Kashyapa

Quick Facts

About Kashyapa

The prajapati from whom the epic derives most of the world's contending races, and specifically the quarrel that runs through its opening books: on Kadru he begot the thousand serpents, on Vinata the two great birds. He granted both sisters exactly the boons they asked for and so set snake against bird for ages. When the newborn Garuda, still hungry after eating the Nishadas, came back to ask what else he might eat, it was Kashyapa who sent him to the lake where an elephant and a tortoise, two cursed brothers, had been fighting since they failed to divide a house.

In Their Words

Each of you shall have what you asked for; do not come to me afterwards about the rest.

Kashyapa

Traits

• progenitive
• even-handed
• learned
• patient

Story Appearances

• The Wager Over the Horse's TailHusband who granted both sisters their boons
• The Elephant and the TortoiseFather who pointed his son to his meal❧ 16 min
• Garuda and the AmritaFather of the great bird❧ 19 min

Stories Featuring Kashyapa

22 further tales on this site name Kashyapa, in canonical reading order.

• The Lineages of Gods and DemonsVaishampayana recites the descent of every creature from Brahma and the daughters of DakshaAdi Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Court of Sages at the Dvaita LakeAn exile that filled up with brahmanas instead of soldiersVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• When Forgiveness Is Not a VirtueAn angry queen quotes an asura grandfather at a patient kingVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Mountain That Answers SpeechWhere a sage's temper made silence the price of passageVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• Rudra's Share and the Sinking EarthTwo quarrels over what may be given away, on the Kalinga shoreVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Muni Who Would Not Stay DeadA hunting accident, a vanished body, and an answer about fearVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Cow at the Bottom of the WorldSurabhi, the four cows of the quarters, and the cities beneath PatalaUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• Garuda's Map of the WorldThe four directions described from a bird's backUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Ascetic Who Would Not Be CarriedA thought Garuda never spoke aloud costs him his wingsUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• Sanjaya Describes the EarthThe blind king asks what the earth is worth, and his charioteer answers with the whole of itBhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Lords of the Waters and the TreasuresBalarama walks the Sarasvati past the fords where Varuna, Kubera, Indra and Surya won what they holdShalya Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Princes the Earth HidWhat was left of the Kshatriyas after the axeShanti Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Yajus Taken From the SunA goddess entering a man's mouth, and the fee split in twoShanti Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Tribes Beyond the PaleBhishma names the peoples of the borders and dates them to the ending of the first ageShanti Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Three Born of the FireBhrigu, Angiras and Kavi rise from a libation, and three gods claim themAnushasana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Savitri Mantra of SalutationsBhishma gives Yudhishthira the roll of names to be said at dawnAnushasana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Names That Cleanse SinAsked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• What Sends a Man to Heaven or HellBhishma on gifts, the Sraddha, and the two lists of deedsAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Kinds of Sons and Their SharesBhishma divides a dead man's property, names the children of crossed orders, and settles who a son belongs toAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• Four Faces and a Blue ThroatUma asks her husband to account for himselfAnushasana Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Wind Answers the Thousand-Armed KingKartavirya boasts, and an invisible voice begins to argueAnushasana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Eight Who Questioned BrahmaThe ladder from the Unmanifest down to a bodyAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 21 min

Character Arc

1. 1The Two BoonsA thousand serpent sons for one wife, two of surpassing strength for the other
2. 2The LakeSends the starving Garuda to the elephant and the tortoise

Key Relationships

• Father➝Garuda
• Wife➝Vinata
• Wife➝Kadru

Places in Kashyapa's Story

Drawn from the stories Kashyapa appears in.

• Naimisharanyaनैमिषारण्य
• The Oceanसमुद्र
• Alamva Lakeआलम्ब
• Gandhamadanaगन्धमादन
• Himavatहिमवत्
• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Mahishmatiमाहिष्मती
• Yamunaयमुना
• Saraswatiसरस्वती
• Sarayuसरयू
• Brahmalokaब्रह्मलोक
• Indraprasthaइंद्रप्रस्थ

Related Characters

Others counted among the Divine Beings.

• ❉Krishna
• ◭Hanuman
• ❧Kacha
• ≈Goddess Ganga
• ★The Eight Vasus
• ॐSage Vyasa