Ved Vyas Jayanti - A festival to pay respect to Guru (the spiritual teacher)
Aashdh Shukla Purnima is known as the birth day of Ved Vyas. The other names for this day are Vyas Purnima or Guru Purnima or Aashaadhi Purnima.In the Hinduism Ved Vyas is the Aadi Guru (the first spiritual teacher) that is why this Tithi is known as Vyas Purnima or Guru Purnima. The position of the Guru is very high in the Hindu culture. One can find a lot of things in the scriptures about Guru and his importance in the life of an individual. It is Guru who leads one from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge. This day is celebrated as Guru Purnima in the memory of the great sage and Aadi Guru Ved Vyas.
Important things about Ved Vyas -
> His father was great sage Parashar.
> His mother was Satyavati.
> Ved Vyas is known as Krishna Dwaipayan. (As he had dark complexion so he is called Krishna and he was born on an island in the river Yamuna so he is called Dwaipayan.)
> Vedas are the collection of hymns which have divine knowledge and Vyas is a compiler or a splitter or a divider. He classified or divided the Vedas into four parts so he is known as Ved Vyas.
> Ved Vyas wrote eighteen Purans.
> Ved Vyas wrote the great epic Mahabharat.
