Shaunaka said: "Dear friend, your father once studied the whole of the Puranas in their entirety; have you too, O son of Lomaharshana, studied all of this? For in the Puranas are preserved divine tales and the ancient lineages of the wise -- those we once heard from your father. Now, above all, I wish to hear the lineage of the Bhargavas, the descendants of Bhrigu; tell us this tale, then -- we are ready to listen to you." Suta said: "What was once rightly studied by great souls -- the brahmin Vaishampayana and others -- and told by them of old; what was rightly studied by my father, and from him by me -- hear that. The lineage of Bhrigu is excellent, honored by the gods together with Indra and the hosts of Agni and the Maruts -- O descendant of Bhrigu, this lineage of the Bhargavas I shall tell you, O great sage, in a connected narrative resting upon the Puranas. Bhrigu had a beloved son named Cyavana Bhargava; Cyavana's heir was the righteous Pramati; to Pramati, by [the apsaras] Ghritachi, was born a son, Ruru; and to Ruru, by Pramadvara, was born a son, Shunaka, who had mastered the Vedas, righteous -- from your great-grandfather. He was an ascetic and glorious, deeply learned, foremost among the knowers of Brahman, most righteous, truthful in speech, self-controlled, master of his senses."