Vyasa

In Hindu mythology, a sage who is traditionally considered to be the author of
the Mahabharata, the later of the two
great Sanskrit epics. Vyasa is the son of
the sage Parashara as a result of his dalliance with the ferrywoman Satyavati.
Later in life Satyavati marries King
Shantanu but only after extracting the
promise that their children will rule,
instead of Shantanu’s eldest son,
Bhishma. Satyavati’s first son dies in
childhood, and the second dies after his
marriage but before having any children. In her desperation to preserve
Shantanu’s line, Satyavati calls on Vyasa
to sleep with her younger son’s wives,
Ambika and Ambalika. According to
tradition Vyasa is very ugly, and both of
the women involuntarily react when
Vyasa appears in her bed. Ambalika
turns pale, causing her son, Pandu, to be
born with an unnaturally pale complexion, and Ambika covers her eyes, causing her son, Dhrtarashtra, to be born
blind. Vyasa also has sexual relations
with Ambika’s maidservant, who gives
herself to him willingly, and from her is
born Vidura. The descendants of Pandu
and Dhrtarashtra are the Pandavas and
Kauravas, respectively, who are the two
warring factions whose enmity drives
the Mahabharata. Thus Vyasa is not only
the author of the Mahabharata, but also
the source of the two families whose
struggle is described in it.
770
Vyasa