Rishi Directory
Explore 55 Vedic Rishis — the ancient sages whose wisdom and tapas established the spiritual lineages that continue to this day. Each rishi page features origin stories, family trees, Vedic contributions, and AI-generated portraits.
Some families trace their Gotra not to a rishi but to a dynasty, a divinity or a king. They are here too.
Saptarishis(7)
Bharadwaja
भारद्वाज
Son of the sage Brihaspati (guru of the Devas) and Mamata.
Kashyapa
कश्यप
Kashyapa was born from the mind of Brahma.
Vashishtha
वशिष्ठ
Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana list Vashishtha among the original mind-born sons (manasaputras) of Brahma.
Gautama
गौतम
Gautama belongs to the Angirasa lineage.
Jamadagni
जमदग्नि
Jamadagni is the son of Sage Richika and Satyavati (daughter of King Gadhi).
Vishwamitra
विश्वामित्र
Unlike all other rishis on this list, Vishwamitra was born as King Kaushika of the Chandravamsha (Lunar Dynasty), son of King Gadhi of Kanyakubja.
Atri
अत्रि
Atri was born from the eyes of Brahma according to Vishnu Purana.
Bhrigu Lineage(10)
Jamadagni
जमदग्नि
Jamadagni is the son of Sage Richika and Satyavati (daughter of King Gadhi).
Bhrigu
भृगु
Bhrigu is credited with composing the Bhrigu Samhita, a vast astrological treatise said to contain the horoscopes of every soul that would ever be born.
Chyavana
च्यवन
Chyavana was the son of Bhrigu and Puloma.
Aurva
और्व
The Kshatriya kings of the Haiheya dynasty attacked the Bhargava Brahmins to seize their wealth.
Vatsa
वत्स
Vatsa (also called Vatsa Bhargava) belongs to the Bhargava sub-lineage and is part of the five-rishi Pravara (ancestral declaration) used by Bhargava Brahmins.
Srivatsa
श्रीवत्स
Srivatsa (also spelled Shrivatsa) is a Bhargava rishi whose name means "beloved of Sri (Lakshmi)."
Shaunaka
शौनक
Shaunaka is the patronymic meaning "descendant of Shunaka."
Savarna
सावर्ण
Savarna (also Savarna Bhargava) is a rishi whose name means "of the same varna/complexion."
Markandeya
मार्कण्डेय
Born to sage Mrikandu (Bhrigu lineage) and wife Marudvati.
Mandavya
माण्डव्य
Rishi Mandavya, more fully known as Ani Mandavya ("Mandavya of the stake/spike"), is one of the most dramatically storied sages in Hindu literature.
Vashishtha Lineage(6)
Parashara
पराशर
Parashara's origin is steeped in tragedy and redemption.
Shakti
शक्ति
Shakti was the eldest of the hundred sons of the great Saptarishi Vashishtha and his wife Arundhati.
Upamanyu
उपमन्यु
Upamanyu was a disciple of Rishi Ayodha Dhaumya (also spelled Ayoda Dhaumya), who belonged to the Vashishtha lineage.
Kaundinya
कौण्डिन्य
Kaundinya belongs to the Vashishtha lineage, with the Pravara Vashishtha-Maitravaruna-Kaundinya.
Dhananjaya
धनंजय
Rishi Dhananjaya is associated with the Vashishtha lineage and is connected to the Samaveda tradition.
Laugakshi
लौगाक्षि
Laugakshi is a rishi-scholar associated with grammar (vyakarana) and philosophy, with particular connections to the Paippalada Samhita of the Atharvaveda.
Angirasa & Bharadwaja Lineage(12)
Bharadwaja
भारद्वाज
Son of the sage Brihaspati (guru of the Devas) and Mamata.
Gautama
गौतम
Gautama belongs to the Angirasa lineage.
Garga
गर्ग
Rishi Garga's lineage is traced through the Angirasa clan, specifically through Bharadwaja and Brihaspati.
Kanva
काण्व
Rishi Kanva belongs to the Angirasa lineage, descending through the line of Ajamidha.
Mudgala
मुद्गल
Mudgala belongs to the Angirasa lineage, specifically through the line of Bharmyashva (a descendant of the Puru/Bharata dynasty who became a Brahmarshi).
Harita
हरित
Harita belongs to the Angirasa lineage and is specifically connected to the line of Rishi Haritasa.
Maudgalya
मौद्गल्य
Maudgalya is a patronymic meaning "descendant of Mudgala."
Shatamarshana
शतमर्षण
Shatamarshana belongs to the Angirasa lineage and is specifically classified as a Vedic rishi.
Kutsa
कुत्स
Kutsa (also called Kutsa Angirasa) is one of the most important Rigvedic rishis, belonging to the Angirasa lineage.
Bhalanda
भालन्द
Bhalanda (also spelled Bhalandra or Bhalanda) is an obscure Vedic rishi associated with the Samaveda recitation traditions.
Kapi
कपि
Kapi is an ancient Rigvedic sage who is mentioned in the earliest Vedic hymns.
Dirghatamas
दीर्घतमस्
Dirghatamas Auchathya, son of Utathya and Mamata, of the Angirasa line, was born blind ("long darkness").
Kashyapa Lineage(7)
Kashyapa
कश्यप
Kashyapa was born from the mind of Brahma.
Agastya
अगस्त्य
Agastya has one of the most unique birth narratives in all of Hindu scripture.
Sandilya
शाण्डिल्य
Sandilya belongs to the Kashyapa lineage.
Naidhruva
नैधृव
Naidhruva is a patronymic meaning "descendant of Dhruva" or "related to Dhruva."
Jambu
जम्बू
Rishi Jambu is associated with the Kashyapa lineage and is connected to the Jambu tree (Syzygium cumini -- the Rose Apple or Jamun tree).
Maitreya
मैत्रेय
Rishi Maitreya is best known as the primary disciple of Rishi Parashara and the chief interlocutor (questioner) in the Vishnu Purana.
Dhaumya
धौम्य
Uddalaka holding back the water, Upamanyu blinded by eating arka leaves and restored by the Ashvins, Veda's long service (Mahabharata, Adi Parva).
Other Lineages(20)
Vashishtha
वशिष्ठ
Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana list Vashishtha among the original mind-born sons (manasaputras) of Brahma.
Vishwamitra
विश्वामित्र
Unlike all other rishis on this list, Vishwamitra was born as King Kaushika of the Chandravamsha (Lunar Dynasty), son of King Gadhi of Kanyakubja.
Atri
अत्रि
Atri was born from the eyes of Brahma according to Vishnu Purana.
Angirasa
आंगिरस
Born from the mouth of Brahma according to Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana.
Marichi
मरीचि
Marichi was the very first of Brahma's manasaputras — born directly from Brahma's mind/thought at the beginning of creation.
Kratu
क्रतु
Kratu was born from the hand of Brahma (some sources say from Brahma's creative will/sankalpa).
Pulastya
पुलस्त्य
Pulastya was born from the ears of Brahma.
Pulaha
पुलह
Pulaha was born from the navel of Brahma (some sources say from the space between Brahma's eyebrows or from his creative thought).
Katyayana
कात्यायन
Katyayana belongs to the Vishwamitra lineage, descending through the Kata sub-line (hence Katyayana -- "descendant of Kati").
Galava
गालव
Galava is a famous rishi whose story is told in detail in the Mahabharata, in a section called the Galavopakhyana (the sub-story of Galava).
Yajnavalkya
याज्ञवल्क्य
Yajnavalkya, son of Vajasani (hence called Vajasaneya), was a pupil of Vaishampayana in the Krishna Yajurveda school.
Uddalaka
उद्दालक
Uddalaka Aruni, son of Aruna, of the Gautama lineage, was a leading teacher of the Kuru-Panchala country.
Jaimini
जैमिनि
Jaimini was a pupil of Veda Vyasa, who gave him the Samaveda to carry forward.
Apastamba
आपस्तम्ब
Apastamba is the author of one of the most complete Sutra collections of the Krishna Yajurveda (Taittiriya) tradition: the Apastamba Shrauta, Grihya and Dharma Sutras.
Bodhayana
बोधायन
Bodhayana (Baudhayana) is the author of the oldest Sutra collection of the Krishna Yajurveda: the Baudhayana Shrauta, Grihya, Dharma and Shulba Sutras.
Dattatreya
दत्तात्रेय
Dattatreya is the son of Rishi Atri and Anasuya, born, in the Puranas, as a portion of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva together after the three gods tested Anasuya's virtue.
Tittiri
तित्तिरि
Tittiri is the sage after whom the Taittiriya branch of the Krishna Yajurveda is named.
Vikhanas
विखनस्
The Vaikhanasa Smarta and Shrauta Sutras.
Upagava
उपगव
Upagava survives mainly as a name in gotra and pravara lists and as a teacher named in Vedic texts; little narrative is preserved.
Lohita
लोहित
Lohita ("red") appears in the gotra and pravara lists as a sage of the Vishwamitra (Kaushika) group; Lohitas are listed among the families of Vishwamitra's descendants.
Vansh वंश Dynasty (2)
Royal lines descended from the Sun and the Moon, kept as Gotras by Kshatriya clans.
Devata देवता Divinity (1)
Divine founders of a Gotra.
Maharaja महाराजा King (3)
Kings whose descendants keep their name as a Gotra.
Agrasena
अग्रसेन
Maharaja Agrasena, in Agrawal tradition a Suryavanshi king, founded the city of Agroha in today's Hisar district of Haryana.
Ikshvaku
इक्ष्वाकु
Ikshvaku, son of Vaivasvata Manu, is the first king of Ayodhya and the founder of the Solar dynasty, which is also named after him.
Raivata
रैवत
Raivata Kakudmi was a king of Kushasthali, the city later rebuilt as Dwaraka.
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