Prayaag, requested sage Yagyawalkya^3 , one of the greatest sage and seer of his time,
to stay back for some more days and enlighten him about the secrets of Lord Ram, the
incarnate Supreme Being. It was during this long and elaborate discourse that
unfolded now that sage Yagyawalkya narrates the story of Lord Shiva’s marriage.]
Once upon a time, all the sages and seers who had performed religious rites during the
entire holy month of ‘Makar (Sakranti)’, including taking purification baths and doing
other rituals daily, did their ablutions on the final day of the month and then
cheerfully went away to their respective hermitages. (3)
Sage Yagyawalkya was one amongst them. He was a very wise, learned and
enlightened seer. Sage Bharadwaj (who used to live permanently at the place where
the sages and seers assembled to spend the holy month of Makar, a place known as
Prayaag), fell at the feet of Yagyawalkya and earnestly requested him to stay back for
some more time. (4)
[Note—^1 Makar Sakranti—The tenth sign of the zodiac known as Capricorn is called
“Makar”, and the word “Sarkanti” means a union, the solstice, a planet’s transition
from one zodiac to another. In the context of Hindu religious practices, “Makar
Sakranti” is the transition of the sun into the tenth zodiac sign of Capricorn. It falls
roughly on the 14th of January of each year. It is also known as “Uttaraayan” as the
sun moves in the northern direction.
Since “Makar” coincides with the eleventh month of the Hindu lunar year known
as “Maagha”, both “Makar” and “Maagha” are commonly used as synonyms.
During this whole month, it is regarded auspicious to take a dip in holy rivers.
Since three great rivers, i.e. the Ganges, the Yamuna and the Saraswati, have their
‘union’ or confluence at Prayaag (also known as Allahabad in modern India), it is the
place deemed most suitable for performing religious rites as the benefits are
symbolically multiplied three times due to the confluence of three rivers here.
A great congregation of sages and seers is held every year during this period
when they take holy dip in the rivers, perform various rites and hold discourses—
refer: Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand, from Chaupai line no. 3 that precedes Doha no.
44—to Chaupai line no. 2 that precedes Doha no. 45.
(^2) Sage Bharadwaj—He is regarded as one of the seven celestial sages known as
Sapta Rishis. Ironically, we find many ancient sages with this name, and therefore it
is clear that this word was used more as a surname or title rather than the name of an
individual sage or seer. Bharadwaj is regarded as a Vedis sage after whom a lineage
of sages and seers of the highest order was established. His disciples assumed their
teacher’s name as their title, and came to be known as Bharadwajs.
Sage Bharadwaj Baarhasptya is the seer of several hymns of the Rig Veda,
Mandal no. 6. He is the son of Brihaspati, the moral preceptor of the Gods. He was
the father of Dronacharya of the Mahabharata who has taught Arjun the science of
archery.
The epic story of the life and times of Lord Ram that was written by the
legendary poet Goswami Tulsidas, the book titled “Ram Charit Manas”, mentions
sage Bharadwaj. He lived in Prayag, the confluence of three holy rivers, viz. the
Ganges, the Yamuna and the Saraswati. Refer: Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand,
Chaupai line no. 1 that precedes Doha no. 44.
The story of Ram Charit Manas was unveiled as a discourse between sage
Bharadwaj and sage Yagyawalkya—refer: Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand, from
Chaupai line no. 3 that precedes Doha no. 44—to Chaupai line no. 5 that precedes
Doha no. 47.
Later on in the narration of Ram Charit Manas we read that Lord Ram had
visited the hermitage of sage Bharadwaj during his forest sojourn—refer: Ram Charit