THE GREAT ONES
Veda Vyasa
V.K. SUBRAMANIAN
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Veda Vyasa (13th century B.C.) is considered the first historian of the human race.
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Veda Vyasa, the author of the epic poem Mahabharata, is considered the first historian of the human race.
Sri Aurobindo considers Vyasa, Valmika and Kalidasa to be the essence of the history of ancient India.
The literary output of Vyasa, however, outstrips that of the other two.
Vyasa was the son of the Brahman sage Parasara, the grandson of Vasishta and the fisherwoman Satyavati.
His works
What are the precious legacies this product of fusion of two castes bequeathed to India and humanity?
First, he collected all the Vedic passages, edited them into written volumes and divided them into four parts. Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda and taught them to four disciples.
He also divided each Veda into four sections: Mantras (hymns), Brahmanas (rituals), Aranyakas (modes of worship) and Upanishads (philosophic revelations).
He next wrote the famous Brahmasutras, distilling the essence of the Upanishads and propounding Advaita.
He wrote the immortal epic Mahabharata, which contains the invaluable Bhagavad Gita, which has become the holy book of the Hindus, like the Bible and the Koran.
Lastly, Vyasa wrote Bhagavata dealing with the life of Sri Krishna.
As the last sage of Kanchi, Paramacharya said: "There is no means of approach to the Supreme, which does not find a place in one or other works of Vyasa. Bhagavan Vyasa is a Margadasi (pathfinder), without an equal in any country or age!"
This is an extract from the book The Great Ones by V.K. Subramanian, Abhinav Publications, New Delhi
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