Ashtavakra is a famous rishi associated with the Upanishadic period, roughly 2,500 years ago. His conversations with Janaka are very popular, where he draws attention to the connection between the spirit within us and the spirit that is present all around us, i.e. the relationship between Jeevatma and Paramatma, or simply, Atma and Brahman. More than his philosophy, the story of Ashtavakra himself makes us think a lot about relationships between fathers and sons.

The story goes that Kahoda was once explaining the secret of the Vedas, or his understanding of the Vedas, to his wife Sujata, the daughter of great sage, Aruni. Their unborn child overheard their conversation from his mother's womb. At one point, on realising that Kahoda had made a mistake, he corrected his father. This happened eight times: Kahoda made eight mistakes and the unborn child corrected the father eight times. This angered Kahoda so much that he cursed his own child. "Since this child thinks he is so smart," Kahoda cursed, "that he can correct his father eight times, he will be born with eight bends in his body." Thus, when the child was born, he was deformed, eight times bent, and so named Ashtavakra.