Good topic Minakshi.
Rishi Parashara
Rishi Parashara, the father of Veda Vyasa- was an important figure in the Dwapara Yuga. His father was Sage Shakti who died when he was still a baby and his mother's name was Adrishayanti. Parashara was brought up by his grandfather the great Maha Muni Vasishtha.
He lived with his grandfather till he completed his education and then, because of differences with his grandfather left his ashram and founded a new one on the banks of Yamuna. The reason behind their differences lay in their beliefs. Sage Vasishtha believed in the supremacy of the Trayi- Vidya i.e the Vedas were only three fold- Rig Yajur and Sama. He refused to give equal status to the followers of Atharvana veda.
Parashara, however believed that the Atharvana Veda- without which the mind and body could be cured- deserved equal importance. Hence, he left his granfather's ashram and founded a new one. All his life he went in search of the great sage - Maha Athavana Jabali- who was said to be the only person who knew the Atharvana veda entirely. But during his lifetime he could never meet the great sage. Many years later, his son Veda Vyasa not only met and learnt all Atharvana Veda hyms from Jabali, but also married the sage's daughter.
Unfortunately, an evil king - a descendant of Kartavirya Arjuna- went on a rampage, killing brahmins, plundering ashrams and prosecuting people. This was just before Shantanu came to throne, probably during the time of Emperor Pratipa.
Parashara tried to stop the king by the ascetic powers and almost succeeded, but during the encounter, suffered an accident to his leg. He remained lame for the rest of his life.
Around this time, he met and fell in love with Satyavati / Matsyagandha and had physical relations with her, promising though, that he will come and claim his son later on.
When Krishna Dwaipayana was about six, his father Parashara came and took him to his ashram where he performed the boy's upnayanam and began teaching him the Vedas.
Parashara's aim in life was to collect, organize and commit to memory all the Vedic hyms which were at that time scattered across several schools and rishis - a dream which would be later on fulfilled by his son Veda Vyasa.
Rishi Parashara was killed by a pack of hunting wolves.
Parashrara is said to be the author of Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra- a monumental text in astrology, though the form we know it today is likely to have been revised and modified by several later day authors.
Edited by varaali - 11 years ago
