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Kashyapa (Sanskrit
कश्यप kaśyapa) was
an ancient sage (rishis),
who is one of the
Saptarshis in the
present Manvantara;
with others being
Atri, Vashishtha,
Vishvamitra, Gautama,
Jamadagni,
Bharadwaja Vamana avatar, Rishi Kashyapa's son with Aditi, in the court of King Bali.  He was the father of the Devas, Asuras, Nagas and all of humanity. He married Aditi, with whom he fathered Agni, the Adityas, and most importantly Lord Vishnu took his fifth avtar as Vamana, the son of Aditi, in the seventh Manvantara. With his second wife, Diti, he begot the Daityas. Diti and Aditi were daughters of King Daksha Prajapati and sisters to Sati, Shiva's consort. Kashyapa received the earth, obtained by Parashurama's conquest of King Kartavirya Arjuna and henceforth, earth came to be known as "Kashyapi". He was also the author of the treatise Kashyap Samhita, or Braddha Jivakiya Tantra, which is considered, a classical reference book on Ayurveda especially in the fields of Ayurvedic Pediatrics, Gynecology & Obstetrics. It can be safely assumed that there were many Kashyapas and the name indicates a status and not just one individual. Also according to Greek historian Strabo, the name 'Caspian' and the Caspian Sea are supposed to have been derived from his name, as is also believed by the Hindus from India. Birth and Lineage of Kashyapa He is the son of Marichi, one of the ten sons (Maanasa-putras) of the Creator Brahma. The Prajapati Daksha gave his thirteen daughters (Aditi, Diti, Kadru, Danu, Arishta, Surasa, Surabhi, Vinata, Tamra, Krodhavasa, Ida, Khasa and Muni [6] in marriage to Kashyapa. * His sons from Aditi or Adityas (Sons of Aditi) were, Aṃśa, Aryaman, Bhaga, Dhūti, Mitra, Pūṣan, Śakra, Savitṛ, Tvaṣṭṛ, Varuṇa, Viṣṇu, and Vivasvat or Vivasvan, who went on to start the Solar Dynasty (Suryavansha), which later came to be known as Ikshvaku dynasty, after his great grandson, King Ikshvaku, whose subsequent kings were, Kukshi, Vikukshi, Bana, Anaranya, Prithu, Trishanku, and finally King Raghu, who gave it the name, Raghuvansha (Dynasty of Raghu), and then further leading up to Lord Rama, the son of Dashratha. * His sons from Diti were, Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha and a daughter Sinhika, who later became the wife of Viprachitti. Hiranyakashipu had four sons, Anuhlada, Hlada, Prahlada, and Sanhlada, who further extended the Daityas. * Garuda and Aroona are the sons of Kashyapa from his wife, Vinata * The Nāgas (serpents) are his sons from Kadru. * The Danavas are his sons from Danu. * The Bhagavata Purana states that the Apsaras were born from Kashyap and Muni. In the family line of Kashyapa, along with him there are two more discoverers of Mantras, namely, his sons Avatsara and Asita. Two sons of Avatsara, namely, Nidhruva and Rebha, are also Mantra-seers. Asita had a son named Shandila, from whom the famous Shandilya family line (Gotra) started. In the Manvantara period named 'Svarochisha', Kashyapa was one of the seven Sages for that manvantara. The Indian valley of Kashmir in the himalayas is named after him. Legend states that the vale of Kashmir was a vast high altitude lake which was drained by Kashyap rishi, out of which the beautiful valley of Kashmir emerged, hence the name Kashyapmira which corrupted overtime to become Kashmir. |
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