When Truth Becomes a Trap: The Story of Bhrigu, Puloma and Agni in Mahabharata The Pouloma Parva, found in the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata, narrates the circumstances surrounding the birth of the sage Chyavana. Sage Bhrigu was married to Puloma, who was pregnant with their child. While Bhrigu was away performing his ablutions, a rakshasa named Puloman entered the ashrama. He had once been betrothed to Puloma, but her father had later given her in marriage to Bhrigu instead. Overcome with desire and old resentment, Puloman went to the sacred fire burning in the hermitage and demanded that Agni, the fire god, tell him under oath whose wife Puloma truly was. Agni was caught in a difficult position. As the witness to all vows and the keeper of ritual truth, he could not lie without inviting the curse that falls upon a false witness. Yet he also feared the wrath of Bhrigu, whose power as a sage was formidable. After Puloman pressed him repeatedly, Agni finally admitted that Puloma had inde...