[5] According to the Mahabharata, Vaisampayana, Yajnavalkya's maternal uncle and renowned teacher of the Vedas, grew resentful when the latter received knowledge of the sacred texts from Surya and started teaching them.

A dispute arose between the two men regarding the selection of the dakshina (honorarium) to be offered at the sacrifice Bahudakshina Yajna of Janaka.

[6] In the same text, Yajnavalkya wins Janaka as a disciple as well as a reward of one thousand cows from the latter after offering satisfactory answers to his questions, proving himself to be a consummate scholar.

[1] He is attributed the authorship of a number of texts such as the Shatapatha Brahmana, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Ishopanishad, Pratyekshasutra, Yajnavalkaya Smriti, and the Yoga Yajnavalkya, and is hence regarded a significant figure in ancient Indian philosophy.

Yajnavalkya Jayanti is celebrated with great enthusiasm by the Brahmin communities in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.