भृङ्गी

{ bhṛṅgī }

Puranic Encyclopaedia

BHṚṄGĪ   A Maharṣi who was a devotee of Śiva. Once he went to Kailāsa and began to go round Śiva to pay homage to him. But since Pārvatī and Śiva were sitting together as one body, he could not go round Śiva separately. He did not have much reverence for Pārvatī. So he took the form of a female beetle (Bhṛṅgī) and bored his way through a hole made in the place where their bodies were united and thus went round Śiva alone. Pārvatī was angry at this slight shown to her and cursed him to become physically weak. His legs became so weak that they were unable to support his body. So he prayed to Śiva again and he blessed him with a third leg. In this way Bhṛṅgī became a Maharṣi with three legs. (Maharṣis).

A Sanskrit English Dictionary

भृङ्गी  f.  f. ( cf. g. गौरा-दि) id., [Kāv.]; [Kathās.]
Aconitum Ferox, [L.]