Saptarishi in the context of "Jamadagni"

In Indian religions, a rishi (Sanskrit: ऋषि IAST: ṛṣi) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" or "sages" who after intense meditation (tapas) realized the supreme truth and eternal knowledge, which they composed into hymns. The term appears in Pali literature as Isi; in Buddhism they can be either Buddhas, Paccekabuddhas, Arahats or a monk of high rank.

Vaivasvata Manu (Sanskrit: वैवस्वत मनु), also referred to as Shraddhadeva and Satyavrata, is the current Manu—the progenitor of the human race. He is the seventh of the 14 Manus of the current kalpa (aeon) of Hindu cosmology. In the Jain religion he is also known as Nabhiraja, the father of Rishabhanatha and the last Kulakara.

He is the son of Vivasvan (also known as Surya), the Sun god, and his wife Saranyu. Forewarned about the divine flood by the Matsya avatara of Vishnu, Manu saved mankind by building a boat that carried his family and the Saptarishi (the Seven Sages) to safety. He was one of the wielders of Asi the primordial sword.

Agastya was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the Indian tradition, he is a noted recluse and an influential scholar in diverse languages of the Indian subcontinent. He is regarded in some traditions to be a Chiranjivi. He and his wife Lopamudra are the celebrated authors of hymns 1.165 to 1.191 in the Sanskrit text Rigveda and other Vedic literature.

Agastya is considered to be the father of Siddha medicine. Agastya appears in numerous itihasas and Puranas including the major Ramayana and Mahabharata. He is one of the seven most revered rishis (the Saptarishi) in the Vedic texts, and is revered as one of the Tamil Siddhar in the Shaivism tradition, who invented an early grammar of the Old Tamil language, Agattiyam, playing a pioneering role in the development of Tampraparniyan medicine and spirituality at Saiva centres in proto-era Sri Lanka and South India. He is also revered in the Puranic literature of Shaktism and Vaishnavism. He is one of the Indian sages found in ancient sculpture and reliefs in Hindu temples of South Asia, and Southeast Asia such as in the early medieval era Shaiva temples on Java Indonesia. He is the principal figure and Guru in the ancient Javanese language text Agastyaparva, whose 11th-century version survives.

Kanva or Kanwa (Sanskrit: कण्व, IAST: Kaṇva) was an ancient Hindu rishi of the Treta Yuga, to whom some of the hymns of the Rig Veda are ascribed. He was one of the Angirasas. He has been called a son of Ghora, but this lineage belongs to Pragatha Kanva, a subsequent Kanva of which there were many. However, Puranic literature has other different lineages for him, one as the son of Apratiratha and grandson of King Matinara, and another as the son of Ajamidha, who was a descendant in the ninth generation of Tansu, the brother of Apratiratha (Atiratha), or Ajamidha who was a contemporary of Matinara. This last seems to be the modern consensus. He is sometimes included in the list of the seven sages (the Saptarishis).Kanva had a son Medhatithi. Kanva is also mentioned in Mahabharata as the adoptive father of Shakuntala.

• Kanva (Karnesh) is also the name of a founder of a Vedic shakha of the Shukla Yajur Veda, and hence the name of that theological branch of Hinduism, the Kanva Shakha.
• Kanva (Karnesh) is also the name of several princes and founders of dynasties and several authors.
• The Kanvas (Karnesh) are the descendants of king Vasudeva Kanva (1st century BCE).
• The Kanvas are also a class of spirit, against whom hymn 2.25 of the Atharva Veda is used as a charm.

Manu (Sanskrit: मनु) is a term found with various meanings in Hinduism. In early texts, it refers to the archetypal man, or the first man (progenitor of humanity). The Sanskrit term for 'human', मनुष्य (IAST: manuṣya) or मानव (IAST: mānava) means 'of Manu' or 'children of Manu'. In later texts, Manu is the title or name of fourteen rulers of earth, or alternatively as the head of dynasties that begin with each cyclic kalpa (aeon) when the universe is born anew. The title of the text Manusmriti uses this term as a prefix, but refers to the first Manu – Svayambhuva, the spiritual son of Brahma. In the Hindu cosmology, each kalpa consists of fourteen Manvantaras, and each Manvantara is headed by a different Manu. The current universe, is asserted to be ruled by the 7th Manu named Vaivasvata. Vaivasvata was the king of Dravida before the great flood. He was warned of the flood by the Matsya (fish) avatar of Vishnu, and built a boat that carried the Vedas, Manu's family and the seven sages to safety, helped by Matsya. The tale is repeated with variations in other texts, including the Mahabharata and a few other Puranas.

Kashyapa (Sanskrit: कश्यप, IAST: Kaśyapa) is a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism. He is one of the Saptarishis, the seven ancient sages of the Rigveda. In the Ramayana, he is referred as Arishtanemi. Kashyapa is the most ancient and venerated rishi, along with the other Saptarishis, listed in the colophon verse in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

Kashyapa is an ancient name, referring to many different personalities in the ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts.

Pulastya (Sanskrit: पुलस्त्य) is one of the ten Prajapati, and one of the mind-born sons of Brahma in Hinduism. He is also one of the Saptarishi (Seven great sages) in the first age of Manu, the Manvantara.

Bhrigu (Sanskrit: भृगु, IAST: Bhṛgu) is a rishi in Hindu tradition. He is one of the seven great sages, the Saptarshis, and one of the many Prajapatis (the facilitators of creation) created by Brahma. He was the first compiler of predictive astrology and also the author of Bhrigu Samhita, an astrological (jyotisha) classic. Bhrigu is considered a manasaputra ("mind-born son") of Brahma. The adjectival form of the name, Bhārgava, is used to refer to the descendants and the school of Bhrigu. According to Manusmriti, Bhrigu was a compatriot and companion of Svāyambhuva Manu, the progenitor of humanity. Along with Manu, Bhrigu made important contributions to the Manusmṛti, which was constituted out of a sermon to a congregation of saints in the state of Brahmavarta, after the great floods in this area. As per the Skanda Purana, Bhrigu migrated to Bhrigukaccha, modern Bharuch, on the banks of the Narmada river in Gujarat, leaving his son Chyavana at Dhosi Hill.

According to Bhagavata Purana, he was married to Khyati, one of the nine daughters of Prajāpati Kardama. She was the mother of Lakshmi as Bhargavi. They also had two sons named Dhata and Vidhata. He had one more son with Kavyamata, who is better known than Bhrigu himself – Shukra, learned sage and guru of the asuras. The sage Chyavana is also said to be his son with Puloma, as is the folk hero Mrikanda. [Maha:1.5] One of his descendants was sage Jamadagni, who in turn was the father of sage Parashurama, considered an avatar of Vishnu.