Background of Shukracharya

Shukracharya was the son of sage Bhrigu and nephew of bhakt prahlad. Sage Brigu’s first wife was Khyati who was daughter of Daxa; they had two sons Dhata and Vidhata along with a daughter Laxmi. Sage married his daughter to lord Vishnu. Bhrigu had more sons among them one was named Ushna which is believed to be another name of Shukracharya.

(As per another tale, Shukracharya was the son of sage Bhrigu and daughter of Hiranyakashyap, Divya.)

Why did Shukracharya become Asur Guru?

Shukracharya

As Ushna reached his adolescence he was sent to sage Angiras to acquire his teachings. Sage Angiras was one of the best of Brahma’s sons. Also, he had a son named Brihaspati. Bhrihaspati used to study with Shukracharya. Between them, Shukracharya was sharp-witted and edgile. But as Brihaspti was the son of Angiras, the sage was biased about him which itched shukracharya a lot. Enraged by this preferential treatment, Sukracharya associated himself with demons and became their Guru(teacher/guide) for which he is also called Asuracharya. On the other hand, Brihaspati became Guru to Devtas(gods).

Why is his name Shukracharya?

Once he duped Kuber and stole all his wealth. Gods complained about this to lord shiva. Enraged by this, Shiva gulped him. He resided in Shiva’s stomach for thousands of years till he realised his mistake and started doing penance to lord Shiva from within. Pleased by this, lord shiva exerted him in the form of Virya(Sperm) which is Shukranu. Because of this he is also called Rudra Putra(son of shiva) Shankaracharya.

Mrit Sanjivani Vidya

Bhrigu & Vishnu

As we know there were several Devasur Sangram (Battles between gods and demons). Shukracharya was fed up with the constant defeat of Asuras so he decided to do Tapasya(penance) to please lord Shiva. To do so, he took off to the forest. On this side, He left all Asuras under the safety of his mother. To leverage his absence, Indra attacked Asuras. But, KhyatiMata(Some say Kavyamata) stunned Indra. Lord Vishnu then came to rescue Indra and while countering her Vishnu ended up chopping her head off. When sage Bhrigu came to know about demise of his wife, he cursed Lord Vishnu that he will have to go through the pain of birth again and again.

Before this, Lord Vishnu’s avatars used to just appear out of nothing like Varah, Nrusinh and others. After this, he took birth as Lord Raama & Lord Krishna.

Coming back to Shukracharya, Lord Shiva gave him MritSanjeevani Vidya(Power of resurrection) which he then used for demons who had died in the war. This way he caused the victory of demons over gods.

Kacha & Sukracharya

Kacha Shukracharya & Devyani

Shukracharya’s rival and DevGuru Brihaspati sent his son Kacha as a student to Shukracharya to learn MritSanjivani Vidya. Even being well aware of Kacha, Shukracharya admitted him as his pupil. Against his acceptance, demons got upset to have him learning this power. They repeatedly tried to kill Kacha but almost every time Devyani (daughter of Shukracharya) would save him. Though, once asuras successfully killed kacha then they burned him and powdered his bones, mixed it with wine which they later served to Shukracharya. Unaware about this, Shukracharya tried to resurrect Kacha and called for him. But this time the voice of Kacha came from his own gut. Kacha came out, ripping Shukrcharya’s stomach open. But, he had learnt MritSanjivani Vidya by then; so he resurrected Shukracharya before leaving to join Devtas. Which ultimately balanced both sides and helped Devtas win the war.

Shukracharya’s eye

bali vaman & shukracharya

Once King Bali was doing a Yagya where Lord Vishnu came in Vaman Avatar and asked for a promise to give him whatever he desired. Shukracharya recognised him and asked the king to refuse this demand. But the king did not comply with his advice and took a water vessel to take a swear. Thus, Shukracharya went and kept his one eye at the outlet of the water vessel. Vaman then tried to clean it with a grassblade which blinded Shukracharya. Hence, he is also known as Ekaksha.

Few more facts about Shukracharya

He had two wives Jayanti and Gow. As per Matsya Purana he is white skinned and rides a chariot with 8 horses as he holds Aayudh Dunda as weapon.He wears a crown with a neckles and sits on a white lotus with his four hands. Shukracharya carries Dunda, Rudraxmala, Patr(vessel) and have Varadmudra on one of his hands

As per Mahabharata he is master of Rasa, Mantra, and Medicines. He dedicated his entire life doing penance which put him in the good book of lord Shiva. He gave up all his wealth to his demon pupils. Also, He is the founder of Shukra Niti; a book about political science.

He had sons Shund and Amarka who lived with Hiranyakashyap.

Shukra Planet is associated with Shukranu(sperm) which is associated with life. As a planet he helps in prospering entire universe. In the court of Brahma he participates as one of the planets. He also pacifies other planets who prevent rain. Thus  he aids in rejuvenating life on earth by rain.

Know about how Krishna killed Eklavya here.