Kr sn a Dvaipayana Vyasa and the Mahabharata: A New Interpretation

Authorship of the great Sanskrit language epic poem of India, the Mahabharata, is attributed to the sage Kr sn a Dvaipayana Vyasa. This study focuses on the depiction of Vyasa in the Mahabharata, where he is an important character in the tale he is credited with composing. Other scholars have interpreted Vyasa as an incarnation of Narayana Visn u. This study, however, demonstrates that he is so depicted only very rarely in the epic, and that elsewhere the Mahabharata portrays Vyasa as corresponding meaningfully with Brahma. Vyasa is, in fact, the earthly counterpart to Brahma in the Mahabharata, as Kr sn a is of Visn u, etc. The interpretation of Vyasa is enriched by the different perspectives provided by other literature, including dramas, Jataka tales, Arthasastra, and Puran as.