Shaunaka ( sa, शौनक, ) is the name applied to teachers, and to a

Shakha A shakha (Sanskrit ', "branch" or "limb") is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school.V. S. Apte. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 913, left column.Moni ...

of the Atharvaveda. It is especially the name of a celebrated

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

grammarian, author of the , the , the and six

Anukramaṇī The ''Anukramaṇī'' ( sa, अनुक्रमणी, ) (also ') are the systematic indices of Vedic hymnsMax Müller, F. (1860) ''A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature So Far As It Illustrates the Primitive Religion of the Brahmans'', Londo ...

s (indices) to the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

. He is claimed as the teacher of Katyayana and especially of

Ashvalayana A shakha (Sanskrit ', "branch" or "limb") is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school.V. S. Apte. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 913, left column.Moni ...

, and is said to have united the Bashkala and Shakala Shakhas of the

. In legend, he is sometimes identified with

Gritsamada Gritsamada (, IAST: ''Gṛtsamada/Gṛtsamāda'') was a Rigvedic sage. Most of Mandala II of the Rigveda is attributed to him. He was the son of Śunahotra Āṅgirasa and the adopted son of Śunaka Bhārgava. According to Witzel, Somāhuti Bhā ...

, a Vedic rishi.

Literature

According to the

Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana ( IAST:, sa, विष्णुपुराण) is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus. The manusc ...

, Shaunaka was the son of

and invented the system of the four levels of human life. Sūta mahamuni narrated mythological stories to a group of sages headed by Shaunaka maha muni. is attributed to Shaunaka who taught it to others in a satra-yajna (a 12-day very large scale collective yajna) held in Naimisha according to Vishnumitra of Champa town, the commentator of 's commentary of (Hindi)Virendrakumar Verma, Rgveda-prātiśākhya of Śaunaka Along with ; Chaukhambha Sanskrit Pratishthan,38 U.A., Jawaharnagar, Bungalow Road, Delhi-110007, Reprint-1999; (also published by Saujanya Books, Delhi, and by Benaras Hindu University) Shaunaka had a prominent role in the epic

Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

. The epic Mahābhārata was narrated to Shaunaka by a storyteller named

Ugrasrava Sauti Ugrashravas Sauti (Sanskrit: उग्रश्रवस् सौती, also Ugraśravas, Sauti, Sūta, Śri Sūta, Suta Gosvāmī) is a character in Hindu literature, featured as the narrator of the Mahābhārata and several Puranas includin ...

during a conclave of sages headed by Shaunaka in a forest named Naimisha.

References

External links

* Titles and occupations in Hinduism Ancient Sanskrit grammarians Characters in the Mahabharata Gurus and saints {{Hinduism-stub

Literature

See also

References

External links