Bharadwaja (Sanskrit: भरद्वाज, IAST Bharadvāja, also spelt Bhardwaj) was one of the greatest Hindu sages (Maharshis) descendant of rishi Angirasa, whose accomplishments are detailed in the Puranas. He was one of the Saptarshis (Seven Great Sages Rishi) in the present Manvantara; with others being Atri, Vashishtha, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, Kashyapa.[1]
Bhardwaj Rishi was father of Guru Dronacharya and grandfather of Ashwatthama. Bhardwaj Maharishi, a sage of the Vedic period, is renowned for his thirst for knowledge. He attained extraordinary scholarship and the power of meditation.[2]
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Bharadwaj as Gotra means people who are the descendants of Rishi Bharadwaj. Rishi Bharadwaj was the son of Rishi Brihaspati. Rishi Brihaspati was the son of Rishi Angiras. These 3 Rishis are called the Traya (Three) Rishis of the Bharadwaja Gotra. Guru Dronacharya, the royal guru to Kauravas and Pandavas in the epic Mahabharat was the son of sage Bharadwaj. He was a master of advanced military arts, including the Devastras. Thus this clan is also referred as The Warrior Brahmin Clan of North India.
During the early years of Aryan Civilisation, about 3000 years ago, the king was called as "Nayak" . A Nayak's duties were not just to rule the kingdom but also to act as the head priest. During that period the caste classification was not so strict. Anybody could learn, meditate and due to his actions (Karma) and knowledge (Gyan) attain/be a Rishi. Rishi being only Brahmins is a misnomer. Most likely majority of Rishis were initially the rulers of different warrior clans and after finishing their duties as a leader would move towards spirituality (This is in sync with four parts of Human life and 4 parts of life duties as per ancient Indian Tradition). Therefore, it will be incorrect to classify all Rishis as Brahmins. They would come from all walks of life after completing their other duties or by renunciation and take the path of Solo Spirituality and mediation and gain universal knowledge. In earlier days of Indian culture it was more to do with "Karma" which means action, rather than caste or blood driven lineage[3].
In Ramayana, Rama along with Sita and Lakshmana went on exile for the words of his father. Rama along with them went through many forest regions starting from crossing yamuna river with help of Guha ,head clanman and a friend of Rama's father Dasaratha. As he travelled he visited many rishi's ashrams. Met many rishis and sages including Agasthiyar, Gauthama and Bhardwaj. Rama and others rested in Bhardwaj's ashram and accepted his offerings as great sages knew that Rama is incarantion of Vishnu, Sita devi is goddess Lakshmi and Lakshmana is none other than Shesha.
In India, Bhardwaj is an ancestor of Brahmin People belonging to the Bharadwaja gotra. Bharadwaja who is the great grand son of Lord Brahma is the root for his clan, Bhardwaj gotra( e.g.: Rajpurohit, Rajbhar, etc ). One of the sub categories of the gotra is Bhardwaja Shelly. The Bharadwaja Shelly gotra is derived from the Saraswat Brahmin clan with the families belonging this gotra mostly settled in Punjab and Haryana. This Brahmin lineage is the one that left the usual priestly occupation of Brahmins long ago to serve as soldiers, farmers, administrators in villages (Sarpanch) and government services.
In earlier days Sages were only Brahmins excepting Sage Vishwamitra. Later, most of the warrior Brahmins became Kshatriyas and all the business minded Kshatriyas became Vaishyas. Hence, there are people of all the three communities having a common gotra, especially Bhardwaj Gotra.
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