Top 5 greatest Sages of Ancient India

 

Dash avatar drawn by: lakhijyoti Saikia

As a practising Hindu, I always wondered how Hinduism became a major religion in Bharat Varsha (Ancient India). Despite multitudinous invasions and attacks by foreign forces, Hinduism didn’t get eradicated from the holy soil of India. The strong reason behind the existence of Sanatan Dharma in India was due to the continuing efforts of the revered sages who propagated the spiritual significance of Hinduism all across the Indian subcontinent.

The dissemination of Sanatan Dharma began at the beginning of the Vedic period when some of the venerated Rishis started to propagate the words of ‘god’ popularly known as the Vedic principles. This event marked the establishment of a new theology on the soil of Bharatvarsa thousands of years ago.

In this ‘comprehensive’ blog I will be mentioning considerable information regarding the top 5 greatest ‘Sages’ of Ancient India.

5) Maharishi Bhrigu:

Maharishi Bhrigu ©wikimedia commons.

Sage Bhrigu is also known as Maharishi Bhrigu was one of the key members of the Saptarishis (The seven great sages). Many Hindu scholars perceive him as the mind-born son of Brahma who wrote Bhrigu Samhita (first ever book on Astrology)

In Puranas:  There is a popular legend in which Sage Bhrigu had hit Lord Vishnu on his chest hereby leaving an engraved footprint on the chest of Lord Vishnu. That footprint of Bhrigu on Vishnu’s chest is known as ‘Shree Vatsa’.

As per Shiva Purana, Sage Bhrigu was present during the great Yagna conducted by Daksha Prajapati.

 4) Sage Kashyap:

Sage kashyap©wikipedia

Sage Kashyap was a prime member of Saptarishis (seven great sages) who wrote ‘Kashyap Samhita’ an informative book on Ayurveda that tells about Ayurvedic paediatrics, gynaecology etc.

Apart from his involvement in the field of Ayurveda, he is also deemed as the great sage who wrote many verses and mantras of Rigveda.

A divine figure like Lord Buddha had considered Sage Kashyap to be one of the greatest among 10 sages.

3) Rishi Bharadwaj:

Rishi Bharadwaj©Wikipedia

 A renowned Vedic Sage who is said to be the father of Dronacharya (A great warrior who gave conventional education to the Kauravas and the Pandavas). One can find the name of Rishi Bharadwaj in Ramayana.

In Ramayana, Rishi Bharadwaj suggested Shri Ram to stay at his ashram along with his wife and brother for the rest of the banishment period. Shri Ram politely refused to accept the Rishis offer and left that place. The trio marched towards Chitrakuta as per the directions given by Rishi Bharadwaj.

4) Agastya muni:

Agastya muni©wikipedia

Widely considered as a ‘Tamil Siddhar’ by Shaivism tradition, Agastya Muni is said to be the founder of the early grammar of the Tamil Language. Apart from this, he wrote the Vedic hymns of 1.165 to 1.191 in the Sanskrit text of Rigveda along with his wife.

One can find the name of Agastya muni in the holy text of Valmiki Ramayana. There is an episode in Ramayana in which the Devas solicited Agastya Muni for assistance as some of the Asuras conceal themselves beneath the ocean.

Agastya muni agreed to help out the Devas. He drank up the entire ocean by the help of his spiritual powers. This unprecedented move made the Asuras visible to the outer world. The Devas killed those Asuras and requested Agastya muni to return the ocean's water.

5) Rishi Vishwamitra:

Rishi Vishwamitra©wikipedia

Sage Vishwamitra popularly known as ‘Kaushik’ was a venerated sage of the Vedic period. He used to be the king of the Amavasu Dynasty. Originally belonged to the warrior class, he became a sage due to his relentless efforts of acquiring Brahmashakti.

How ‘Kaushik’ became ‘Vishwamitra’?

Rishi Vasistha possessed a beautiful cow named ‘Nandini’. One day King Kaushik came to Vashistha’s ashram and saw that beautiful cow. He requested Vashistha to handover that cow to which Vashistha politely refused. Sage Vashistha said that this cow originally belonged to the Devas.

On hearing Vashistha’s statement, Kaushik was seething with anger. He attacked Rishi Vashistha with his entire military strength but his efforts were in vain coz of Vashistha’s spiritual powers(Brahmashakti).

Later, king Kaushik was extricated by Vamdeva following which he questioned Vamdeva about the might of Vashistha and the reason behind his immense powers. Vamdeva revealed that Vashistha possesses Brahmashakti due to which he was able to defeat king Kaushik.

On hearing the words of Vamdeva king Kaushik decided to acquire Brahmashakti by conducting rigorous austerities.

CONTRIBUTIONS: He was the one who wrote mandala 3 of Rigveda including Gayatri Mantra.

These revered sages played a crucial role in propagating the mystical significance of Hinduism on a large scale. Their persistent efforts to preserve the existence of Sanatan Dharma had helped Hinduism to acquire the title of the ‘third most popular religion’ on this planet.

Jai Shree Ram.