Sankhyayana
{{Short description|Vedic Sage}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = Acharya
| name = Sankhyayana
| native_name = आचार्य शाङ्खायन
| occupation = Vedic sage, Philosopher, Teacher, Author and Seer of Vedas
| era = Vedic Period
| known_for = Sankhyayana Brahmana of Rigveda
| footnotes = The author of Kaushitaki or Sankhyayana Brahmana
}}
Sankhyayana (Sanskrit: शाङ्खायन) was a Vedic sage mentioned in the text Rigaveda. He was the sage of Vashishtha lineage. He was the author of the text Kaushitaki Brahmana of Rigaveda which later called as Sankhyayana Brahmana.{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2022-07-24 |title=Creation of Brahmā—His Vision of Nārāyaṇa [Chapter 8] |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-bhagavata-purana/d/doc1127055.html |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Knapp |first=Stephen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a2KPChj7lTwC&q=sage+sankhyayana |title=The Heart of Hinduism: The Eastern Path to Freedom, Empowerment, and Illumination |date=2005 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=978-0-595-35075-9 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=General |first=India Office of the Registrar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1fccAQAAMAAJ |title=Census of India, 1961 |date=1962 |publisher=Manager of Publications |language=en}}
Description
The Vedic sage Sankhyayana had been mentioned in several ancient texts of Hinduism. He was the Acharya of the notable sages Parashara and Brihspati, etc.{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2017-02-28 |title=Sankhyayana, Sāṅkhyāyana: 2 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/sankhyayana |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}} In Srimad Bhagavatam Purana, he is mentioned as the listener of the text from the sage Sanatkumara. He was the chief sage among the transcendental sages Maitreya, Parashara and Brihspati, etc. when the sage Sanatkumara was describing the glories of Lord Vishnu to them. He inquired about the knowledge of Srimad Bhagavatam to the sage Sanatkumara. Then the sage Sanatkumara explained the text Srimad Bhagavatam to him.{{Cite book |last=Hudson |first=D. Dennis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IE8DwAAQBAJ |title=The Body of God: An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram |date=2008-09-25 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=978-0-19-536922-9 |language=en}} In the Vedic tradition, a Griha Sutra text is attributed to the sage Sankhyayana called as Sankhyayana Griha Sutra.{{Cite book |last=Raman |first=Sita Anantha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bOPNEAAAQBAJ&q=sage+sankhyayana |title=Women in India: A Social and Cultural History [2 volumes] |date=2009-06-08 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-313-01440-6 |language=en}} Similarly there is another text of Tantra Vidya attributed to him known as Sankhyayanatantram.{{Cite book |last=Chowkhamba Krishnadas Academy |first=Varanasi |url=https://archive.org/details/FqaU_sankhyayana-tantra-of-sankhyayana-with-hindi-commentary-by-kapildev-narayan-vitt |title=Sankhyayana Tantra Of Sankhyayana With Hindi Commentary By Kapildev Narayan, Vittal Das Sanskrit Series 30 Chowkhamba Krishnadas Academy, Varanasi}}
Hermann Oldenberg in his translation of the text "The Griha Sutra" had considered the proper name of the sage Sankhyayana as Suyajña.{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2014-09-04 |title=Introduction |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/sankhayana-grihya-sutra/d/doc116454.html |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}