Teachers day is celebrated all over the world albeit on different dates. In India it is celebrated on 5th September, the birth anniversary of Dr Radhakrishnan. He was an Indian philosopher and statesman, a scholar of comparative religion and philosophy and also the second President of India. 

Gurus in India are highly revered and worshiped since ancient times. The relationship between a guru and shishya was that of devotion and respect. On the occasion of Teachers’ Day, sharing with you some of the most famous teachers/Gurus from Indian Mythology.

Ved Vyas 

He is considered to be the Guru of Gurus and the festival of Guru Purnima is dedicated to him. He was the scribe of Vedas and the Puranas. The great epic of Maharashtra was authored by him. 

Parshuram

Considered to be the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu, he was the mentor to Bhishma Pitama and Dronacharya. Karna too learned the art of warfare from him. 

Dronacharya

Dronacharya is the most popular among the mythological teacher. Dronacharya award for outstanding  coaches in sports and games is also conferred by the Indian Government. He was Kauravas and Pandavas ‘Guru’. He gave them knowledge of weapons and the art of warfare. Eklavya gained warfare knowledge by making his idol and practicing archery in front of it. 

Valmiki

Valmiki was the guru of Lord Rama. When Sita took refuge at his ashram and gave birth to Luv and Kush, he taught them shastras and the art of using weapons. He also wrote Ramayana.

Vashishtha

He was one of the great Saptrishis. He was a teacher to Dashrath’s sons Ram, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan. He also defeated King Vishwamitra before the latter turned towards spirituality and became a sage himself.  

Vishwamitra

He wrote the Gayatri Mantra and was also the teacher of Lord Ram and Laxman. He taught them the usage of celestial weapons (Devastras) to be used in warfare. He guided them in defeating the powerful demons like Tataka, Maricha and Subahu.

Brihaspati

Brihaspati was the ‘Guru of Devas’ and appeared in Rigveda. He carried a special bow called Rta or ‘cosmic order’. He protected the Devas in warfare.

Shukracharya

Son of Bhrigu and the third Manu, he is also one of the famous Saptrishi and was Guru of Daityas or Asuras. Per Mahabharata he mentored  Bhishma Pitamah and taught him political science. 

Source: India.com