Brihaspati

Quick Facts

About Brihaspati

Eldest son of Angiras and priest of Indra and the celestials, the counterweight to Shukra of the Asuras. It was his son Kacha whom he sent into the Asura camp to steal the reviving lore, and it was his own jealousy of his younger brother Samvarta that drove that ascetic naked into the woods and later cost him King Marutta's sacrifice. He performed the marital rites when Skanda took Devasena to wife.

In Their Words

The gods have one priest, and a priest who serves the gods serves no mortal king.

Brihaspati

Traits

• Learned
• Proud
• Counselling
• Jealous

Story Appearances

• The Secret of Reviving the DeadSends his son for the Sanjivani❧ 11 min
• The Naked Priest of VaranasiRefuses the king and loses the rite❧ 31 min
• Manu Answers the Teacher of the GodsQuestioner of Manu on the soul

Stories Featuring Brihaspati

46 further tales on this site name Brihaspati, in canonical reading order.

• Ancient BeginningsThe Line of the Moon, from Soma to ShantanuAdi Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Moon and the Stolen BrideChandra, Tara, and the Lunar DynastyAdi Parva ‧ 9 min
• The Heir ApparentA crown promised, a second fee demanded, and the conquests that frightened a blind kingAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Lineages of Gods and DemonsVaishampayana recites the descent of every creature from Brahma and the daughters of DakshaAdi Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Blind Sage on the RiverHow a king without sons got his heirAdi Parva
• The Hundred Questions of NaradaA sage audits an emperor before he lets him boastSabha Parva ‧ 17 min
• What the Blind King Was ToldDuryodhana's inventory of the rajasuya, and the quarrel it startedSabha Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Queen Who Put God on TrialA bird on a string, and a child breaking its toysVana Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Fire That ResignedTwo gods each insisting the other keep the officeVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• Devasena and the Husband Not Yet BornA rescue on the Manasa hills and a promise the gods had to invent someone to keepVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Thunderbolt and the Seizers of ChildrenWhat came out of the wound, and the bargain that followedVana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Children of AgniMarkandeya names the whole family of fires, from the daughters of Angiras to the rivers who mothered themVana Parva ‧ 18 min
• How the Krittikas Took Abhijit's PlaceA star leaves the sky in envy of her elder sister, and the six Krittikas are raised into the empty stationVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Tree and the ForestKrishna answers Sanjaya at Upaplavya and decides to go to the Kurus himselfUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Armour of MantrasThe one day Duryodhana stood in front of Arjuna and did not fallDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Consecration of DronaKarna names the Preceptor commander, and Drona names the man he cannot killDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The King Falls Out of His SeatDhritarashtra hears that Drona is dead, faints in his hall, and wakes to ask who was supposed to be guarding himDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• The King Names the PairsYudhishthira assigns each Pandava his enemy as Karna's array comes onKarna Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Sage in the WellAbandoned by his brothers, he made a sacrifice from the pitShalya Parva ‧ 10 min
• The Kingdom Poured on the FireA sage is mocked with dead cattle and burns a realm with themShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Anointing of the War GodEvery god brings a gift to a six-day-old commanderShalya Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Verdict at the Fallen KingBalarama's plough, Duryodhana's indictment, and the flowers that fell from the skyShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Lords of the Waters and the TreasuresBalarama walks the Sarasvati past the fords where Varuna, Kubera, Indra and Surya won what they holdShalya Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Victory Nobody WantedFive brothers, a wife and a sage argue a king back onto his throneShanti Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Age Before KingsHow men who protected one another stopped, and what had to be writtenShanti Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Day the Rod VanishedWhat happened to the world when Chastisement disappearedShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Son Struck From the Fire SticksA hundred years of penance, a parrot on a branch, and a child born of frictionShanti Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Guest Nobody Could SeeBrihaspati throws down the ladle at a sacrifice where no animal was killedShanti Parva ‧ 19 min
• Krishna's Gift to the Dying GrandsireThe Boon That Took Away Pain, Hunger and Thirst So Bhishma Could SpeakShanti Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Fowler's CryBrihaspati teaches Indra how to subdue an enemy without fighting himShanti Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Curses of the RishisKrishna names the marks that Brahmanas left on gods, seas and mountainsShanti Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Procession of IndrasIndra's Pride and the Vastness of TimeShanti Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Three Born of the FireBhrigu, Angiras and Kavi rise from a libation, and three gods claim themAnushasana Parva ‧ 17 min
• Righteousness, the Only FriendBrihaspati comes down from the sky to tell Yudhishthira what follows a man past deathAnushasana Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Savitri Mantra of SalutationsBhishma gives Yudhishthira the roll of names to be said at dawnAnushasana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Names That Cleanse SinAsked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• Why Men Cling to WomenYudhishthira asks the question that Panchachuda's answer left standingAnushasana Parva ‧ 13 min
• Gifts Under the Lunar MansionsNarada tells Devaki what to give under each star, and the gods ask Brahman for ground to stand onAnushasana Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Fourfold Religion of CompassionBhishma on abstaining from meat, and the kings who kept the vowAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Mysteries of Religion, Part OneThe deities, the Pitris and the Rishis each give up a duty whose reason is secretAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Eight Who Questioned BrahmaThe ladder from the Unmanifest down to a bodyAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Rain Agastya Did Not NeedTwelve years of drought against one sage's seedsAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Court Comes to the ForestAn Army Marches Out to Visit Two Old AsceticsAshramavasika Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Night the Dead ReturnedVyasa Calls the Fallen Out of the GangaAshramavasika Parva ‧ 20 min
• Balarama Returns to the SeaThe Serpent Leaves by the Mouth It Came FromMausala Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have beenSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min

Character Arc

1. 1The ErrandSends Kacha to learn what raises the dead
2. 2The QuarrelHarries Samvarta out of the world of men
3. 3The RefusalWill not sacrifice for Marutta, to please Indra

Key Relationships

• Father➝Angiras
• Son➝Kacha
• Priest to➝Indra
• Rival Preceptor➝Shukracharya

Places in Brihaspati's Story

Drawn from the stories Brihaspati appears in.

• Pratishthanaप्रतिष्ठान
• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर
• Amaravatiअमरावती
• Naimisharanyaनैमिषारण्य
• Himavatहिमवत्
• Angaअंग
• Vangaवङ्ग
• Kalingaकलिंग
• Pundraपुण्ड्र
• Suhmaसुह्म
• Mount Meruमेरु
• Brahmalokaब्रह्मलोक

Related Characters

Others counted among the Divine Beings.

• ❉Krishna
• ◭Hanuman
• ❧Kacha
• ≈Goddess Ganga
• ★The Eight Vasus
• ॐSage Vyasa