Puyalasta was the rishi through whom
the gods communicated the Puranas to
mankind. But first he had to find one who
was worthy. This was Parasara, son of
Shakti,son of Vashishta the sage.One day
King Kalmashapada encountered Shakti on
a winding path in the forest and ordered him out of the way.When the sage refused,
telling the king to be more polite,he was
delivered a merciless whipping. Shakti
cursed the king saying he would turn
cannibal and a mindless rakshasa..So terrible was the power of the curse that no sooner
was it said than King Kalmashapada turned and killed and ate up Shakti ! And in
complete madness, he followed up the feast by eating all of Shakti’s one hundred
brothers.
Parasara was born after this terrible event in his family and was brought up by Vashishta, his
grandfather.He was taught the skills of war, the secrets of the body and the practice of the rituals..Thus he became a ferocious warrior and
wrecked havoc and carnage on the rakshasas of the world. Eventually, his grandfather stopped him, saying that for all his savagery,his family would not return as this was destiny,both of his fathers and of the rakshasas.So it was that Parasara went to the ashram of sage Pulastaya and was taught the Puranas.He married Prithi and had two sons,Agasthya and Visarava, and in this way the Puranas came to mankind.