Parashara

Parashara in the Javanese Wayang .

Parasara ( Skt. Par , Parāśara ^IAST "The Destroyer") is a Vedic sage who is considered the author of several hymns of the Rig Veda . Parashara received the Vishnu Purana from Pulastya and composed the legalists of the Dharma-sastra . From his union with Satyavati , Vyasa was born, who is credited with the “division” of the Vedas and the authorship of the Mahabharata . Parashara is also considered the author of the basic treatise on Indian astrology - " Brihat-parashara-chora-shastra ." According to the Mahabharata, Parasara was the son of the sage Shakti from his wife Adrishyanti and the grandson of one of the seven great sages Vasistha . Parashara was the great-grandfather of the Pandavas and the Kauravas , both of the warring parties in the Mahabharata.

One day while traveling, the father of Parasara Shakti met an angry rakshasa who was once a king but was turned into a cannibal demon as a result of the curse of Viswamitra . The demon attacked Shakti and ate it. Parasara was then still a child and Vasishtha took up his upbringing. It is described that an angry Parashara, wanting to avenge the death of his father, made a sacrifice in order to destroy all the Rakshasas on earth. As a result, many Rakshasas died, but before the yajna came to an end, she was stopped by Parashara's grandfather Vasishtha. He pacified Parashara, urging him not to be angry with the Rakshasas, since the death of Shakti was not their fault, but was predetermined by fate.

The place of birth of Parashara in Hinduism is considered to be the Panhala fort in Kolhapur district in Maharashtra , where the Parashara cave is located.