Science of Erotics), originally written by Svetaketu.
- One Bābhravya is said to have met Arjuna, the Pāṇḍava hero, during Arjun'as pilgrimage, and told him about the greatness of the sage Nārada.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore