Vyasa: Krishna Dvaipayana
Krishna Dvaipayana. Author of the Bharata. By niyoga, father of Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Vidura.
Also called Krishna Dvaipayana · Veda Vyasa · Dvaipayana
Arranger of the Vedas
Who Vyasa is
Vyasa is Satyavati’s son by Parashara, born on an island, dark, the divider of the Vedas. He is the man who recites the Bharata to Ganesha and later to Vaishampayana, who tells it in Janamejaya’s hall.
When Vichitravirya dies childless, Satyavati asks Bhishma to raise sons on the widows. Bhishma will not break the vow. She calls Vyasa. Ambika shuts her eyes; the son is blind. Ambalika goes pale; the son is pale. A maid is sent the third time; the son is Vidura.
Names and spellings
Canonical name in this graph: Vyasa. Common Mahabharat spellings and titles stay in the aliases rather than being repeated in every heading.
Spouses
Children
In the recitation
- Ganesha — the dictation of the Bharata
- Vaishampayana — the recitation to Janamejaya
Narrative role
Adi Parva — the ferry Parashara takes Satyavati in a fog on the Yamuna, takes the fish-smell off her, leaves her a virgin, and leaves her this son.
Niyoga He comes when she thinks of him. The three sons of the next generation are his by the widows and the maid, and they are Vichitravirya’s in the world’s mouth.
The telling He teaches Vaishampayana the poem. The snake-sacrifice is where we sit. He is inside the family and outside it, author and grandfather at once.
How Vyasa is related
How is Vyasa related to Satyavati? Mother, and the woman who calls him back when the throne has no heir. Satyavati
How is Vyasa related to Dhritarashtra? Blind son of Ambika. The king who hears the war from Sanjaya. Dhritarashtra
How is Vyasa related to Vidura? Son of the maid. Dharma in a shudra body. The conscience the court will not use. Vidura
How is Vyasa related to Janamejaya? Great-great-grandson in the line through Abhimanyu and Parikshit. The listener of the recitation. Janamejaya
Source notes
Mahabharata text (Adi Anukramanika, Sambhava, Astika), Ganguli. Niyoga parentage is labelled as such in the graph: Vyasa is biological father; Vichitravirya is the recognized king whose field it was. Last reviewed 12 September 2026.
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