Kashyapa

Father of All Creatures

Kashyapa is a revered rishis, a sage, and the ancestor of all Devas, Asuras, Nagas and eventually humans! His name means turtle or tortoise and he is actually a son of one of the Saptarishis, specifically Marichi. As a sage, Kashyapa wrote on a number of topics which include infant care, childhood diseases, music, architecture, iconography and the decorative arts. However, he is most famous as a progenitor of devas and asuras, believed to be an human avatar of Shiva, responsible for the flooding of Bharatavarsa during Samudra Manthana. Otherwise, Kashyapa acts as a guru in Bharatavarsa, Bod and even in the Frozen Wastes, bringing education, dispelling ignorance and establishing civilization in the wake of destruction! In distant lands such as Parsa, the lands of Bharat were even once known as Kasperia or Kaspapyros. By whatever name, Kashyapa is beleived to own the earth after the war with King Arjuna in the Mahabharatam, calling the world Kashyapi. Kashyapa himself is seen as either the son of Marichi, one of the Saptarrishis, or as being Manasaputras of Brahma. He had anywhere from thirteen to twenty-one wives, most of which were daughters of Daksha. His most notable wives were Aditi, Diti, Vinata, Kadru and Danu. Aditi bore two main groups of Devas, the Vasus or Elementals and Adityas or Celestials. Major members include the god of fire Agni, the embodiment of the sun Surya, the moon god Chandra, the embodiment of water Varuna, the god of air Vayu among others. Both the Vasus and Adityas make up the primary devas worshipped besides the Trimurti. Meanwhile Diti became the mother of the Asuras, specifically the Daityas, including her two sons Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha and one daughter Sinhika. Some of Kashyapas other children include Garuda and Arjuna with Vinata, the Nagas with Kadru and the Danavas with Danu.

Depiction Kashyapa is depicted as monk with elongated earlobes and a shaved head, reverant and focused. Sometimes he is making an offering of flowers to a wish-fulfilling cow. Otherwise he reflects the posture and qualities of wisdom, concentration and reverence.

Kashyapa's Curse According to legend, Kashyapa had once been incarnated as Vasudeva, the father of Krishna, thanks to a curse from Brahma. He had once desired to pray and perform rituals, desiring for the welfare of all life in the world--all of his descendants. Varuna lended him the mystic cow Kamadhenu from heaven, able to provide endless milk for his extensive offerings. which he successfully completed. But even after completing his rituals, Kashyapa grew greedy and did not return Kamadhenu, a wish-fulfilling sacred beast. When confronted by Varuna, he states that gifts given to a Brahmana (a priest) should never be taken back, that to do so is a sin. Varuna called on Brahma who appeaered before Kashyapa, imploring him to not to be greedy, but Kashyapa was stubborn. Enraged, Brahma cursed him so that he would be reborn on earth as cowherd! Kashyapa quickly repented so Brahma assured him that Vishnu would incarnate as his son, making him the father of the legendary Krishna!