Authorship of the great Sanskrit language epic poem of India, the Mahābhārata, is attributed to the sage Kṛsṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa. This study focuses on the depiction of Vyāsa in the Mahābhārata, where he is an important character in the tale he is credited with composing.
Other scholars have interpreted Vyāsa as an incarnation of Nārāyana Visṇu. This study, however, demonstrates that he is so depicted only very rarely in the epic, and that elsewhere the Mahābhārata portrays Vyāsa as corresponding meaningfully with Brahmā. Vyāsa is, in fact, the earthly counterpart to Brahmā in the Mahābhārata, as Kṛsṇa is of Visṇu, etc. The interpretation of Vyāsa is enriched by the different perspectives provided by other literature, including dramas, Jātaka tales, Arthasāstra, and Purāṇas.