Vyasa
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Veda
Vyasa(Contemporary painting)
Vyasa (Devanagari: ?????) is a central and much
revered figure in the majority of Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called
Veda Vyasa (??? ?????, veda vyasa), (the one who compiled the Vedas) or Krishna
Dvaipayana (referring to his complexion and birthplace). He is accredited as the
scribe of both the Vedas, and the supplementary texts such as the Puranas. A
number of Vaishnava traditions regard him as an avatar of Vishnu. Vyasa is also
considered to be one of the seven Chiranjeevin (immortals), who are still in
existence according to general Hindu belief.
The legend of
Vyasa
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Vyasa appears for the first time as the author of,
and an important character in the Mahabharata. Whilst many believe the epic has
its roots in actual historical events occurring centuries before the common era,
others accept the work as a compendium of legendary events, philosophy and
semi-historical material about ancient India. Thus it is impossible to point out
if or when the 'historical' Vyasa lived, or to disentangle a possible factual
story from any non-factual elements contained in the epic.
According to
the Mahabharata, he was the son of Satyavati, a ferryman's daughter, and the
wandering sage Parashara. He was born on an island in the river Yamuna. This is
said to be near Kalpi in Jalaun district in Uttar Pradesh. He was dark in colour
and hence may be called by the name Krishna (black), and also the name
Dwaipayana, meaning 'island-born'. The child grew up to be an adult as soon
as he was born; adopting the life of an ascetic, he soon became one of the
greatest rishis.
Veda Vyasa
Hindus traditionally hold that Vyasa
categorised the primordial single Veda into four. Hence he was called Veda
Vyasa, or "Splitter of the Vedas," the splitting being a feat that allowed
people to understand the divine knowledge of the Veda. The word vyasa means
split, differentiate, or describe.
It has been debated whether Vyasa was
a single person or a class of scholars who did the splitting. The Vishnu-Purana
has an interesting theory about Vyasa. The Hindu view of the universe is that of
a cyclic phenomenon that comes into existence and dissolves repeatedly. Each
cycle is presided over by a number of Manus, one for each Manvantara, that has
four ages, Yugas of declining virtues. The Dvapara Yuga is the third Yuga. The
Purana (Book 3, Ch 3) says:
In every third world age (Dvapara), Vishnu,
in the person of Vyasa, in order to promote the good of mankind, divides the
Veda, which is properly but one, into many portions. Observing the limited
perseverance, energy, and application of mortals, he makes the Veda fourfold, to
adapt it to their capacities; and the bodily form which he assumes, in order to
effect that classification, is known by the name of Veda-vyasa. Of the different
Vyasas in the present Manvantara and the branches which they have taught, you
shall have an account. Twenty-eight times have the Vedas been arranged by the
great Rishis in the Vaivasvata Manvantara... and consequently eight and
twenty Vyasas have passed away; by whom, in the respective periods, the Veda has
been divided into four. The first... distribution was made by Svayambhu (Brahma)
himself; in the second, the arranger of the Veda (Vyasa) was Prajapati... (and
so on up to twenty-eight).
Author of Mahabharata
Vyasa is
traditionally known as author of this epic. But he also features as an important
character in it. His mother later married the king of Hastinapura, and had two
sons. Both sons died without an issue and taking recourse to an ancient practice
called Niyoga where a chosen man can father sons with the widow of a person who
dies issueless, she requests Vyasa to produce sons on behalf of her dead son
Vichitravirya. Vyasa fathers the princes Dhritarashtra and Pandu (by Ambika and
Ambalika, the wives of dead king. The sequence of events also leads to a third
son, Vidura, by a serving maid to the queens. While these are 'legally' not his
sons, another son Shuka, born of a celestial nymph, is considered his true
spiritual heir. He was thus the grandfather of both the warring parties of the
Mahabharata, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. He makes occasional appearances in
the story as a spiritual guide to the young princes.
In the first book of
the Mahabharata, it is described that Vyasa asked Ganesha to aid him in writing
the text, however Ganesha imposed a condition that he would do so only if Vyasa
narrated the story without pause. To which Vyasa then made a counter-condition
that Ganesha must understand the verse before he transcribed it. This is
supposed to explain the complicated Sanskrit used in some sections of the
Mahabharata, recited by Vyasa when he wanted a break.
Vyasa's
Jaya
Vyasa's Jaya, the core of Mahabharata is structured in the form of a
dialogue between Dhritarashtra (the Kuru king and the father of the Kauravas,
who opposed the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra War) and Sanjaya, his son and
minister. Sanjaya narrates each incident of the Kurukshetra War, fought in 18
days, as and when it happened. Dhritarashtra sometimes asks questions and doubts
and sometimes laments, knowing about the destruction caused by the war, to his
sons, friends and kinsmen. He also feels guilty, due to his own role, that led
to this war, destructive to the entire Indian subcontinent.
In the
beginning Sanjaya gives a description of the various continents of the Earth,
the other planets, and focuses on the Indian Subcontinent and gives an elaborate
list of hundreds of kingdoms, tribes, provinces, cities, towns, villages,
rivers, mountains, forests etc of the (ancient) Indian Subcontinent (Bharata
Varsha). He also explains about the military formations adopted by each side on
each day, the death of each hero and the details of each war-racings. Some 18
chapters of Vyasa's Jaya constitutes the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred text of the
Hindus. Thus, this work of Vyasa, called Jaya deals with diverse subjects like
geography, history, warfare, religion and morality.
Vaisampayana's
Bharata
The growth of Jaya into Bharata, was probably the work of Vyasa's
disciple Vaisampayana, along with many unknown authors. It is structured as a
narration of the history of kings of the Bharata dynasty by Vaisampayana to
Janamejaya the grand-grandson of the Pandava, Arjuna. Jaya is embedded within
it.
Ugrasrava Sauti's Mahabharata
The final phase of Vyasa's work
culminated as Mahabharata, structured as a narration by Ugrasrava Sauti, who was
a professional story teller, to an assembly of sages like Saunaka. Bharata is
embedded inside it, and within it Jaya.
Reference to writing
Within
the Mahabharata, there is a tradition in which Vyasa wishes to write down or
inscribe his work:
The Grandsire Brahma (creator of the universe) comes
and tells Vyasa to get the help of Ganapati for his task. Ganapati writes down
the stanzas recited by Vyasa from memory and thus the Mahabharata is inscribed
or written. Ganapati could not cope up with Vyasa's speed and he misses many
words or even stanzas.
The earliest portions of the Mahabharata are
estimated to date from roughly the 4th century BC, the time of the introduction
of writing to India.
There is some evidence however that writing may have
been known earlier based on archeological findings of styli in the Painted Grey
Ware culture, dated between 1100 BC and 700 BC.[1][2][3] and archeological
evidence of the Brahmi script being used from at least 600 BC.[4]
The
difficulty faced by Ganapati (Ganesha) in writing down Mahabharata as described
in the tradition, could be real, and was most probably faced by those people who
first attempted to write it down as some reciter recited it continuously. This
is because, the reciter, will not be able to stop the recitation, in the middle
and resume it, as the lines are committed to his memory as a continuous
recording.
The name Ganapati, was used in ancient days, to denote the
head of a republic. In ancient India, there were kingdoms ruled by kings or
Rajas as well as republics ruled by elected heads or Ganapatis. Kambojas were a
republic. To some extend Dwaraka had republican style of rule. Ganapati who
wrote down Mahabharata, probably was one this republic chiefs, well educated in
the art of writing or inscription.
Vyasa in the Puranas
Vyasa is also
credited with the writing of the eighteen major, if not all, Puranas.His son
Shuka is the narrator of the major Purana Bhagavata-Purana.
The important
Bhagavata Purana (Chapter 11) narrates: The sages Visvâmitra, Asita, Kanva,
Durvâsâ, Bhrigu, Angirâ, Kashyapa, Vâmadeva, Atri, Vasishthha, along with Nârada
and others, [once] stayed in the house of the lord of the Yadus
[Krishna]...The young boys of the Yadu dynasty playing [there] approached
them with Sâmba the son of Jâmbavati dressed up in woman's clothes. Taking hold
of their feet they, feigning humility, impudently asked: 'This black-eyed
pregnant woman wishing for a son, o learned ones, too embarrassed to ask it
herself, is asking you whether you, with your vision never clouded, can tell if
she'll give birth to a son or not?' The sages thus tricked said angered to the
boys, o King: 'For you, o fools, she'll give birth to a mace which will destroy
the dynasty!
Vyasa in Buddhism
Within Buddhism Vyasa appears as
Kanha-dipayana(the Pali version of his name) in two Jataka tales: the
Kanha-dipayana Jataka and Ghata Jataka. Whilst the former in which he appers as
the Bodhisattva has no relation to his tales from the Hindu works, his role in
the latter one has parallels in an important event in the Mahabhrata.
In
the 16th book of the epic, Mausala Parva, the end of the Vrishnis, clansmen of
Vyasa's namesake and Vishnu incarnate Krishna is narrated. The epic says: One
day, the Vrishni heroes .. saw Vishvamitra, Kanwa and Narada arrived at Dwaraka.
Afflicted by the rod of chastisement wielded by the deities, those heroes,
causing Samba to be disguised like a woman, approached those ascetics and said,
'This one is the wife of Vabhru of immeasurable energy who is desirous of having
a son. Ye Rishis, do you know for certain what this one will bring forth?Those
ascetics, attempted to be thus deceived, said: 'This heir of Vasudeva, by name
Samba, will bring forth a fierce iron bolt for the destruction of the Vrishnis
and the Andhakas.
The Ghata Jataka has a different spin on it: The
Vrishnis, wishing to test Kanha-dipayana's powers of clairvoyance, played a
practical joke on him. They tied a pillow to the belly of a young lad, and
dressing him up as a woman, took him to the ascetic and asked when the baby
would be born. The ascetic replied that on the seventh day the person before him
would give birth to a knot of acacia wood which would destroy the race of
Vásudeva. The youths thereupon fell on him and killed him, but his prophecy came
true .
Notably, he is not the Bodhisattva in the Ghata Jataka.
In
the Arthashastra
The only non-religious book in which Vyasa has an
interesting entry is the Arthashastra of Chanakya. In chapter 6, it
says:
'Whosoever is of reverse character, whoever has not his organs of
sense under his control, will soon perish, though possessed of the whole earth
bounded by the four quarters. For example: Bhoja, known also by the name,
Dándakya, making a lascivious attempt on a Bráhman maiden, perished along with
his kingdom and relations; so also Karála, the Vaideha... Vátápi in his attempt
under the influence of overjoy to attack Agastya, as well as the corporation of
the Vrishnis in their attempt against Dwaipáyan.
This reference matches
the Jataka version and has led some scholars to speculate that in the older
versions Vyasa died in this attack, though the Arthashastra is actually speaking
about the destruction of the attackers.
Author of Brahma Sutra
The
Brahma Sutra is attributed to Badarayana - which makes him the proponent of the
crest-jewel school of Hindu philosophy, i.e., Vedanta. As the island on which
Vyasa was born is said to have been covered by Badara (Indian jujube) trees, he
is known as Badarayana. Though traditionally, Vyasa is considered the Badarayana
who wrote the Sutras, many historians think these were two different
personalities.
Author of Yoga Bhashya
This text is a commentary on the
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Vyasa is credited with this work also, though this is
impossible, if Vyasa's immortality is not considered, as it is a later
text.
Personal Life of Vyasa
Vyasa was born to Satyavati, a member of
the fishermen community, before her marriage with the Kuru king Santanu. Vyasa's
father was a Brahmin, by the name Parashara, a sage in the lineage of
Vasistha.
Vyasa was closely related to the Kauravas and Pandavas, so much
as that he perpetuated their race in the line of the Kuru king Vichitravirya.
Both Dhritarashtra and Pandu, adopted as the sons of Vichitravirya by the royal
family, were born from him. Thus he was the grandfather of the Pandavas and
Kauravas. This kinship enabled him to know much about the happenings in the
royal family, ultimately enabling him to author their history in the form of
Jaya.
He lived in Kurukshetra, in a forest, very near to the battle
field, enabling him to know considerable details about the Kurukshetra War, as
it took place in front of his eyes.
References
a.. The Mahabharata of
Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, published between
1883 and 1896
b.. The Arthashastra, translated by Shamasastry, 1915
c..
The Vishnu-Purana, translated by H. H. Wilson, 1840
d.. The
Bhagavata-Purana, translated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, 1988
copyright Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
e.. The Jataka or Stories of the Buddha's
Former Births, edited by E. B. Cowell, 1895
References
1.. ^ S. U.
Deraniyagala. Early Man and the Rise of Civilisation in Sri Lanka: the
Archaeological Evidence.
2.. ^ N. R. Banerjee (1965). The Iron Age in India.
New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
3.. ^ Frank Raymond Allchin, George Erdosy
(1995). The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: Emergence of Cities and
States. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-37695-5.
4.. ^ T. S.
Subramanian. Skeletons, script found at ancient burial site in Tamil Nadu.
Institute for Oriental Study, Thane.
a.. Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana
Vyasa, English translation by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
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