Bhagavad Gita · Mahabharata Codex

Vyasa

व्यास · vyāsa

Sage and composer of the Mahabharata; grandfather of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas

He wrote the story, and he is also in it, as the grandfather of both armies.

Vyasa is the son of the sage Parashara and Satyavati, born on an island in the Yamuna before she became queen. When the Kuru line was about to die out, his mother called him to father the next generation: Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura are his sons. He is traditionally the author of the whole epic. In the Gita Krishna says, 'Among sages I am Vyasa,' and Sanjaya thanks him for the vision that let him hear it.