Maitreya Maharshi

Maitreya, “the son of Mitrā”

Aśvinī has other meanings too: see all meanings of Aśvinī. Kāma has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kāma. Yajña has other meanings too: see all meanings of Yajña. Antariksha has other meanings too: see all meanings of Antariksha. Atirātra has other meanings too: see all meanings of Atirātra. Buddhi has other meanings too: see all meanings of Buddhi. Kalpa has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kalpa. Kshetrajña has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kshetrajña. Kuhū has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kuhū. Śraddhā has other meanings too: see all meanings of Śraddhā. Dakshiṇā has other meanings too: see all meanings of Dakshiṇā. Śama has other meanings too: see all meanings of Śama.

Maitreya Maharshi was born in the lineage of Atri Maharshi. After several generations—beginning with Candra, followed by Budha, Purūravas, Bhīmaratha, and Divodāsa—Maitreya emerged as a renowned ṛshi. His life is detailed in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa calls him a great devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu, the dear friend of Vyāsa, one who has done all that is to be done, and the best of the knowers of tattva. Wandering the worlds of his own will, he came into the presence of Śrī Kṛshṇa on the bank of the Sarasvatī as Śrī Kṛshṇa was about to withdraw his avatāra, and Śrī Kṛshṇa commanded him to teach Vidura. Vidura found him at Gaṅgā-dvāra, Haridvāra, and Maitreya told him the Bhāgavata as he had heard it from his guru Parāśara: the creation of the worlds, kāla, the Varāha avatāra, Kapila‘s teaching to Devahūti, Daksha‘s yajña, Dhruva, Pṛthu, the Pracetas and Purañjana. These dialogues fill the third and fourth Skandhas. Maitreya was also a ṛtvij at the Rājasūya of Yudhishṭhira, went with Śrī Kṛshṇa to Videha, and came to Parīkshit‘s prāyopaveśa on the bank of the Gaṅgā.

The Agni Purāṇa gives his descent in the line of the Pāñcālas: he was the son of Divodāsa, the twin brother of Ahalyā, and the father of Somaka.

Parāśara’s Teachings

Maitreya Maharshi became a disciple of Parāśara Maharshi, a ṛshi of extraordinary trikāla-jñāna (knowledge of past, present, and future). Maitreya always appeared as a boy of about twelve years of age, radiating spiritual innocence and wisdom. Maitreya approached Parāśara Maharshi with a deep desire to learn all the Vedas, Vedāṅgas, and the mysteries of sṛshṭi rahasya (the secrets of creation). Parāśara possessed unparalleled knowledge of the universe, beyond the comprehension of ordinary ṛshis. Among his many disciples, Parāśara found Maitreya alone to be worthy of receiving his complete knowledge. After rigorous tutelage, Maitreya Maharshi mastered all the knowledge imparted by Parāśara and became equal to his guru in terms of vijñāna. Parāśara said to Maitreya, “You have learned all the śāstras. There is nothing more I can teach you.”

However, Maitreya continued to ask questions about sṛshṭi, its causes, its evolution, and the easiest means for human beings to attain moksha. He inquired about yoga, vairāgya, tapas, and whether there exists a simpler path that leads to the ultimate fruits of vaidika karma.

Vishṇu Purāṇa

In response, Parāśara revealed that the entire universe is Vishṇumaya—pervaded by Bhagavān Vishṇu, who is the embodiment of all deities, the trimūrti-s, prakṛti, purusha, the individual jīva, bandhana, and moksha. All of this was taught to Maitreya Maharshi and forms the central discourse of the Vishṇu Purāṇa. The Vishṇu Purāṇa contains not only the history of ṛshis and various yugas, but also detailed accounts of gandharva-s, deva-s, vidyādhara-s, and the structure of time and creation. This entire Purāṇa is structured as a dialogue between Parāśara and Maitreya.

Origin of Parāśara’s Knowledge

Maitreya once asked Parāśara how he came to possess such profound knowledge. Parāśara replied that Pulastya Brahmā bestowed this wisdom upon him out of gratitude for sparing his lineage. Parāśara, having received kāla-jñāna (the knowledge of cosmic time cycles), transmitted it entirely to Maitreya. At the conclusion of this teaching, Maitreya humbly sought forgiveness for his repeated questions and for occasionally interrupting his guru. Parāśara, pleased with Maitreya’s sincerity, bid him farewell.

Maitreya’s Tīrtha Yātrā and Encounters with the Pāṇḍavās & Kauravās

After learning from Parāśara, Maitreya set out on a tīrtha yātrā, visiting sacred rivers, ṛshi āśrama-s, and holy sites to witness in person what he had heard through śravaṇa. His journey led him to the Kāmyakavana in the Kuru Jāṅgala region—a forested area with patches of plains, known today by the word “jungle,” derived from Jāṅgala.

There he encountered Dharma-rāja Yudhishṭhira and the other Pāṇḍava-s, who were enduring great hardship due to the injustices inflicted upon them. Maitreya’s heart melted at their plight. He saw that they had exhausted all diplomatic efforts with the Kaurava-s, and that war was imminent.

Yudhishṭhira expressed to Maitreya that he desired peace and had even asked for just five villages, yet was refused. He lamented that he would be held responsible for the suffering of his brothers, wife, and the entire family.

Moved by compassion, Maitreya decided to counsel Dhṛtarāshṭra, the blind king. Ṛshi Vyāsa foresaw Maitreya’s arrival and advised Dhṛtarāshṭra to listen to him carefully, warning that Maitreya’s words were equivalent to brahma-vākya and held the power of ultimate truth.

When Maitreya arrived, Dhṛtarāshṭra welcomed him with great reverence. Maitreya informed him that he came from the Pāṇḍava-s, who remained steadfast in dharma despite their sufferings.

Maitreya urged Dhṛtarāshṭra to make peace, warning him of the catastrophic consequences of war. He described the might of Bhīma, who alone could vanquish powerful asuras, and stressed that the Kaurava-s had no strength equal to the Pāṇḍava-s, especially lacking the strength of dharma.

Despite this counsel, Duryodhana, intoxicated with arrogance, mocked Maitreya, ridiculing him by striking his thighs and laughing sarcastically. This gross disrespect angered the ṛshi. Maitreya cursed Duryodhana:

“In the impending war, you shall be defeated. Your thighs will be broken, and you will die rolling on the earth in utter disgrace, but even then your arrogance will not cease.”

Dhṛtarāshṭra begged for forgiveness, but Maitreya declared that unless they walked the path of dharma, the curse would not be nullified.

Vidura’s Quest

Refusing to stay longer in what he called a pāpakshetra (place of sin), Maitreya left the Kuru court. He advised Dhṛtarāshṭra to seek Vidura’s counsel, for Vidura would later guide the king after Maitreya’s departure. Later, Vidura set out to find Maitreya Maharshi. Crossing the Yamunā, visiting sacred rivers and harikshetra-s, Vidura reached the Gaṅgā where he found Maitreya seated in padmāsana, absorbed in yoga-nishṭha.

Vidura respectfully questioned Maitreya: “People act constantly for pleasures, but karma only leads to bondage and suffering. How can karma, which itself binds, be a means to remove pāpa?”

Maitreya explained that true prāyaścitta (atonement) is not just a mechanical act but involves genuine repentance and a change of heart. Performing karma with the right inner attitude leads to purification, but no karma can itself destroy other karma without inner transformation.

Teachings on Kṛshṇa’s Avatāra Rahasya

Vidura further asked about Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, his avatāra-s, the mystery of his actions, and how even righteous actions result in rebirth unless one realizes their true nature.

Maitreya revealed to Vidura that at the time of Kṛshṇa’s departure from the world, Kṛshṇa had personally instructed him in the avatāra rahasya (the supreme secret of divine incarnation). He explained that all of creation, karma, and karma-phala are within Vishṇu, and that Kṛshṇa performed actions for loka-kshema (the welfare of the world), while remaining untouched by their fruits.

Maitreya emphasized that performing karma with the attitude of īśvarārpaṇa (offering to God) severs the binding chain of karma. He explained that kṛshṇa-tattva allows for karma to produce benefit to the world without resulting in bondage to the doer. This profound knowledge was entrusted solely to Maitreya at the end of Kṛshṇa’s life.

Maitreya’s Legacy and the Avatāra Rahasya

Maitreya Maharshi is revered as the custodian of Kṛshṇa‘s tattva rahasya, which includes the secret of action without attachment, and the nature of purushottama. Maitreya explained the subtle difference between kāmyakarma (desire-driven action) and nishkāma karma (desireless action). Even actions performed for loka-kalyāṇa are technically kāmya unless performed with total surrender, seeing oneself as an instrument of the divine.

His teachings to Vidura are preserved as the Vidura–Maitreya Saṃvāda, found in the Mahābhārata, Bhāgavata Purāṇa, and Jaimini Bhārata.

Maitreya Maharshi remains eternally young in form, symbolizing the ever-renewing wisdom of the Sanātana Dharma. He is the guru for future yugas, having received directly from Bhagavān Kṛshṇa the secrets of action, detachment, and realization. His dialogues with Vidura, his interactions with Dhṛtarāshṭra and the Pāṇḍava-s, and his reception of Kṛshṇa’s teachings constitute a sacred legacy that guides seekers to this day.

Maitreya in the Agni Purāṇa

Agni Deva tells Vasishṭha Maharshi the line of the Pūru vaṃśa. In his wife Nīlinī, a son, Śānti, was born to Ajamīḍha. Śānti’s son was Purujāti, and Purujāti’s son Bāhyāśva. To Bāhyāśva five sons were born, Mukula, Sṛñjaya, Bṛhadishu, Yavīnara and Kṛmila, and they are famous as the Pāñcālas. Those of Mukula’s line are called the Kulyas, brāhmaṇas who follow the dharma of kshatriyas. To Mukula was born Cañcāśva, and to him were born twins, a son, Divodāsa, and a daughter, Ahalyā, who became the wife of Gautama. To Divodāsa was born Maitreya, and to Maitreya, Somaka.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 278

Per Bhāgavata Purāṇa

Śrī Kṛshṇa’s command

Uddhava tells Vidura how, at the end, he found Śrī Kṛshṇa sitting alone on the bank of the Sarasvatī, four-armed, in yellow silk, his right foot resting on his left leg, leaning against a young aśvattha tree. Then Maitreya came there by chance, into the presence of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, as he wandered the worlds of his own free will. Uddhava calls him a great devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu, the dear friend of Vyāsa, and one who has done all that is to be done. Maitreya had great love for Śrī Kṛshṇa; with joy and bhakti he bowed his head and listened as Śrī Kṛshṇa spoke to Uddhava.

When Vidura asked Uddhava for the teaching, Uddhava answered: “You must honour Maitreya Maharshi for tattva-jñāna. For Śrī Kṛshṇa himself, wishing to leave the world of humans, gave him that command at the last moment.” Hearing that Śrī Kṛshṇa had remembered him, Vidura wept with love. He left the bank of the Yamunā and after some days reached the place on the bank of the Gaṅgā where Maitreya Maharshi was.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 3, Chapter 4

Vidura at Gaṅgā-dvāra

Śuka tells Parīkshit that long ago Vidura left his house, full of every kind of wealth, went to the forest, and asked the revered Maitreya the very thing Parīkshit was now asking him. Parīkshit asks where Vidura met the venerable Maitreya; Vidura’s question, he says, cannot have been small, for Maitreya praised it, saying “Well asked, well asked”.

The great jñānī Maitreya was sitting at Gaṅgā-dvāra, Haridvāra, having renounced all karma. Vidura, his heart purified by bhakti for Śrī Kṛshṇa, came to him and, gladdened by his saintly nature, asked: men do karma seeking happiness and find only sorrow; what then is their duty? “O Maitreya, best of sādhus, teach us the auspicious path by which people worship Śrī Hari and purify their hearts with bhakti, so that Śrī Hari, dwelling in that pure heart, grants them the eternal jñāna of the Ātmā.” He asked what Śrī Hari does in his avatāras, how he creates, sustains and withdraws the world, and he begged Maitreya, a kinsman to those in distress, to draw out the essential account of Śrī Hari from all other accounts, as the bee draws honey from flowers.

Maitreya honoured him greatly, for Vidura asked for the sake of others, to give people the means of moksha. “Your mind is always fixed on Śrī Hari,” he said, “and through this discourse your fame too will spread in the world.” He told Vidura who he was: Yama, through the śāpa of Māṇḍavya Maharshi, was born of Vyāsa in the dāsī accepted as wife by Vicitravīrya, and Vidura is that Yama. “You are very dear to Śrī Hari and to his devotees. That is why Śrī Kṛshṇa, as he was withdrawing his avatāra, commanded me to teach you jñāna. I shall now describe to you in order the līlās that Śrī Hari revealed through yogamāyā for the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the world.”

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 3, Chapters 1, 5

The Purāṇa he heard from Parāśara

Maitreya began by saying that he would describe the glory of Śrī Hari as he had heard it from his guru, so that his own speech, soiled by other talk, might become pure. When Vidura asked how the ever-free Īśvara could seem bound as a jīva, Maitreya, free of ahaṅkāra, remembered Śrī Hari and answered with a smile: it is only the māyā of Śrī Hari; as a man in a dream sees his own head cut off, so the unbound one feels “I am bound”; as the trembling of the water seems to be in the reflected moon, so the qualities of the body seem to be in the ātmā. Vidura said that Maitreya’s words, like a sharp knife, had cut away his doubts.

Then, when Vidura asked the secret of the Purāṇas, Maitreya’s heart filled with joy and he spoke with a smile. He began the Bhāgavata to remove the sorrow of men, and gave its lineage: Śrī Hari himself told it to the maharshis; Saṅkarshaṇa taught it to Sanatkumāra; Sanatkumāra taught it to the muni Sāṅkhyāyana; Sāṅkhyāyana told it to his dear disciple Parāśara and to Bṛhaspati. “That Parāśara Maharshi is our guru. At the wish of Pulastya Maharshi, the compassionate Parāśara told me the Bhāgavata, the Ādi-Purāṇa. Vatsa, you have śraddhā and serve me with devotion, so I tell you that Purāṇa which I heard from Parāśara.”

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 3, Chapters 6–8

What he told Vidura

Through the rest of the third Skandha and the whole of the fourth, Maitreya speaks and Vidura asks, in this order:

  • the birth of Brahmā from the lotus, his tapas, his darśana of Śrī Hari and his stuti, and the ten kinds of creation (3.8–3.10);
  • kāla, which he calls the vibhūti of Parameśvara, and its divisions; and the creation by Brahmā (3.11–3.12);
  • the Varāha avatāra, Diti‘s conceiving, the śāpa on the dvārapālakas of Vaikuṇṭha, and the slaying of Hiraṇyāksha, which he heard from Brahmā’s own account to the devatās and told “without going beyond what my gurus told me” (3.13–3.19);
  • the creation by Brahmā after that, Svāyambhuva Manu, Kardama and Devahūti, and the teaching of Kapila Mahāmuni to his mother on bhakti, the tattvas, ashṭāṅga yoga and kāla (3.20–3.33);
  • the daughters of Manu and their lines (4.1);
  • Daksha‘s yajña and its destruction by Bhagavān Śiva and its completion, which he says he heard from Uddhava, the disciple of Bṛhaspati (4.2–4.7);
  • Dhruva, his tapas, his darśana of Śrī Hari and his attaining the supreme abode, where Maitreya tells Vidura that bhaktas without desire, like Vidura himself, ask nothing of Śrī Hari but his service (4.8–4.12);
  • Aṅga, Vena and Pṛthu, the milking of the Earth and Pṛthu‘s teaching (4.13–4.23);
  • the line of Pṛthu, the Pracetas and the Rudra-gīta (4.24);
  • the account of Purañjana that Nārada told King Prācīnabarhis, a teaching that, Maitreya says, destroys the identification of the self with the body and removes doubt about the other world (4.25–4.29);
  • the Pracetas, Nārada’s teaching to them and their attaining Śrī Hari (4.30–4.31).

Vidura calls him a maharshi of great vrata-nishṭhā, one whose wealth is tapas, a disciple of Bṛhaspati, the best of yogīs; Maitreya calls Vidura the best of the Kuru line, vatsa, son of Vicitravīrya, puṇyātmā. Again and again, as Vidura urges him on, Maitreya is filled with joy, his hair standing on end.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 3, Chapters 8–33; Skandha 4, Chapters 1–31

Vidura’s farewell

When Maitreya Maharshi had told the holy account of Śrī Hari, Vidura‘s bhakti grew greatly and tears flowed. He bowed his head at Maitreya’s feet and meditated on Śrī Hari’s feet in his heart. “O best of yogīs,” he said, “today, in your compassion, you have shown me the far shore of the ocean of ignorance, that is, jñāna. Those who gain it, even with nothing, obtain the refuge of Śrī Hari.” Then, of peaceful mind, he took leave of Maitreya and went to Hastināpura to see his kin. Sūta tells that Vidura had meant to put many questions to Maitreya, but when he had heard the answers to one or two of them, one-pointed bhakti in Govinda took firm hold in him, and he let the rest go.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapter 13; Skandha 4, Chapter 31

Among the maharshis

Maitreya is the ninth of the thirty ṛtvijas whom Dharmarāja chose for his Rājasūya. He was among the maharshis who went with Śrī Kṛshṇa on his chariot to Videha, to bless the brāhmaṇa Śrutadeva and King Bahulāśva of Mithilā. When Śrī Kṛshṇa withdrew his avatāra, brāhmaṇas such as Maitreya came with the devas, the pitṛs and all beings to see his departure, singing his līlās. And when Parīkshit sat in prāyopaveśa on the bank of the Gaṅgā, Maitreya came with Atri, Vasishṭha, Vyāsa, Nārada and the other great ṛshis. In the second Skandha Śaunaka asks where Vidura‘s dialogue with the revered Maitreya took place and what he taught, and the Purāṇa’s summary of the third Skandha counts Vidura’s dialogues with Uddhava and with Maitreya.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapter 19; Skandha 2, Chapter 10; Skandha 10, Chapters 74, 86; Skandha 11, Chapter 31; Skandha 12, Chapter 12

Per Bhavishya Purāṇa

In the Uttara Parva, Yudhishṭhira tells Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa what he himself saw. Maitreya Muni said to him: “Kaunteya, I have seen by divya dṛshṭi (divine sight) an ancient event, which I shall tell. Listen with attention.” He told the account of a brāhmaṇī, and said: “Pārtha, by the force of that puṇya, in another birth that same brāhmaṇī has become your wife in the form of Draupadī.” And he said: “Mahārāja Yudhishṭhira, if this Draupadī gives food from her sthālī she can satisfy the whole world. Why then are you anxious about feeding these few brāhmaṇas?” Hearing Maitreya’s words, Yudhishṭhira and all his people began to feed brāhmaṇas daily.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 170

Sources

  • Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapters 13, 19; Skandha 2, Chapter 10; Skandha 3, Chapters 1, 4–33; Skandha 4, Chapters 1–31; Skandha 10, Chapters 74, 86; Skandha 11, Chapter 31; Skandha 12, Chapter 12
  • Vishṇu Purāṇa
  • Mahābhārata
  • Jaimini Bhārata
  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 278
  • Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 170