Vyasa

Vyasa Biography

Vyasa is a great figure related to Hindu religion. He is believed to be the author of the biggest Indian epic, Mahabharata – The holy book of Hindus. He is also known as Veda Vyasa as he has classified Vedas into four parts. There are conflicting ideas regarding his place and time of birth. It is believed that he has handwritten the copies of Puranas and Vedas. Vyasa is a kala-Avatar or part-incarnation of the God Vishnu as per Hindu mythology. As per Hindu mythology he is a Chiranjeevi. The festival of Guru Purnima, also known as Vyasa purnima is dedicated to him. This day is regarded as his birthday as well as the day that he divided Vedas. He also appears as a character of Mahabharata. It’s believed that Vyasa narrated the story while Lord Ganesha scripted it. Ved Vyas narrated the whole Mahabharata and all the Upanishads and 18 Puranas, while Lord Ganesha wrote. When a condition was made by Ganesha that he should narrate without pause Vyasa put another condition that Ganesha should understand its meaning.

He was the son of Satyavati, a fisherwoman and sage Parasara. His birth place is believed to be Damauli of Nepal and was born about 5500 years ago. He appears in the epic of Mahabharata also. Vyasa was grandfather to the Kauravas and Pandavas. Vyasa splitted Vedas so that common man can understand the divine knowledge of the Veda. According to Mahabharata he fathered Pandu, Dhritharashtra and Vidhura. There is an ashram of vedavyasa in Vedhagiri; its remains still exist there. It’s believed that Pandavas visited Vyasa here before going to exile.

The core of Mahabharata is Bhagavath Geeta, the advice given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna asking him to do his Karma without bothering about the results. It’s believed that Vyasa wrote Mahabharata under the foothills of the river Beas.  

Published: N/A

Updated: November 19, 2013