The day of full moon, Purnima, in the month of Ashadh of the Hindu calendar is traditionally celebrated as Guru Purnima (IAST: Guru Pūrṇimā, sanskrit: गुरु पूर्णिमा) by Hindus. On this day, devotees offer puja (worship) to their Guru.

This was the day when Krishna-dwaipayana Vyasa – author of the Mahabharata – was born. Veda Vyasa, did yeoman service to the cause of Vedic studies by gathering all the Vedic hymns extant during his times, dividing them into four parts based on their use in the sacrificial rites, and teaching them to his four chief disciples – Paila, Vaisampayana, Jaimini and Sumantu. It was this dividing and editing that earned him the honorific "Vyasa" (vyas = to edit, to divide).

(... from Wikipedia on 2010-03-06 15:23:28 )