Knowing one's Origin - Parashar

 

Parashar, (spelled as Parashara, Prashar, Prasar, Parasar) is a surname which traces its origin back to Vedic India (2000-1000 BCE) and today is in use by high caste Hindu-Brahmins who claim ancestry from the famous ancient Hindu scholar – Rishi Parashar.

To know of him in full length, we seek interest in his ancestry and find that he is the great-grandson of the first God in the Hindu triumvirate – Lord Brahma, God of creation.

Lord Brahma’s mind born sons – Saptarishis, the seven greatest sages of the Vedic realm mentioned in Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahman, consisting of Agastya, Atri, Bharadwaj, Gautama, Jamadagni, Vashishtha and Vishvamitra (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad differs list replacing Maharishi Agastya with Maharishi Kashyap) live for a Manvantara (306,720,000 earth years) and direct humanity after pralaya and build the foundation of Dharma.

         

Rishi Parashar was the grandson of one of the Saptarishi – Maharishi Vashishtha.

Diving into the Vedas, we find Maharishi Vashishtha as one of the oldest and most revered Vedic Rishis. He is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the Rigveda. His ideas have been influential and he

was called the first sage of the Vedanta school of philosophy by Adi Shankara. Vashishtha, with his wife Arundhati had a son named Shakti. Maharishi Shakti was married to Adrushyanti, who sired Parashar.

Parashar was raised by his grandfather Vashishtha because he lost his father at an early age. His father – Maharishi Shakti was on a journey and came across an angry Rakshasa who had once been a king (King Veerasah) but was turned into a demon feeding on human flesh as a curse from Maharishi Vishvamitra. The demon devoured Maharishi Shakti and other hundred sons of Maharishi Vashishtha. Maharishi Vashishtha was extremely grieved and went to Himalayas with Adrushyanti. One day, Vashishtha heard chanting of Mantras from somewhere around. When he asked Adrushyanti about the chanting, she told that a baby in her womb was chanting the Mantras. He was Parashar, who was in her mother’s womb for 12 years and learnt almost everything in his mother’s womb. Maharishi Vashishtha was highly elated on knowing of his grandson and Parashar was raised under him.

 Parashara, at the wish of Lord Vishnu, Brahma and Mahadev, who maintain, create and destroy in time the entire universe, on one of his travels across the country, halted for the night in a little hamlet on the banks of the river Yamuna. He was put up in the house of the fisherman-chieftain Dasharaj. When dawn broke, the chief asked his daughter, Matsyagandha, whose name means “one with the smell of fish”, to ferry the sage to his next destination. When in the ferry, Parashara was attracted by the beautiful girl. He created an island within the river by his mystic potency and asked her to land the boat there. Seeing people on the river’s bank, she demurred, at which time the sage created a dense fog which enveloped the entire river. Parashar blessed her with a son, Krishna Dwaipayana, who was dark-complexioned and hence may be called by the name Krishna (black), and also the name Dwaipayana, meaning ‘island-born’. He later compiled the classic Vedic literatures of India, and so is called Vyasa who is the 17th incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Parashara granted her the boon that the finest fragrance may emit from her person. She was thereafter known as Satyavati (pure fragrance).

                                       

Rishi Parashara, finds his mention in Mahabharata and Ashtadhyayi of Panini. His son Vyasa who wrote Mahabharata, sired Dhritarashtra and Pandu through Ambika and Ambalika and Vidura through a hand maiden of Ambika and Ambalika. Thus, Parashara was the great grandfather of both the warring parties of the Mahabharata, the Kauravas and the Pandavas.

Leaving Satyavati in the care of Vyasa, Parashara proceeded to perform Tapas. It is said that he went towards the North for the Tapas. He reached a place which was serene and favorable for everything but did not have any pond or lake nearby. So, he made a lake through his mystic potency which is known as ‘Parashara Jheel’ and present day located 49 km east of Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. The two notable things about the lake is that it has a mobile island in the lake which keeps moving from one side of the lake to the other and it is quite inexplicable even for the natives living there from several years. The other mysterious thing is that the depth of the lake remains unknown. No one till date has been able to calculate the depth of the Parashara Jheel. In the vicinity, there is also a three-storied pagoda like temple dedicated to the sage Parashar.  

Rishi Parashar is the author of many ancient Indian texts. He is accredited as the author of the first Purana – the Vishnu Purana, before his son Vyasa, wrote it in its present form. From the Vishnu Purana, we extract a part where Parashar speaks about his anger from this:

“I had heard that my father had been devoured by a Rakshasa employed by Vishvamitra, violent anger seized me, and I commenced a sacrifice for the destruction of the Rakshasa, hundreds of them were reduced to ashes by the rite, when, as they were about to be entirely exterminated, my grandfather Vashishtha said to me: Enough my child; let thy wrath be appeased; the Rakshasa are not culpable: thy father’s death was the work of destiny. Anger is the passion of fools; it becomes not of a wise man. By whom, it may be asked, is anyone killed? Every man reaps the consequences of his own acts. Anger, my son, is the destruction of all that man obtains by arduous exertions, of fame, and of devout austerities; and prevents the attainment of heaven or of emancipation. The chief sages always shun wrath be not subject to its influence, my child. Let no more of these un-offending spirits of darkness be consumed. Mercy is the might of the righteous.”

Rishi Parashara is also said to be the originator of Vedic Astrology. He is considered as one of the celestial sages because, in his treatise, he mentions that he learned directly from Lord Brahma and Narada Muni, two celestial personalities who figure prominently in Vedic lore. He also gave the fundamental astrological compilation – Brihata Parasara Hora Shastra; a Hora Shastra which is the Sanskrit term for a treatise on time and astrology. Parasara Hora delineates the classic natal horoscope involving the 12 signs of the Zodiac, the 12 houses, the nine planets and 27 Nakshatras. The 24 Vedas do not present natal astrology, although some limited presentation does exist therein related to the timing of sacrificial ceremonies. But thanks to Parashar, we have a treatise on astrology for individuals, on the astrology of their daily lives.

Parashara’s treatise is the only surviving Vedic writing on astrology that presents the entire system of Astrology.

There are other writings that still survive which focus on a particular aspect of Vedic Astrology, but Parashara’s is the only literature that presents the system as a whole. His presentation of astrology is especially appropriate for Kali-Yuga because he gives two techniques that are particularly efficacious in the Yuga. He mentions that the system of planetary motions known as Vimshottari is the best for all such systems and that compared to it, other systems do not deliver what they claim to be able to deliver. In addition, he mentions that the Shadbala system for assessing planetary strengths in a chart is very useful in the Kali-Yuga.

                   

 Apart from astrology he is also the author of a number of ancient Indian texts including Vrathaprashar, Horology, Laghu Parashari, Parashara Dharma Samhita, Parasharoditn, Parashar Niti Shastra, Parashar Mahapuran, Vastushastram, Parasara Samhita (Ayurveda), Vrhatparashari Dharam Samhita). Also there are several texts which give reference to Parashara as an author/speaker. Modern scholars believe that there were many individuals who used this name throughout time whereas others assert that the same Parashara taught these various texts and the time of writing them varied. The actual sage himself never wrote the texts, he was known as a traveling teacher, and the various texts attributed to him are given in reference to Parashara being the speaker to his student. He is said to be the knower of the scriptures, the theologian and the memoirist.

 

Parashara was known as the ‘limping sage’ as he had his leg wounded during a wild attack on his Ashrama. When a Rishi dies, he merges back into an element or an archetype. When sage Parashara was walking through a dense forest, he and his students and disciples were attacked by a pack of wolves. He was unable to get away in his old age with a lame leg, so he left the world merging into the wolves.