Your favorite Rishi/Sage

Okay, here is a poll I just thought of - of the many rishis that existed in Hindu mythology, which is the one you most respect/admire?  And describe why, in however much detail you like. 😊

I listed all the ones who were either renowned for either their teachings, or being mentors of other great personalities.  I won't detail their histories here, but am assuming that all of them would be instantly recognizable.

Since there were just 9, I picked those, and put an 'other' option which one could use if one has a favorite not listed above, like Manu, Kanva, Vamana, et al.  I'm assuming that some controversial ones like Dronacharya, Kripacharya, Durvasa, won't be on anyone's list, but if one is, feel free to select Other and mention who.

It was a tough choice, because I like so many of them, but in the end it was a tie between Narada and Valmiki. I ended up choosing Narada because he's in almost every story of Hindu puranas and always serves as a catalyst for major events. He was one of the deepest devotees of the Lord and often forgot his own divinity because of getting caught up in worldly feelings. He advised people (many of whom did not take his advice) to change the flow of time, and found that not much could change Vidhi if the person's death time is near. Plus, Narada is such a fun character too and we (at least I) find myself getting caught up in his mischief and find both humor and meaning in it.

Btw Vrish, if you had space, you could have also added Maharishi Garg to the list, as he was pretty prominent throughout Krishna Avatar.

Valmiki. I am really grateful to him & will be grateful untill my death as he is the writer of my Ramayan, my best book in this universe is Valmiki Ramayan.

Another two names....Vishvamitra and Vyasa. I guess this is why you had to include the 'others' option, there are so many.😆

I like Valmiki. But I also like Sandipani for his impartial attitude. He was great teacher; who never discriminated between the rich and poor. He treated Krishna (the prince) and Sudhama (the poor Brahmin boy) alike.

True, but I don't admire either of them.  Vishwamitra was a vain rishi, too prone to anger, and it showed in his attitudes towards Vashistha when he was trying to become a Brahmarshi, particularly in the Trishanku episodes.  Also, his behavior towards Harishchandra was nothing short of vile.  In fact, Vishwamitra is a rishi I highly loathe and despise.  He belongs right up there w/ Durvasha, who I deliberately neither included nor mentioned.

Vyasa too - I need to check if he sheltered Ashwatthama after the massacre of the Pandavas, but if he did, and on top of that, drew a moral equivalence b/w Ashwathama's & Arjun's use of the Brahmashira, I don't respect him either.  Also, he wrote accounts of not just the Ramayan, but other things that contradict Valmiki (namely Agastya's story, which is different b/w Ramayan & Mahabharat), and I don't really appreciate seers increasing rather than decreasing the confusion.

Edited by ShivangBuch - 13 years ago

Though the facts you have listed is true, I cannot agree with you about Vishvamitra because those were all before he became a rishi. Kshatriyas were known to be prone to quick anger and pride, so I do not hold Vishvamitra as a sage responsible for whatever he did as Raja Kaushika. After he became a Brahmarshi, a friendship existed between Vasishta and Vishvamitra since both acknowledged the other's power and asceticism.

Also, I respect Sage Durvasa too, because though he was prone to anger, he was the reason that Kunti and Pandu were able to have children and also, he served as a catalyst for many events, much like Narada.

About Vyasa I do not know much, but as a sage I respect him and also, I am willing to read his Ramayana even if it deviates from VR's, because as you know by now, I do not limit myself to just one source where it concerns Puranas because I believe that from every source we can receive a different meaning of the epic, and as long as that meaning increases our devotion to God I find nothing wrong in believing it to be true. Also, I do not feel one human can write down the story of God in full and do justice to it just by himself. Only when many saints and many sages all speak of it from their own mouths can we understand it in full, and even then it is not enough. God's story is not limited to one mouth, so I honestly feel none of us have the right to say one version is right and one wrong, because what do we know what happened? We live in the Kali Yug and it happened in the Treta Yug, that is way too long ago to confirm anything, so again it all stems down to belief and it is meaningless to think our belief is right over another's.

Anyhow, I think you should have added Vishvamitra and Vyasa in place of Bhrigu and Kashyapa, because they are less known than the first two and plus, Vyasa is the composer of Mahabharat and a lot of people like him for giving us the story of Krishna and the Pandavas before anyone else.😊

Bhrigu cursing Vishnu obviously I didn't like, so no (and the accounts of him 'kicking' Vishnu that are there in some texts, I don't accept, but if he did that, I don't agree there either).  Shukracharya was a guru of the Asuras & doing his job, but I don't recall him doing anything heinous.  But yeah, if I had more slots, I'd have included Vyasa.  But not Durvasa or Vishwamitra.  I'm unsure about Vamana or Parashuram.  Unless I decided to list ALL rishis - good & bad - and let anybody pick anyone.

I myself voted for Vashistha above, not b'cos he was Ram-ji's guru, in fact not anything he did as Ramji's guru.  I voted for Vashistha b'cos afaik, he never cursed anyone.  Vishwamitra cursed his sons on a/c of their not playing along w/ Trishanku's vanity, but at the end, when Brahma recognized him as a Brahmarshi, Vashitha did as well (incidentally, was that curse ever alemiorated?) Of all the rishis I listed above, he seemed most pure in deed.  Others I might have voted for given the options would have been Brihaspati & Kashyap.