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The Rishis of India
by Vikas Kamat
First Online: November 01, 2007
Page Last Updated: January 02, 2012
The Rishis (rough transliteration; a.k.a. Rushi, rshi) are the
Hindu sages and seers who developed the Hindu beliefs and philosophies. The
Vedas, the sacred hymns known as the matras, and all the great schools of
Indian thought are attributed to the various Rishis, who are believed to have
been divinely inspired.

Some Great Rishis of India
- Agastya --The Hindu sage (Rishi) who drank the ocean empty.
- Bhairatha -- The Hindu sage who brought the river Ganga from heaven to
earth.
- Bharadwaj --A sage of Dwaparayuga period; father of teacher Drona
- Bharata -- Sage who wrote the treatise on Indian Dance known as Natyashastra
- Brahaspati -- Name of a wise Hindu sage who accumulated tremendous
knowledge
- Dadheechi Hindu sage who sacrificed his backbone so good may triumph over
evil
- Dattatreya -- A sage who had elements of all three Vedic Gods (Trimuttis)
- Durvasa -- An ill tempered sage from Indian mythologies who cursed
Shakuntala.
- Gowtama -- Sage of Ramayana period who cursed his wife Ahalya into
becoming a stone for her infidelity
- Jamadagni --A sage from Indian mythologies who is the father of Parashurama.
- Kamban -- South Indian Poet-sage of 11th century A.D. who wrote the
masterpiece Ramayana in Tamil
- Madhvacharaya (1239-1319), Hindu sage who advocated Dvaitism, which
emphasized the immutable difference between the individual soul and the
supreme soul
- Manu -- The sage who set up the laws for man-woman relationship in the
society
- Narad -- Hindu sage and traveler; devotee of Lord Vishnu [more]
- Parasar --a sage who begot Vyasa though Satyavati before she married
Shantanu
- Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) --A great sage of India, who made great
inroads into peace and spiritual knowledge
- Vaishampayana -- A sage, and a pupil of Vyasa who recited the story of
Mahabharat at a sacrifice held by Janamejaya.
- Valmiki --Hindu sage who is believed to have composed the epic Ramayana.
- Vatsyayana -- The Hindu poet who wrote the famed treatise Kamasutra of
Vatsyayana
- Vishwamitra A great Hindu sage and scholar who is referred to as the
Brahmarshi; tested truthfulness of Harischandra
- Vyasa Ancient Indian sage and writer of the epic Mahabharata; son of
Parasar and Satyavati
- Yajnavalkya A great Hindu scholar and sage (Brahmarshi), said to have
written the Shukla Yajurveda
Pictures of Great Rishis
Rashtrothan Parishad/Kamat's Potpourri
 Sage Vasishta Sage Vasishta was the preceptor of Rama
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