Vasishthiputra

Vasishthiputra is a Sanskrit epithet that literally means "son of Vasishtha." In Hindu literature, Vasishtha is a highly regarded Vedic sage (rishi) and one of the Saptarishi, whose lineage is cited in various Puranic and epic texts. The term Vasishthiputra functions primarily as a patronymic rather than a fixed personal name. Consequently, it refers to any individual who is a son or descendant of Vasishtha in a given tradition, and there is no single canonical figure universally identified by this title.

Because Vasishtha’s family appears in many genealogies across the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and multiple Puranas, the referent of Vasishthiputra varies by text and manuscript. In some lists, it is used to denote minor princes, sages, or ritual officials associated with Vasishtha’s line; in others, it may be used generically to indicate a descendant of the sage without specifying a personal name. This fluid usage reflects the role of Vasishtha as a foundational teacher whose lineage was invoked to establish sanctity and legitimacy.

In modern scholarship, Vasishthiputra is typically understood as a descriptive title rather than a single, separate character. It appears in philological discussions of genealogies and in translations of Sanskrit passages where ancestry is emphasized.

See also: Vasishtha, Arundhati, Saptarishi, Hindu genealogy.