Garga was an ancient Indian sage who composed a Rigveda hymn. He is also known as Garga Bhāradvāja ("Garga, the descendant of Bharadvaja") to distinguish him from other people of same name.

Ancestry

Katyayana's Sarvanukramani attributes the Rig Veda hymn 6.47 to Garga. This text describes Garga as a son of Bharadvaja Barhaspatya. Katyayana was himself a descendant of Bharadvaja, but appears to have abridged the genealogy between Bharadvaja and Garga. The epic-Puranic literature suggests that Garga was a distant descendant of Bharadvaja. According to this tradition, Garga was a son of Bhumanyu and a great-grandson of Vidathin Bharadvaja (who was adopted by Bharata Daushyanti). Garga's brothers included Brhatkshatra, Mahavirya, and Nara.

Descendants

According to the epic-Puranic literature, Garga had a son named Shini (IAST: Śini), who was also a sage. Shini's descendants were called Shainyas. Several later ancient Indian scholars and legendary figures bore the name Garga or other names suggesting their descent from Garga (for example, Gārgya, Gārgi, and Gārgāyanas). This suggests that the descendants of Garga contributed to a number of fields including interpretation of the Vedas, etymology, grammar, astrology, dharmashastra, philosophy, and religion. These people include: The Atharvaveda Parisistha 8.15.2 describes the Gargas as Brahmins of Kshatriya ancestry.