Veda Vyāsa
Epic age · Vedas, Mahābhārata, Purāṇas
Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, called Veda Vyāsa, “the arranger of the Veda”, was the son of the sage Parāśara and Satyavatī. Tradition says he divided the one Veda into four — Ṛg, Yajur, Sāma and Atharva — and taught them to his disciples Paila, Vaiśampāyana, Jaimini and Sumantu.
He is the author of the Mahābhārata, which contains the Bhagavad Gītā, and tradition credits him with the eighteen Purāṇas, including the Bhāgavata, and identifies him with Bādarāyaṇa of the Brahma Sūtra. He is also a character in the epic, grandfather of the Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas. Guru Pūrṇimā, the full moon of Āṣāḍha, is also called Vyāsa Pūrṇimā in his honour.
Tradition says Vyāsa asked Gaṇeśa to write down the Mahābhārata. Gaṇeśa agreed on condition that the dictation never pause. Vyāsa added his own condition: Gaṇeśa must understand every verse before writing it. Whenever he needed time, Vyāsa composed a knotty verse, and so the great epic was written.
Divided the Veda into four · Mahābhārata · 18 Purāṇas (tradition) · Guru Pūrṇimā