Vyasa is a rishi with a prominent role in most Hindu traditions. He is also known as Veda Vyasa ('the one who classified the Vedas') or Krishna Dvaipayana . Traditionally regarded as the author of the epic Mahābhārata, Vyasa also plays a prominent role as a character. He is also regarded by the Hindu traditions to be the compiler of the mantras of the Vedas into four texts, as well as the author of the eighteen Purāṇas and the Brahma Sutras.