The wife of Shakti, son of Vasishta, and mother of Parashara. Once there was a king named Kanmashapada in the Ikshvaku clan. The king once reached Vasishta’s ashram during a hunt. At that time, Vasishta’s son Shakti, eldest among hundred sons, came by, but refused to give way to the king. The furious king whipped Shakti, who in turn, cursed the king and made him a rakshasa. That was the time when Vishwamitra and Vasishta were bitter rivals. Vishwamitra got a rakshasa named Kinkara to enter Kanmashapada’s body and from then on, he started eating up Vasishta’s sons. Vishwamitra helped him and finally he consumed all of Vasishta’s sons. A saddened Vasishta attempted suicide several times but his soul refused to leave his body. He started living in his ashram with Shakti’s wife Adrishyanti.

Once Vasishta heard the echo of a complicated vedic chant. He tried listening to it more carefully. Adrishyanti then told him that she was pregnant with Shakti’s child and the chant was from the unborn child. Vasishta was happy to hear about a child that would further his clan. The next day Kanmashapada arrived there to kill Adrishyanti. Vasishta called him and released him from the curse. In due course, Adrishyanti gave birth to Parashara, father of Vyasa.

Once, when the Pandavas were walking along the banks of the Ganges, a gandharva called Angaravarna challenged Arjuna and was defeated by the latter. According to the Mahabharata Adiparva Chapters 175-178, the story of Adrishyanti was among the many that Angaravarna told the Pandavas.