Vyasa: Krishna Dvaipayana, Composer of the Mahabharata

Krishna Dvaipayana · Veda Vyasa · Badarayana · Parashara-putra

Who is Vyasa?

Vyasa — Krishna (dark-skinned), Dvaipayana (island-born), Veda Vyasa (divider of the Vedas), Badarayana (of Badari), Parashara-putra — is one of the seven Chiranjivins and the literary architect of the entire Itihasa-Purana tradition. He composed the Mahabharata, divided the Vedas, wrote the eighteen Puranas and the Brahma Sutras — the foundation of Vedanta.

Names

• Veda Vyasa — divider of the Vedas.
• Krishna Dvaipayana — dark island-born.
• Badarayana — author of the Brahma Sutras.
• Parashara-putra — son of sage Parashara.

Birth

Sage Parashara crossed the Yamuna in the boat of Satyavati (then called Matsyagandha for her fish-smell). Drawn by her, he gave her divine fragrance and a son who would be born immediately, on a dvipa (island) of the Yamuna. The child was Vyasa. He grew to maturity at birth, blessed his mother, and went to the forest.

Dividing the Vedas

Seeing the Kali Yuga approaching, when human memory and lifespan would shrink, Vyasa divided the one Veda into Rig, Sama, Yajur, Atharva (read full overview) and assigned each to a chief disciple — Paila, Jaimini, Vaishampayana, Sumantu. From these came the shakhas (recensions).

Niyoga and the Kuru line

When Vichitravirya died childless, Satyavati summoned her first-born Vyasa to perform niyoga with the widows. Ambika closed her eyes — bore blind Dhritarashtra. Ambalika went pale — bore pale Pandu. A maidservant served calmly — bore wise Vidura. The entire Mahabharata springs from these three boys.

Composing the epic with Ganesha

Vyasa narrated the Mahabharata to Ganesha, who agreed to scribe on condition that Vyasa never paused. Vyasa accepted on condition that Ganesha never wrote without understanding. When Ganesha's tusk broke, he used it as a pen. Vyasa inserted kuta-shlokas (knotted verses) to slow him down so Vyasa could compose ahead. The epic was completed in three years.

Brahma Sutras

As Badarayana, Vyasa composed the Brahma Sutras — 555 aphorisms summarising the Upanishads. Together with the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, the Brahma Sutras form the Prasthana-traya — the three foundations of Vedanta. Every classical commentator (Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Nimbarka, Vallabha) wrote on them.

Puranas

Vyasa is credited with composing the eighteen Mahapuranas — Bhagavata, Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Padma, Markandeya, Garuda, etc. — and the eighteen Upapuranas. The Bhagavata is his particular contribution to consoling himself after compiling the Mahabharata, said his disciple Narada.

As character in his epic

Vyasa appears in his own epic at decisive moments — at Pandu's death, at the dice-hall, before Kurukshetra (granting Sanjaya divine sight to narrate the war), and after the war to console Gandhari and Kunti. He neither prevents nor escapes the tragedy he has set in motion.

Symbolism

Vyasa is the literate face of the Trimurti's creative function — Veda meaning 'knowledge,' Vyasa meaning 'arranger.' He is Vishnu's amsha in many Vaishnava traditions; Shiva in some Shaiva ones; both.

Worship

Guru Purnima (full moon of Ashadha) is also called Vyasa Purnima — the day Vyasa is honoured as the Adi Guru. Every recitation of the Mahabharata begins with Vyasaya namah. Temples at Mana (Uttarakhand, on the way to Badrinath), Vyas Gufa, Vyas Pokhri are major pilgrimages.

Regional variants

• Tamil Villi-puttur tradition.
• Indonesian Bagawan Abiyasa in wayang.
• Tibetan texts treat him as a Bodhisattva-like figure.

Legacy

Indian literature begins, in a real sense, with Vyasa. The phrase 'vyasochchhishtam jagat sarvam' — 'all the world is the leftover of Vyasa's mouth' — is not boast but recognition: every Indian story is in some way a footnote to him.

Related reading

• Krishna
• Four Vedas
• Principal Upanishads
• Dashavatara
• Char Dham
• Trimurti