Text 9
barhiṣat sumahā-bhāgo
hāvirdhāniḥ prajāpatiḥ
kriyā-kāṇḍeṣu niṣṇāto
yogeṣu ca kurūdvaha
barhiṣat — of the name Barhiṣat; su-mahā-bhāgaḥ — very fortunate; hāvirdhāniḥ — of the name Hāvirdhāni; prajā-patiḥ — the post of Prajāpati; kriyā-kāṇḍeṣu — in the matter of fruitive activities; niṣṇātaḥ — being merged in; yogeṣu — in mystic yoga practices; ca — also; kuru-udvaha — O best of the Kurus (Vidura).
The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, Havirdhāna’s very powerful son named Barhiṣat was very expert in performing various kinds of fruitive sacrifices, and he was also expert in the practice of mystic yoga. By his great qualifications, he became known as Prajāpati.
In the beginning of the creation there were not many living entities, and consequently the very powerful living entities or demigods were appointed as Prajāpatis in order to beget children and increase the population. There are many Prajāpatis — Brahmā, Dakṣa and Manu are sometimes known as Prajāpatis — and Barhiṣat, the son of Havirdhāna, became one of them.