Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 130
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
अष्टौ चांगिरस: पुत्रा वारुणास्ते5प्युदाह्नता: । बृहस्पतिरुतथ्यश्ष पयस्य: शान्तिरेव च
aṣṭau cāṅgirasaḥ putrā vāruṇās te 'py udāhṛtāḥ | bṛhaspatir utathyaś ca payasyaḥ śāntir eva ca | ghoro virūpaḥ saṃvartaḥ sudhanvā cāṣṭamaḥ smṛtaḥ |
Vasiṣṭha said: “Aṅgiras had eight sons, who are also spoken of as ‘Vāruṇas’ (connected with Varuṇa). Their names are Bṛhaspati, Utathya, Payasya, Śānti, Ghora, Virūpa, Saṃvarta, and the eighth, Sudhanvan. Born in the line of Agni, they are therefore called Āgneyas. All of them are steadfast in knowledge and free from affliction.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ideal of sages as jñānaniṣṭha—steadfast in knowledge—and nirāmaya—free from inner and outer affliction. It frames spiritual excellence through lineage and, more importantly, through the qualities of wisdom, discipline, and well-being.
Vasiṣṭha is enumerating a set of eight sons of Aṅgiras, giving their names and explaining their epithets (Vāruṇa and Āgneya). This functions as a genealogical and doctrinal catalog within the Anuśāsana Parva’s broader instruction on dharma and exemplary figures.