Sri Veda Vyasa - Divine Literary Incarnation of Lord Vishnu

Sri Veda Vyaasa is a celebrated name among the great sages of Bharatha Khanda. Majority knows Veda Vyasa as only an author and a character of the epic Mahabharatha, but do not know his great contribution to the spiritual world. For the purpose of discussion this article is based on Sage Vyasa who was present during 28th Dwapara Yuga, who was a character in the epic Mahabharatha and who was a contemporary of Lord Sri Krishna. One may get a doubt as to how many Vyasas were there. As you scroll down you will find an answer for this.

Who is this Vyasa?

Literally Vyasa means one who explains, elaborates, describes, compiles, arranges. Generally we find the word Vyasa Kartha in the literary world meaning one who has authored/scripted an article on a topic. In terms of Vedic/Divine literature Vyasa has become a legend. Vyasa whom we all know is the founder of Vedanta Philosophy who has classified the Vedas, compiler of the great epic Mahabharatha, Brahma Sutras, and author of Puranas. He is said to be the first historian (Divine) of the human race. He is a genius by birth, performed rigorous penance and austerities to realize the supreme truth. He is said to be an incarnation of Lord Maha Vishnu. Though his name does not find a place in Dasaavatharas but is one of the many avatharas which Lord Vishnu has undertaken. Vyasa is also called by other names viz. Krishna Dvaipayana, Veda Vyasa, and Badarayana.

Lineage of Veda Vyasa...

For the purpose of lineage we restrict ourselves to the current Vyasa of 28th Dwapara Yuga. Born in a family of great sages, Veda Vyasa was the great grand son of Brahma Manasa Putra, sage Vasista, grand son of sage Shakti and son of sage Parasara. Vyasa was born to Parasara and Sathyavathi (a ferryman’s daughter Mastya Gandha) who later married King of Hastinapura, Shantanu. He was born on an island in the river Yamuna. It is believed and said that Veda Vyasa at the request of his mother was responsible for the birth of Dhritharastra, and Pandu through Ambika and Ambalika and Vidura through a maid in the Queen’s palace. Later he married Pinjala (daughter of sage Jabali) and through her he had a son by name sage Sukha who is said to be the true spiritual heir of Vyasa. Vyasa was an incarnation of Lord Sri ManNarayana.

Other names of Vyasa...

Originally Vyasa was called as Krishna Dvaipayana. Since Vyasa was dark in colour and born on an island he was called as Krishna Dvaipayana. He was called Veda Vyasa since he had organized Vedas into four divisions. He was also called as Badarayana meaning the one who is an inhabitant of Badarika forest which is full of Jujube trees. His hermitage is said to be in Badari.

Veda Vyasa & Vishnu Sahasra Nama Stothram

Poorva Peetika of Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Sthothram which forms a part of the Epic Mahabharatha describes Vyasa in a befitting manner. Veda Vyasa is the presiding Rishi for Vishnu Sahasranama Sthothram. Following slokas from Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Sthothram tells us about Sri Veda Vyasa in a nutshell.

Vyaasam Vasishhta Naptaaram Shakteh Pautramakalmasham

Paraasharaatmajam Vande Shukataatam Taponidhim

Vyasaaya Vishnu Roopaaya Vyaasa Roopaaya Vishnave 

Namo Vai Brahma Nidhaye Vaasishtaaya Namo Namah

KrishnaDvaipayanam Vyasam sarvalokahite ratam

VedaabjaBhaskaram Vande Samadhinilayam Munim

Meaning: Salutations to that Vyasa who is free from all defects; who is a treasure of austerities, is the great-grandson of sage Vasishta, grand-son of Shakti, son of Parasara and father of Sukha. My repeated salutations are to Vyasa who is a form of Lord Vishnu and to Vishnu who is a form of Vyasa, who is a descendent of sage Vasishta, who is a treasure of Brahman. Let us worship sage (Muni) Vyasa who is Krishna Dvaipayana, who is devoted to the welfare of the world, who is like a Sun to the Vedas.

Veda Vyasa & Bhagawadgita...

Bhagavathgeetha the divine preaching of Lord Sri Krishna forms a part of Epic Mahabharatha composed by sage Veda Vyasa. In chapter ten of Bhagavath Geeta (Vibhuthi yoga), Lord Sri Krishna says "Of all sages, I am Vyasa” (Muneenamapyaham Vyasah).

NamosthuThe Vyasa Vishala Bhuddhe 

Pullaravindhayatha Pathra Nethra
Ena Thvayaa BharathaThailaPoornah

Prajvalitho Gnanamaya Pradeepah

This is a part of the Dhyana sloka for Bagavad Gita. This verse salutes Sri Veda Vyasa who has very wide knowledge (Vishala Buddhi) & has eyes like the petals of a fully blossomed Lotus. Veda Vyasa is like a brightly glowing lamp (with Divine Wisdom) in the oil of Maha Bharatha which is called as Panchama Veda.

Vyasa in Manvanthara...

As per time element a Manvanthara is a composition of 71 Chatur Yugas called Maha Yugas with each Maha Yuga consisting of four ages viz. Kritha, Thretha, Dwapara and Kali Yuga. It is said that as per Vishnu Purana, Vyasa will be present in every 3rd age (Yuga) of this quartet ie. Dwapara Yuga to take up the divine literary works, reorganize and edit the scripts (Vedas and Puranas) and to inculcate the spiritual knowledge. Thus 28 Vyasas have passed through in this Manvanthara and the divine scripts have been reorganized 28 times. In the first Dwapara Yuga it was Chaturmukha Brahma himself and in the second age it was Prajapathi Manu who acted as Vyasa and so on... We are currently in the 28th Maha Yuga of this Manvanthara (Vaivasvatha Manvanthara) in which Dwapara Yuga has already passed through.

In this 28th Dwapara Yuga, Lord Vishnu himself took birth as Vyasa in order to fulfill the promise given to the sage Parasara. Vyasa whom we all know and heard of in Mahabharatha was the 28th Vyasa of this Manvanthara who was also a contemporary of Lord Sri Krishna. He was known as Parasara Krishna Dvaipayana Badarayana Veda Vyasa. It is said that Aswatthaama (son of Dronacharya) would be the next Vyasa in the 29th Dwapara Yuga. Vyasa is not an individual. It is a role/status/title like that of Indra or Sapta Rishi that keeps befalling on divine sacred persons based on their merits.

Veda Vyasa in Maha Bharatha...

Sri Veda Vyasa has played a significant role in the epic Mahabharatha. Without Veda Vyasa one cannot imagine the story of Maha Bharatha. His mother Sathyavathi who later married Kuru King Shantanu (Hastinapura) had two sons and both of them died without having children. In order to take forward the family lineage, at the request of his mother Sathyavathi, Veda Vyasa was responsible for the birth of Dhritharastra, Pandu and Vidura thus becoming the grand father of both Kauravas and Pandavas. We also find Veda Vyasa giving spiritual guidance to the young princes time and again and also made an unsuccessful attempt to stop the war between the brothers. Later Veda Vyasa went on to compose the great epic Maha Bharatha and became its author. He was held in great esteem among the greats of Mahabharatha.

Veda Vyasa & Lord Ganesha...

There is an interesting story associated with the writing of Mahabharata. Vyasa needed to concentrate on composing, and wanted someone to write it down as he recited the verses. As per the directions of Lord Brahma, Lord Ganesha the elephant headed deity, agreed to do so but on a condition that the recitation speed should be such that there is no break in the writing. Vyasa agreed but, put forward a counter condition that Ganesha must understand the meaning of the verses before he writes it down. Thus whenever Vyasa needed time to compose the next verses he would first recite some complex verses so that Ganesha would take time to figure out what they meant. This gave Vyasa the time he needed. At one point of time Ganesha’s quill broke while he was writing. He then broke one of his tusks and continued writing. This is the reason that Ganesha is always depicted with one tusk and is called as Ekadantha.

Disciples of Vedavyasa...

All those who follow, read, preach, and rewrite his works are all his disciples. Historically Veda Vyasa had number of disciples and followers. Important among them who were selected to preserve, pursue and propagate his works were sage Paila (Rig Veda), sage Vaisampayana (Yajur Veda), Jaimini (Sama Veda), Sumanthu (Atharva Veda), Romaharshana (Ithihasas and Puranas). In fact Lord Dattatreya (an incarnation of Trinal Lords Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheswara) who is regarded as a Guru is said to be a disciple of Veda Vyasa.

Works of Veda Vyasa...

Major contribution of Vyasa during his period was organizing of primordial single Veda into four divisions, Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharvana Veda, scripting and editing them. He also divided each Veda into four sections viz. Mantra (hymns), Brahmanas (rituals), Aranyakas (mode of worship), and Upanishads (philosophic revelations). He authored Brahma Sutras highlighting the essence of Upanishads.

Veda Vyasa composed 18 great puranas viz. Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, Narada Purana, Markandeya Purana, Vishnu Purana, Siva Purana, Bhagavatha Purana, Agni Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Brahma-Vaivartha Purana, Linga Purana, Varaha Purana, Skhanda Purana, Vamana Purana, Kurma Purana, Matsya Purana, Garuda Purana and Brahmanda Purana.

Apart from the above Veda Vyasa is very popular as the author of great epic Mahabharatha which is considered as the Panchama Veda an Indian Bible that includes Bhagavathgeetha the sacred text that is universally accepted. Initially it was called as Jaya and later as Mahabharatha. While it was narrated by Veda Vyasa it was scripted by Lord Ganesha.

In spite of being composer of so many divine literary works, Veda Vyasa had an element of dissatisfaction and depression in his heart of hearts that he did not give proper prominence to the contribution of Lord Sri Krishna. On the direction of sage Narada finally he gave a finishing touch to his works by writing Bhagavatha Purana in praise of Lord Sri Krishna.

Veda Vyasa – The literary incarnation...

Veda Vyasa had played a very significant role in the field of Vedic and spiritual literature whose works have become guiding principles of Hindu religion, philosophy and culture. The object of Veda Vyasa's avathara was to spread the divine knowledge. In ancient days there was no script for Veda. It was passed on through the generations of great sages by word of mouth. At that time they were also in a massy condition. In order to give it a text form, to make it simple, easily understandable, accessible to the common man, Veda Vyasa took up the stupendous task of organizing the Vedas, classifying them into four divisions and giving them scriptural form and handed over them to the world for the moral and spiritual welfare of the mankind. He compiled 18 great puranas called Ashtadasa Puranas, a great treasure gifted to the mankind.

He compiled these puranas to draw the attention of the reader or its listener to the ultimate goal of Dharma and the Supreme Being. All the people may not have the right to learn Vedas. It is believed that Veda Vyasa composed these puranas for the sake of those people who have no access to the Vedas to enlighten them on spiritual path. All his works were philosophical masterpieces which depict various stages and events in human life. One can surely and definitely derive immense insight as to how to lead a peaceful and righteous life from the literary renditions of Veda Vyasa. Bhagavatha Purana is the epitome of his works among Puranas where his exemplary literary qualities are visible in the story of Lord Sri Krishna. Perhaps his contribution to the Hindu philosophy is unparalleled in any age. He is called the literary incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Calendar of events related to Veda Vyasa...

Two events we find in Hindu calendar related to Sage Sri Veda Vyasa. One is Veda Vyasa Jayanthi celebrated on 14th day of waxing period (sukla paksha) of Vaisakha Masam that generally coincides with Narasimha Jayanthi. It is believed that Sage Sri Veda Vyasa was born on this day. However Veda Vyasa Jayanthi is celebrated on different dates in different parts of India.

The other one is Guru Pournima also called Vyasa Poornima falling on the 15th day (full Moon day) of Aashada Masam. This day is celebrated in obeisance to Lord Veda Vyasa by symbolically honouring and respecting the Gurus and teachers who have taught us the Vidya. It is believed that Veda Vyasa commenced his work on Brahma Sutras on this day. Chaturmasam the most sacred period in a year for performing austerities commences on this day. Yatis (Ascetics) start their Chaturmasa Vratha from this day and pursue their austerities without moving from a selected place.

Sage Veda Vyasa is one of the seven immortals (Saptha Chiranjeevis) who is still in existence believed to be in the northern Badari region of Himalayas. He was a great sage, a divine person who had vision of past, present and future, a great genius, a great devotee and lover of God, apart from being a great literate and philosopher. An incarnation of Lord Maha Vishnu He is also called as Lord Veda Vyasa or Vyasa Bhagavan. Regarded as the Aadi Guru, greatest of all Gurus, a Guru of Gurus He is adored even today by one and all and whose powers and knowledge are unsurpassed. Great sages like Lord Veda Vyasa are responsible for the unassailable great Hindu Philosophy, civilization and culture. Indian culture and heritage would be indebted to this illustrious seer Veda Vyasa for ever. Perhaps the most befitting way to pay our respects, obeisance to the great legendary divine writer would be by living according to his ideals and propagating his noble and divine works.

Sri Krishnaarpanamasthu