The Sage Who Tested the Gods

The sages told the Pandavas of how the sage Bhrigu was sent to test the three great gods, to learn which of them was greatest in the quality of goodness and forbearance - and of how the Lord Vishnu answered an insult with such humility that the test was decided. It is a tale of the greatness of forbearance, and of the truth that the highest power shows itself not in wrath but in patience.

Long ago, a great company of sages were gathered on the banks of the sacred river Sarasvati, performing a mighty sacrifice. And a question arose among them, and they fell to disputing it: which of the three great gods - Brahma the Creator, Shiva the Destroyer, and Vishnu the Preserver - was the greatest, the most full of the quality of pure goodness and tranquillity, and so the most worthy to receive the chief honor of their sacrifice? The sages could not agree among themselves; and so they resolved to put the matter to the test, and to send one of their number, the great sage Bhrigu, to try each of the three gods in turn and discover the truth.