Krishna Dvaipayana, better known as Vyasa or Vedavyasa, is one of the most revered sages in the Hindu pantheon. Before his advent Vedic knowledge only existed in the form of spoken words. He is called Veda Vyasa because he split the original version of the Vedas into four parts; Veda Vyasa literally means 'the splitter of the Vedas'. Because of this, it became easy for people to understand the Veda. This is how the divine knowledge was made available to everyone. He compiled the huge amorphous Veda and made it into four sections which he taught to his four disciples so that it would be easier to memorise. It is due to his compassion that we can even begin to understand the esoteric meaning of the Vedas.
Vyasa is considered as a part-incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is said that he came to the earth in Dwapara Yuga to put all the Vedic knowledge in this universe in the form of written words and make it available to everyone. He is said to be immortal. Seeing the widespread violence in today's times, he is said to have retreated into some remote place in the Himalayas.
During his time the infinite number of hymns of the Vedas were scattered in the minds of many sages. Some had been totally lost and only 1180 shakas or sections of the Vedas were available. Vyasa was the only one who had learnt all the 1180 Veda shakas, which had come down from ancient times and existed till the end of the Dwapara Yuga. He could master them only due to his yogic powers and the power of his tapasya. He collected and compiled this vast knowledge and made them into four different divisions, which were easier to memorise.
Vyasa’s Gurus were his own father Parashara, Vaasudeva and Sanakadik. His ashrama was near Badarikashrama at the confluence of the rivers, Saraswati and Alakananda. It was here that he compiled and divided the Vedas into four parts and taught them to his four pupils, Paila, Vaishampayana, Jaimini and Sumantu. Paila learnt the Rigveda, Jaimini, the Samaveda, Vaishampayana, the Yajurveda and Sumantu the Atharvaveda. The descendants of these disciples had to memorise only one division and that made it easier for them. The four books of the Vedas, which are available to us now are called Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. The Rig Vedic hymns are conducive to worship and prayer, the Yajur Veda accents the ritualistic portions, the Sama hymns are musical in form, and the Atharva hymns contain mantras designed to protect people from dangers, illness and enemies. Each of these Vedas is made up of four parts: The Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads. The Upanishads are the concluding portion of the Vedas. They expound the supreme philosophical knowledge of the Brahman and the atman.
Vyasa’s father was the great rishi called Parashara, the grand-son of Vasishta. Parashara was a great astrologer. Once when he was going across the Yamuna, he realised that the time was propitious for the birth of a child who would benefit the society in many ways. He was being rowed across the river by the beautiful daughter of the chief of the fisherman tribe. He told her to give in to his wishes so as to produce a most wonderful child who would be a boon to all humankind. She agreed on the condition that she would still retain her virginity. He agreed and blessed her that she would become the wife of the king of the land!
Vyasa was the result of their union and he was born on an island. He was dark in colour like his mother who was a tribal. Hence he is known as Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa. “Krishna” means “dark” and “Dwaipayana” means “born on an island”.
Vyasa was not only the one who split the Vedas into four but he is the great sage or rishi who was the author of the eighteen Puranas. He was a master storyteller. He said that stories serve as pools in which the reflection of the Supreme Reality can be caught. The subtle essence of Reality can be comprehended only through allegories, symbols and stories. They have to be read with the sensitive heart of an artist and not with the carping intellect of the scientist. If we listen to them with the innocence of a child, they will open our hearts to a vast vista of mysticism and romance for which the human heart actually craves.
Our Puranas (books on the stories of the gods) are studded with stories of an amazing variety of gods and goddesses who are the dynamic representations of the abstract Truth as given in the Vedas. These stories are not fairy tales, but the reflections of the revelations of the rishis. Vyasa realised that it was imperative to create ideals of perfection for society to help it evolve to higher states of consciousness. The language of the Puranas is couched in mysticism since that was the only way in which these great esoteric secrets could be communicated to the normal human being whose mind is conditioned by names and forms from birth onwards. The Puranic stories are like abstract paintings that suggest a different dimension to the mind and enable it to comprehend the intangible ideas that are expressed through these forms.
Vyasa saw the totality of nature, both her outer physical phenomena as well as her inner invisible psyche. One who meditates on these symbols will be able to penetrate the subtle psychic presence in them and attain a comprehensive view of the totality of the cosmos. He will also be able to dive into the recesses of his own psyche and get higher spiritual experiences. This is the truth underlying the often, bizarre forms of the Hindu gods as in the case of Ganesha. They translate the Infinite in terms of the finite and the spiritual in terms of the material. By fostering our faith in the symbols and forms of the deities, we can establish a rapport with the deity that will draw us closer to the Supreme, of which they are reflections. In this unique way, Vyasa succeeded in getting the incomprehensible Supreme reflected in the liquid poetry of the Puranic literature and created myriad forms or altars for worship which would be suitable for different personalities. The mind of man has to learn to focus on some form that inspires him before proceeding to the formless.
These eighteen Puranas contain stories of all the gods and the great avataras of Vishnu. Vyasa is the one who gave “form” to the formless Brahman so that the normal human mind could conceive and understand. He is said to have begged the Lord to forgive these two transgressions – one, in having defiled the formless by giving it a form and secondly by giving it a name by which it was further defiled by being repeated by countless tongues. Yet it is due to his kindness that the generations that came after him are able to conceive of the form of the deity.
Vyasa declared that only that which is formless could take on any form. In fact, all forms are basically “Its” form. The human mind is incapable of contemplating the "formless." So many types of forms have been given by him which would help the mind to fix itself on the "formless". Many, many paths of yoga have been advocated by him so that the common man who has no time and not much inclination to go after the things of the spirit may be induced to take up this all-important activity which is really essential for a fulfilled life.
Vyasa was not only the compiler of the eighteen Puranas but also the author of the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is the story of the Kuru dynasty. Lord Ganesha was his scribe. Ganesha made one condition - he would take on the work only if Vyasa kept narrating without a break. Vyasa made a counter condition that Ganesha should keep writing only if he understood the verse. Hence, he got some time to think about the next verse. The cave in which this was written is still to be seen near the temple in Badrinath. There is one cave dedicated to Vyasa and one to Ganesha.
The Mahabharata has been called the “Fifth Veda” and contains the essence of all the scriptures. It is really an authority on the history of Bharatiyan culture and religion. In it is found a part of the life of the great avatara of Vishnu, Lord Krishna. Vyasa was his contemporary. The supreme advice of Lord Krishna to Arjuna known as the Srimad Bhagavad Gita is found in the middle of this enormous book containing eight thousand and eight hundred verses. This is the lesson given to Arjuna by Lord Krishna on the battlefield.
Once it is said that Vyasa felt very depressed. At that time Devarishi Narada visited him and Vyasa asked for a cure for his depression. Narada told him that the cause of his depression was that though he had written in detail about the purusharthas (four goals of life), he had not written in full about the glory of God. He told him to write about the great incarnations of Vishnu. It was then that he wrote the Bhagavat Mahapurana which dealt with the avataras of Lord Vishnu culminating in the story of Krishna. It is said that he felt great peace only after completing the book.
Guru Purnima or Vyasa Purnima in the month of Ashada is dedicated to Vyasa who was the greatest of all gurus.
This year 2025 Guru Purnima is on 10th July.
Loka Samastath Sukhino Bhavantu!