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Not many know the details about Ved Vyas origins/or his previous/future birth. Its also unfortunate that all the serials until now don't mention anything about this. So I thought i'll share some excerpts with you guys! :) I was re-reading the english translation of Ved Vyas's Mahabharat (Kisar Mohan Ganguli) and I had to share this chapter (Link: sacred-texts . com/hin/m12/m12c049.htm)
Here are some facts about Ved Vyas's birth, his previous birth and his future birth which you guys may/may not know about:
Vaisampayana (disciple of Ved Vyas) reveals to King Janamejaya (Great-Grandson of Arjuna) the origin of Ved Vyas as the 6th incarnation (ansh) of Lord Vishnu (Narayan):
The learned say that he is the origin of the Grandsire Brahma; that he is the sixth form of Narayana; that he is the foremost of Rishis; that he is endued with the puissance of Yoga; that as the only son of his parents he is an incarnate portion of Narayana; and that, born under extraordinary circumstances on an Island, he is the inexhaustible receptacle of the Vedas. In the Krita age, Narayana of great puissance and mighty energy, created him as his son. Verily, the high-souled Vyasa is unborn and ancient and is the inexhaustible receptacle of the Vedas!
In the past birth, Ved Vyas was born from the Speech of Narayana and was called as Rishi Apantaratamas (Apantara-tamas implies one whose darkness or ignorance has been dispelled)
the original Creator of the universe once more uttered the syllable, Bho, causing the atmosphere to resound with it. From this syllable of speech (Saraswati) arose a Rishi of the name Saraswat. The son, thus born of the Speech of Narayana, came to be, also called by the name of Apantara-tamas. Endued with great puissance, he was fully conversant with the past, the present, and the future.
Narayana then instructs the Rishi to distribute the Vedas, in the same way Manu had distributed the Vedas in the Krita Yuga.
Unto that Rishi who, after birth, had bowed his head unto Narayana, the latter, who was the original Creator of all the deities and possessed of a nature that was immutable, said those words: Thou shouldst devote thy attention to the distribution of the Vedas, O foremost of all persons endued with intelligence.Do thou, therefore, O ascetic, accomplish what I command thee.
In obedience to this command of the Supreme Lord from whose Speech the Rishi Apantaratamas sprang into existence, the latter, in the Kalpa named after Self-born Manu, distributed and arranged the Vedas.
Narayana then blesses the Rishi with immortality:
At each Manwantara, O son, thou wilt act in this way with respect to the Vedas. Thou shalt, in consequence of this act of thine, be immutable, O regenerate one, and incapable of being transcended by any one.
Narayana then reveals to the Rishi his true purpose of incarnation... The he will in the future give birth to the Kauravas clan and its eventual decay and extinction. However Narayana also says that the only remaining member would be Ved Vyas:
When the Kali age will set in, certain princes of Bharata's line, to be called by the name of Kauravas, will take their birth from thee. They will be celebrated over the Earth as high-souled princes ruling over powerful kingdoms. Born of thee, dissensions will break out among them ending in their destruction at one another's hands excepting yourself.
Why was Ved Vyas dark in color? The answer lies here:
O foremost of regenerate persons, in that age also, endued with austere penances, thou wilt distribute the Vedas into diverse classes. Indeed, in that dark age, thy complexion will become dark.
Narayana then explains to Rishi Apantaratamas his future birth as Ved Vyas to Rishi Parashara:
He whom learned Brahmanas call the mind-born son of the Grandsire, viz. Vasishtha endued with great intelligence and like unto an ocean of penances, and whose splendour transcends that of the Sun himself, will be the progenitor of a race in which a great Rishi of the name of Parasara, possessed of mighty energy and prowess, will take his birth. That foremost of persons, that ocean of Vedas, that abode of penances will become thy sire (when thou wilt take birth in the Kali age). Thou shalt take thy birth as the son of a maiden residing in the house of her sire, through an act of congress with the great Rishi Parasara.
Narayana then reveals to the Rishi that he'll incarnate as Lord Krishna:
Thou wilt see through thousands and thousands of ages also in the future. Thou shalt, in that birth, behold me, O ascetic --- me that am without birth and death --- incarnated on Earth (as Krishna of Yadu's race), armed with the discus. All this will happen to thee, O ascetic, through the merit that will be thine in consequence of thy ceaseless devotion to me.
Narayana then reveals to the Rishi of his another birth in future Kalpa (which is yet to come) where Lord Shani will become the next Manu and Ved Vyas will be greater than all Manu's:
Thou shalt be one of the foremost of creatures. Great shall be thy fame. Surya's son Sani (Saturn) wil, in future Kalpa, take birth as the great Manu of that period. During that Manwantara, O son, thou shalt, in respect of merits, be superior to even the Manus of the several periods. Without doubt, thou shalt be so through my grace. Whatever exists in the world represents the result of my exertion.
Vaisampayana (disciple of Ved Vyas) then explains to Janmejaya (Great-Grandson of Arjuna) about the different kinds of cults promulgated under the command of Lord Narayana:
There are diverse kinds of cults, O royal sage, that go by diverse names such as Sankhya, Yoga, the Pancha-ratra, Vedas and Pasupati. The promulgator of Sankhya cult is said to be the great Rishi Kapila. The primeval Hiranyagarbha, and none else, is the promulgator of the Yoga system. The Rishi Apantaratamas is said to be the preceptor of the Vedas, some call that Rishi by the name of Prachina-garbha. The cult known by the name of Pasupata was promulgated by the Lord of Uma, that master of all creatures, viz. the cheerful Shiva, otherwise known by the name of Sreekantha, the son of Brahma. The illustrious Narayana is himself the promulgator of the cult, in its entirety, contained in the Pancharatra scriptures.
Vaisampayana then describes Lord Narayana to Janamejaya:
In all these cults, O foremost of kings, it is seen that the puissant Narayana is the one sole object of exposition. According to the scriptures of these cults and the measure of knowledge they contain, Narayana is the one sole object of worship they inculcate. Those persons whose visions, O king, are blinded by darkness, fail to understand that Narayana is the Supreme Soul pervading the entire universe.
Why are the Vedas considered eternal?
They that are conversant with the Pancharatra scriptures, that are duly observant of the duties laid down therein, and that are devoted to Narayana with their whole souls, succeed in entering into Narayana. The Sankhya and Yoga systems are eternal. All the Vedas, again, O monarch, are eternal. The Rishis, in all these systems of cult, have declared that this universe existing from ancient times is Narayana's self. Thou shouldst know that whether acts, good or bad, are laid down in the Vedas and occurence in heaven and Earth, between the sky and the waters, are all caused by and flow from the ancient Rishi Narayana.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
