Vaisampayana | |
---|---|
Vaishampayana listens as Shaunaka recites the Mahabharata | |
Affiliation | Rishi |
Texts | Mahabharata, Harivamsa |
Vaishampayana (Sanskrit: वैशंपायन, Vaiśampāyana) is the traditional narrator of the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of India.[1]
Vaishampayana is a renowned sage who is stated to be the original teacher of the Krishna Yajur-Veda:[2]
The great man of intellect Vaiśampāyana, the disciple of Vyāsa, divided the tree of Yajurveda into seven branches.
— Agni Purana, Chapter 150
The Ashvalayana Grihya Sutra mentions him as Mahabharatacharya. He is also mentioned in the Taittiriya Aranayaka and the Ashtadhyayi of Pāṇini.[3]
Vyasa is regarded to have taught the Mahabharata of 100,000 verses to Vaishampayana. He is regarded to have recited the epic to King Janamejaya at his sarpa satra (snake sacrifice)[4] The Harivamsha Purana is also recited by him, where he narrates the legend of Prithu's emergence from Vena.[5][6]