Gritsamada

Gritsamada (, ), was a Rigvedic sage. Most of Mandala 2 of the Rigveda is attributed to him. He was the son of Śunahotra Āṅgirasa and the adopted son of Śunaka Bhārgava. However according to Jamison and Brereton he belongs to the Bhṛgu lineage of Gṛtsamada's adopted father Śunaka. The signature line of the Gritsamadas in the Rigveda was Gritsamada was known for connecting the deeds of Indra to the actions of the ritual.

Legend In the Bṛhaddevatā, Gritsamada is stated to have become as large and strong as Indra through penances, which led to the daityas Dhuni and Cumiri to mistake him for such. When Gritsamada realized their hostile intentions, he praised Indra with hymns so that Indra could defeat them. In the Mahābhārata, not Vasishtha but Varishtha, curses Gritsamada to be a wild animal as a result of Gritsamada faltering in the recitation of formulae in a sacrifice. He cursed that he would be an animal divested of intelligence, subject to grief, ever filled with fear and that he would be an animal for ten thousand years with ten and eight hundred years in addition. However, Śiva restores him to his normal form and grants him immortality. Gritsamada later shared this story to Yudhishthira.