Who are the seven great Saptarishis?
There are about one thousand Suktas in Rigveda, that is, about ten thousand mantras. There are more than twenty thousand mantras in the four Vedas and we call the poets who composed these mantras as sages.
Like the mantras of the other three Vedas, many sages have contributed to the composition of the mantras of the Rig Veda. But among these also there are seven sages in whose families there was a long tradition of mantra-creating sages. These clan tradition hymns of Rigveda are collected in ten mandalas and in these, two to seven i.e. six mandalas are what we traditionally call lineage mandalas because the mantras of the sages of six Rishi clans have been collected in them.
A circle of seven stars is visible in the sky, they are called the circle of Saptarishis. The stars of the said circle have been named after the seven great saints of India. There is a detailed discussion about the position, speed, distance and expansion of the said circle in the Vedas. In each Manvantar, there have been different Saptarishis. Presented here is the introduction of the seven sages of the period of Vaivaswat Manu.
1. The first sage of Saptarishi who had Kamadhenu
Vashishtha : Who does not know Rishi Vashishtha, the vice-guru of King Dasharatha. He was the guru of Dasharatha’s four sons. On Vashishtha’s advice, Dasharatha sent his four sons along with sage Vishwamitra to the ashram to kill the demons.
There was a war between Vashishtha and Vishwamitra for Kamdhenu cow. When Vashishtha gave the idea of curbing the royal power, Maitravarun Vashishtha of his own clan created a new history by composing a hundred hymns together on the banks of river Saraswati.
2. The second great sage, the knower of mantra power and the creator of heaven.
Vishwamitra : Before being a sage, Vishwamitra was a king and he fought a war with sage Vashishtha to capture the Kamdhenu cow, but he lost. This defeat inspired him to do severe penance. The story of Vishwamitra’s penance and Maneka breaking his penance is world famous.Vishwamitra:- Before being a sage, Vishwamitra was a king and he fought a war with sage Vashishtha to capture the Kamdhenu cow, but he lost. This defeat inspired him to do severe penance. The story of Vishwamitra’s penance and Maneka breaking his penance is world famous.
It is believed that at the same place where Shantikunj is situated in Haridwar, Vishwamitra, angry with Indra, had created a separate heaven after doing severe penance. Vishwamitra gave this country the knowledge of making Richa and composed Gayatri Mantra which has been continuously residing in the heart and tongue of India for thousands of years till today.
3. The third great sage told the science of knowledge and the path to prevent evil,
Kanva : It is believed that the most important yagya of this country, Somayyagya, was organized by Kanvas. Kanva was a sage of the Vedic period. Shakuntala, wife of King Dushyant of Hastinapur and his son Bharat were brought up in his ashram.
Most of the mantras of the eighth chapter of Rig Veda consisting of 103 Suktas are recited by Maharishi Kanva and his descendants and clans. There are other seer sages in some Suktas, but according to ‘Pradhanyen Vyapadesha Bhavanti’, Maharishi Kanva has been called the seer sage of the Ashtam Mandal. These contain useful mantras related to worldly knowledge, science and prevention of evil.
Situated at the top of the Kaimur range at a distance of eight kilometers from the district headquarters in Sonbhadra, is the penance of sage Kanva, which is known as Kandakot.
4. The fourth great sage who taught the world how to fly a plane,
Bhardwaj : Rishi Bhardwaj has a high position among the Vedic sages. Bhardwaj’s father was Brihaspati and mother was Mamta. Bhardwaj lived before Rishi Ram, but according to a mention of his long life, Shri Ram had gone to his ashram during his exile, which was historically the period of Treta Dwapar.It is believed that one of the Bhardwajas, Vidatha, succeeded Dushyant’s son Bharat and continued composing the mantra while ruling the kingdom.
Among the sons of Rishi Bhardwaj, 10 sages are the seers of the Rig Veda and one daughter whose name was ‘Ratri’ is also considered to be the seer of the Mantras of the Ratri Sukta. The seer of the sixth chapter of Rigveda is sage Bhardwaj. There are 765 mantras of Bhardwaj in this mandala. 23 mantras of Bhardwaj are also found in Atharvaveda. Rishi Bhardwaj was also the author of ‘Bhardwaj Smriti’ and ‘Bhardwaj Samhita’.
Rishi Bhardwaj had written a huge book named ‘Yantra-Sarvasva’. Swami Brahmamuni has published some part of this book in the name of ‘Viman Shastra’. In this book, there is a description of the making of various metals for planes moving at high and low levels.
5. The fifth great sage of the founder family of Zoroastrianism and who told about farming,
Atri : Maharishi Atri, the seer of the fifth chapter of Rigveda, was the son of Brahma, father of Som and husband of Anusuya, daughter of Kardam Prajapati and Devahuti. When Atri had gone out, the Tridevs started begging for alms in the guise of a Brahmin at Anasuya’s house and told Anusuya that we will accept alms only when you remove all your clothes, then Anusuya, on the strength of her chastity, transformed the said three gods into innocent children. Gave them alms. Mother Anusuya had preached the vow of husbandry to Goddess Sita.
When Atri had gone out, the Tridevs started begging for alms in the guise of a Brahmin at Anasuya’s house and told Anusuya that we will accept alms only when you remove all your clothes, then Anusuya, on the strength of her chastity, transformed the said three gods into innocent children. Gave them alms. Mother Anusuya had preached the vow of husbandry to Goddess Sita.
Atri Rishi’s ashram was in Chitrakoot. It is believed that as a result of the penance of the Atri couple and the happiness of the Trinity, Mahayogi Dattatreya was born from the part of Vishnu, Moon from the part of Brahma and Mahamuni Durvasa from the part of Shankar, as the son of Maharishi Atri and Goddess Anusuya. Rishi Atri was also blessed by Ashwinikumars.
6. Sixth Sage Composer of classical music
Vamdev : Vamdev gave Samagan (i.e. music) to this country. Vamdev is considered to be the Suttadarshta of the fourth chapter of Rigveda, the son of Gautam Rishi and the philosopher of Janmatrayi. Bharat Natya Shastra written by Bharat Muni is inspired by Samveda. Complete information about music and musical instruments is found in Samveda, written thousands of years ago.
When Vamdev was in his mother’s womb, he had knowledge of his previous birth etc. He thought, everyone is born from the mother’s vagina and it is painful, hence the mother’s stomach should be torn and the child should come out. Vamdev’s mother realized this.Therefore, knowing that his life was in danger, he sought protection from Goddess Aditi. Then, after revealing all his knowledge to Indra, Vamdev took the form of a red bird through yoga and came out of his mother’s womb without any trouble.
7. Seventh Rishi, leader of the Gurukul tradition
Shaunak : Shaunak achieved the unique honor of being the Vice Chancellor by running a Gurukul of ten thousand students and this was the first time any sage achieved such an honour. Vedic acharya and sage who was the son of Shunak Rishi.
If we tell again, Vashishtha, Vishwamitra, Kanva, Bhardwaj, Atri, Vamdev and Shaunak; These are those seven sages who have given so much to this country that the grateful country has given them such immortality by placing them in the constellations of the sky that as soon as we hear the word Saptarishi, our imagination stops at the constellations of the sky.
Apart from this, it is believed that all the sages like Agastya, Kashyap, Ashtavakra, Yajnavalkya, Katyayan, Aitareya, Kapil, Gemini, Gautam etc., being from the family of the above seven sages, they also get the same status.
