Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 136
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
भुगुश्रेष्ठी इस प्रकार अंगिरा, कवि और भृगुके वंशजों तथा संतान-परम्पराओंसे सारा जगत् व्याप्त है ।।
varuṇaś cādito vipra jagrāha prabhur īśvaraḥ | kaviṃ tāta bhṛguṃ cāpi tasmāt tau vāruṇau smṛtī ||
瓦西什塔说道：“婆罗门啊，那位大能的主宰——以伐楼那之相示现的湿婆，水界之君——昔日曾收纳迦毗与婆利古为己子。因此，这两位圣仙被称念为‘伐楼那裔（Vāruṇa）’。”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse legitimizes revered rishi lineages by tracing them to divine acceptance: spiritual authority is portrayed as rooted in sacred lineage and divine recognition, reinforcing respect for tradition (smṛti) and the ethical weight of inherited dharma.
Vasiṣṭha explains that the Lord, identified with Śiva in the form of Varuṇa, once took the sages Kavi and Bhṛgu as sons; because of this association they are remembered with the epithet ‘Vāruṇa’.