Article credit : Rama Chintakunta Sage Brihaspati well-known as a guru of Devas is a personification of Piety and Wisdom. He is the son of Sage Angirasa about whom we discussed last week. Brihaspati as the name signifies as “Lord of prayer or devotion” performed severe penance for Lord Shiva and this is how he attained the position of Deva-guru. He is a learned sage in all branches of Vedic study and perfect performer of all types of austerities. He is said to be equal to Lord Hanuman when it comes to learning and performance of austerities. This sage is the chief adviser to Lord Indra in all types of religious and pious issues to perform his Dharma in a proper way as a ruler of three worlds. Sage Brihaspati also acts as military advisor to Lord Indra when it comes to wage war against asuras or demons. He has a very good excellence in warship planning and because of his wide range of learnedness, he attained the position of Deva-Guru and also he taken the form of a planet which represents wisdom and eloquence. The week day Thursday is also dedicated to Brihaspati, hence famously known as Guruvaar or Brihaspativaar. The significance of Brihaspativaar is thus explained through a story. Once there lived a king who was pious and very religious. He was prompt in performing all types of austerities and hence he was prosperous and all the people were happy in his kingdom but the queen was totally opposite in attitude and practice to her husband because of which the king slowly lost all the happiness and prosperity in his life and there came a time when the whole family became poorer and poorer which made them to reach a situation where they have to beg for their daily meals. Even though, the austerities and piousness of the king did not go waste and hence one day he had vision of Sage Brihaspati in his dream and advised him to perform fasting and other austerities on every Thursday because of which the king slowly regained his happiness, kingdom and prosperity. This practice is popularly known as Brihaspati Vrata. Sage Brihaspati is also known as Vachaspati as he is well-known for his tactful speech. He always advised Lord Indra and other Devas to speak softly and tactfully to avoid problems. According to his intellectual thinking anger and enemity are bad qualities and should not fostered by any being in his mind. The emotions have to be well-handled and this is how any person attains a stage of Sthithapragna which even Lord Krishna advises to the whole human community in Bhagavadgita. Sage Brihaspati being a personification intellect has revealed the “The knowledge of Self” or “Atma Jnana” which he inherited by his Great Father Angirasa and is known as “Brihaspati Gita”. He is known to the Purohita (official priest) of Devas who codified many laws/dharmas which actually meant to lead a peaceful and pious life known as “Brihaspati Samhita”. There are many legends in various Upanishads which gives a proof for his strong intellectual ability and learnedness along with his virtuous and pious austerities he performed. For the reason, Brihaspati also occupies a prominent place in astrology as planet Guru/Jupiter. According to astrological science, Planet Guru represents the balance of past karma, religion, philosophy, knowledge and issues relating to offspring. He is concerned with education, teaching and the dispensation of knowledge. Humans with Jupiter dominating in their horoscope could grow fat as life progresses and their empire and prosperity increases; and diabetes is an ailment directly related to this sign. According to traditional Hindu astrology, worship or propitiation of Bṛihaspati or Guru results in cure from ailments affecting the stomach and helps ward off sins. Sage Brihaspati has three wives Shuba, Tara and Mamata. Among them Tara is said to be a very beautiful woman and she was abducted by Chandradeva (The Moon). Sage Brihaspati being a priest of devas was very busy in his activities by the serving the Demigods. Hence, he did not notice this fact and when he came to know about this lately asked Chandra to restore his wife back for which Chandra rejected. Hence there waged a war by name Tara Sangramam in which all Devas took the side of Sage Brihaspati and Lord Shiva himself took the side of Chandra as he pleaded Lord Shiva to protect him from the rage of Brihaspati. Because of this war, there arose a situation where the Three Worlds fallen on the brink of destruction. Then Lord Brahma intervened to save the world and commanded Chandra to return back Tara to her husband. Chandra obeyed Lord Brahma and did accordingly. When Tara was restored to Sage Brihaspati she was pregnant. Then both Brihaspati and Chandra claimed the child, then it was Tara who has to clarify about the fatherhood of the child she was carrying. She revealed the fact that she was carrying Chandra’s Child who was named as Budha, attained the position of a Planet in the Solar System and also in astrological terms. By knowing this, Brihaspati became furious and burnt her into ashes. Lord Brahma consoled Brihaspati and gave her life back and hence she was re-united to Sage Brihaspati in a purified form.Sage Brihaspati has good number of children from his wives but famous among them were his two sons whom he begot from his third wife Mamata. The two sons are Sage Bharadwaja (one among Saptarishis) and the other is Kacha.
