Kashyapa
कश्यप
Kaśyapa
Universal progenitor of gods, asuras, nagas, birds, and beasts + father of Vamana avatara
Consort
Aditi, Diti, Danu, Vinata, Kadru, and 8 more (the 13 daughters of Daksha)
Presiding deity
Surya + Brahma
Principal sons
- • The Adityas (12 solar gods, including Vishnu as Vamana)
- • The Daityas, Danavas
- • Garuda + Aruna (sons of Vinata)
- • The Nagas (sons of Kadru)
Veda contribution
Composer of sukta in Rigveda Mandala 9 (Soma); rishi of many later additions
Associated tirthas
- • Kashmir (named for Kashyapa-mira, the lake-of-Kashyapa)
- • Kashyapa kund (Anantnag)
Story
Kashyapa is the great progenitor — the father, through his thirteen wives (the daughters of Daksha), of the entire created order of the present age: the gods (Adityas), the asuras (Daityas and Danavas), the birds (Garuda), the serpents (Nagas), the cattle, the wild beasts, and every plant. Of his sons, the most famous is Vishnu himself born to Aditi as Vamana, the 5th avatara. Kashmir is traditionally said to have been a vast lake that Kashyapa drained for habitation — the name Kashmira itself preserves his presence in the land. He is one of the universal rishis whose lineage every brahmana not assigned another gotra adopts; the Kashyapa gotra is therefore one of the most widely held.
Key teaching
All differentiation — divine and demonic, bird and serpent, human and beast — proceeds from a single source. The rishi who sees this lineage knows that all beings are kin.
Principal scriptures
- • Rigveda Mandala 9
- • Bhagavata Purana 6.6
- • Mahabharata Adi Parva 65-66
- • Atharvaveda Kashyapa-sukta
Modern relevance
Kashyapa is the default gotra for any brahmana whose lineage gotra has been lost, making it the most populous gotra by adoption. Kashmir bears his name, and the Kashyapa kund at Anantnag is still in worship.