Shloka 14
भृगुवंश-प्रस्तावना तथा पुलोमा–अग्नि-संवादः
Bhrigu Lineage Preface and the Pulomā–Agni Dialogue
तस्मिन् गर्भेडथ सम्भूते पुलोमायां भृगूद्गवह । समये समशीलिन्यां धर्मपत्न्यां यशस्विन:,भृगुवंशशिरोमणे! पुलोमा यशस्वी भूगुकी अनुकूल शील-स्वभाववाली धर्मपत्नी थी। उसकी कुक्षिमें उस गर्भके प्रकट होनेपर एक समय धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ भुगुजी स्नान करनेके लिये आश्रमसे बाहर निकले। उस समय एक राक्षस, जिसका नाम भी पुलोमा ही था, उनके आश्रमपर आया
tasmin garbhe ’tha sambhūte pulomāyāṃ bhṛgūdvaha | samaye samśīlinyāṃ dharmapatnyāṃ yaśasvinaḥ ||
Śaunaka said: “When that pregnancy had arisen in Pulomā—she being the virtuous, well-conducted, and illustrious wife of the foremost of the Bhṛgus—at a certain time the righteous Bhṛgu went out from the hermitage to bathe. Just then a rākṣasa, also named Puloma, came to the hermitage.”
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds gṛhastha-dharma: the ethical duty to safeguard the household—especially a pregnant wife—while also maintaining ritual purity (Bhṛgu going to bathe). It hints that dharma is tested precisely when the protector is absent and danger approaches.
Śaunaka describes that Pulomā has conceived. At one point Bhṛgu leaves the āśrama to bathe, and at that very time a rākṣasa (later identified as Puloma) arrives at the hermitage, initiating the ensuing crisis.