Great Seer

Gautama Maharishi was one of the Maharishis of Vedic times, known to have been the discoverer of Mantras -- 'Mantra-drashtaa', in Sanskrit. The Rig Veda has several suktas that go with his name. He was the son of Dirgha-tamas, belonging to the line of Angiras. The Devi Bhagavatam says that the river Godavari is so named because of its association with Gautama. He had two sons by name Vaamadeva and Nodhas, both themselves discoverers of Mantras. There is a hymn called Bhadra in the Sama Veda which again is ascribed to Gautama Maharishi. Gautama is one of the sapta-rishis (seven Rishis) of the current Manvantara. In Tibet, many Buddhists carve mantras into rocks as a form of devotion. ... The Rig Veda ऋग्वेद (Sanskrit ṛc praise + veda knowledge) is the earliest of the four Hindu religious scriptures known as the Vedas. ... In Hinduism, the Angiris (or Angiras) are a group of angels responsible for watching over humans performing sacrifices. ... The Godavari River is a major waterway in India, next to the Ganges and Indus rivers. ... The Sama Veda (सामवेद), or Veda of Holy Songs, is third in the usual order of enumeration of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures. ... Manvantara (Sanskrit). ...

Personal life

His wife is Ahalya, herself the mentally generated daughter of Creator Brahma. The Puranas speak of the story wherein it is described how Gautama won the hand of Ahalya by perambulating the divine cow in order to fulfill the stipulation of Brahma that whoever first goes round the whole Earth wil win the hand of Ahalya. The Chief priest of King Janaka of Mithila, by name Shatananda, was the son of Gautama and Ahalya. Gautama's sixty-year long penance is mentioned in the Shanti parva of the Mahabharata. The Narada-purana describes the story of the 12-year famine during which Gautama fed all the Rishis and saved them. Later after several years, Rama and Lakshmana while going to Mithilapuri with Sage Vishwamitra saw this hermitage. ... Brahma (written Brahmā in IAST) (Devanagari ब्रह्मा, pronounced as ) is the Hindu God of Creation, and one of the Hindu Trinity - Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. ... Purana (Sanskrit पुराण, purāṇa, meaning ancient or old) is the name of a genre (or a group of related genres) of Indian written literature (as opposed to oral literature). ... In Ancient India, Janaka was the King of Mithila Kingdom. ... * Mithila (Sanskrit: मिथिला, mithilā) was a kingdom in ancient India. ... Manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra The (Devanagari: ), is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the . ...

More details

The descent of Lord Shiva as Tryambakeshvar, that constitutes the source of the Jyotirlinga nearby, happened for the sake of Gautama. The Brahmaanda-purana mentions that one of the sub-branches of the Raanaayani branch of Sama Veda was initiated by this Gautama. Some famous disciples of Gautama were Praachina-yogya, Shaandilya, Gaargya, and Bharadwaaja. Shiva (Sanskrit: शिव; Hindi: शिव (when used to distinguish lordly status), and written Åšiva in the official IAST transliteration, pronounced as ) is a form of Ishvara or God in the later Vedic scriptures of Hinduism. ... A jyotirling or jyotirlinga is a shrine where the Hindu God Shiva is worshipped in the form of a jyotirlingam or golden lingam. There are traditionally twelve Jyotirlinga shrines in India: Somnath in Gujarat is home to the foremost Jyotirlinga temple. ... The Sama Veda (सामवेद), or Veda of Holy Songs, is third in the usual order of enumeration of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures. ...

Author of the earliest Dharma-sutra

Gauatama was also the author of Dharma-sutra known as Gautama Dharma sutra. It is in fact the earliest Dharma Sutra. It contains 28 chapters with 1000 aphorisms. Almost every aspect of the observances of Hindu dharma - including the rules for the four Ashramas, the forty samskaras, the four varnas, kingly duties, the punishments for various offences, the obsequies for the dead, do's and don'ts of food consumption, the dharmas of women, the rules for Praayaschitta (atonement for sins), and the rules of succession of property. In this sense Gautama's Dharma Shastra may perhaps be considered the oldest law book of the world. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Gautama, the author of the school of philosophy that goes by the name of 'Nyaaya' (Logic) is perhaps a different Gautama.