Agastya1, a ṛṣi, brother of Vasiṣṭha and son of Mitra and
Varuṇa;* he is called Maitrāvaruṇi (“son of Mitra and
Varuṇa”) and Kumbhayoni (“born in a jar”) (see below);
he once saw his ancestors hanging in a cave, and was urged
by them to procure progeny; he then from the most beautiful
parts of all animals created Lopāmudrā and let her become
the daughter of the king of Vidarbha; when he had married
her he, in order to procure riches for her, applied successively
to three kings, and then to the Dānava Ilvala, who shaped
his own younger brother into a he-goat that was digested by
Agastya. Agastya had a son by Lopāmudrā named Dṛḍhasyu
or Idhmavāha. A. prevailed upon the Vindhya mountain
to cease to increase in height “till he had returned from
the South,” and drunk up the Sea (and digested it), in
order that the gods might overcome the Kālakeyas. § 382
(Agastyop.): III, 96—9.—§§ 384—6 (do.): 101—5.—§ 183
(Pāṇḍu): I, 118, 4571 (he hunted and sacrificed wild
beasts: A°ḥ sattram āsīnaś cakāra mṛgayām ṛṣiḥ|āraṇyān
sarvadaivatyān mṛgān prokṣya mahāvane).—§ 210 (Sambha-
vap.): I, 139, 5524 (Droṇa's teacher Agniveśa was a
pupil of A. in the Dhanurveda).—§ 233 (Svayaṃvarap.):
188, 7047 (all. to his drinking up the Sea).—§ 236 (do.):
192, 7164 (°śāstāṃ diśaṃ, the South).—§ 267 (Yamasabhāv.):
II, 8, 340 (in the palace of Yama).—§ 270 (Brahmasabhāv.):
11, 439 (in the palace of Brahmán).—§ 316 (Kirmīravadhap.):
III, 11, 422 (sambhakṣya jarayiṣyāmi yathāgastyo mahā-
suraṃ).—§ 377 (Dhaumyatīrthak.): 87, 8316 (°sy-āśrama-
varo, in the East); 88, 8344 (°syāśramaḥ, in the South).—
§ 380 (Brahmasaras): 95, 8521 (Brahmasarottamam|A°o
bhagavān yatra gato Vaivasvatam prati; cf. XIII, 3400).
—§ 382 (Agastyop.): 96, 8540 (°syāśramam), 8541—2,
8553; 97, 8570, 8575—7, 8581; 98, 8595, 8606; 99,
8618, 8620, 8622, 8625, 8633, 8644 (°āśramo), 8645.—§ 384
(do.): 100, 8689—90; 103, 8773, 8774 (°syāśramaṃ);
104, 8788, 8795—6, 8804; v.s.—§ 389 (Gaṅgāvatār.): 109,
9967 (all. to his destroying Vātāpi).—§ 391 (Ṛṣyaśṛṅga):
110, +10092 (+ Lopāmudrā vā yathā hy Agastyam).—
§ 410 (Plakṣāvataraṇa): 130, 10541 (“this is the great
tīrtha of Sindhu, where Lopāmudrā joined herself to A. and
chose him for her husband”).—§ 438 (Yakṣayuddh.): 161,
11788, 11790, 11794 (the Rākṣasa Maṇimat having spit
upon him, he cursed Kubera to see Maṇimat and his (Kubera's)
warriors slain by a man—fulfilled by Bhīmasena at the Yakṣa
combat); 162, 11839.—§ 450 (Ājagarap.): 179, 12409
(all. to Nahuṣa's curse by A.); 180, 12464—5 (do.); 181,
12525 (do.).—§ 479 (Pativratop.): 206, 13679 (all. to the
destruction of Vātāpi).—§ 551 (Kīcakavadhap.): IV, 21,
655 (all. to his wife Lopāmudrā).—§ 555 (Indra): V, 17,
521 (he cursed Nahuṣa, who was king of the gods in the
absence of Indra, to become a serpent for 10,000 years; cf.
XIII, ch. 99 f.), 542; 18, 556.—§ 565 (Gālavacar.): 117,
3971.—§ 569 (Bhagavadyānap.): 143, 4876 (°śāstāṃ diśaṃ,
i.e. the South).—§ 617 (Brahmaśiras): X, 12, 618 (Ag. had
taught Droṇa Brahmaśiras).—§ 649 (Āpaddh.): XII, 141,
5389 (all. to his eating Vātāpi).—§ 656 (Khaḍgotp.): 166β,
6142 (Vaśiṣṭha-Gautamā°āḥ).—§ 665 (Mokṣadh.): 208η,
7595 (Mitra-Varuṇayoḥ putraḥ, one of the seven ṛṣis of the
South).—§ 677 (Mokṣadh.): 245β, 8899 (one of the
authors of the duties of renunciation).—§ 717 (Nārānaṇīya,
v. Indra, V, 17): 343, 13216 (Kumbhayonir Maitrāvaruṇiḥ
ṛṣivaro).—§ 734 (Ānuśāsanik.): XIII, 26α, 1761 (with
other ṛṣis, A. comes to see Bhīṣma on his arrow-bed).—
§ 746 (do.): XIII, 66ζ, 3332 (visits the sacrifices of the
gods on the Himālaya).—§ 747 (Ānuśāsanik.): XIII, 84β,
3968 (is consulted with others by Paraśurāma, who is anxious
to know how to purify himself totally after he has destroyed
the kṣattriyas; they advise him to offer gold).—§ 751
(Śapathavidhi): XIII, 94, 4550, 4554—5 (4592) (at
Brahmasaras Indra stole a lotus from A. in order to hear
the wise words of the ṛṣis).—§ 755 (Nahuṣop.): XIII,
99—100, 4745 (Nahuṣasya ca saṃvādam A°sya Bhṛgos tathā),
4755—6, 4758, 4771 (Maitrāvaruṇir); 4785, 4792, 4794,
4800, 4802, 4805 (he cursed Nahuṣa, who was king of the
gods in the absence of Indra, to become a serpent for 10,000
years; cf. V, 16).—§ 761 (Ānuśāsanik.): XIII, 115,
5652 (cf. I, 4571); 116, 5696.—§ 767 (do.): 137α, 6255
(Vaidarbhiḥ kanyām A°āya dattvā).—§ 770 (do.): 151η,
7113 (Mitra-Varuṇayoḥ putraḥ, the seventh of the seven
Dharmarājartvijaḥ in the South), 7157 (read with B.,
Śukrā°-Bṛhaspatiprabhṛtibhir brahmarṣibhiḥ).—§ 772k (Pavan-
ārjuna-s.): Once the gods were vanquished by As. (Dā.);
their sacrifices and the svadhā of P. were robbed, and so also
the sacrifices of men. Wandering over the earth they met
the brahman Agastya, who at their request burned Dā., who,
abandoning both the worlds (i.e. the earth and the sky), fled
to the South. The Dā. king Bali was performing a horse-
sacrifice in the nether regions (mahīṃ gataḥ); the great As.,
who were under (the earth) and in (?) the earth (mahīṣṭhāś
ca), were not burned, and A. could not destroy them, lest
his penances should suffer a diminution. “Name thou
a kṣattriya that is superior to A.”: XIII, 156, 7265
(brāhmaṇasya), 7268, 7271, 7273, 7277—8.—§ 775 (Ānuśā-
sanik.): 166δ, 7666 (Mitra-Varuṇayoḥ putraḥ, one of the ṛṣis
of the South).—§ 786e (Anugītāp.): XIV, 92: In olden days
A., devoted to the good of all creatures, entered into a dīkṣā
for twelve years; many hotṛs were engaged (description).
A. obtained the food required by lawful means. Numerous
ascetics at that time performed large sacrifices; as A., how-
ever, was engaged in his (with seeds), Indra did not pour
rain. During the intervals of the sacrifice the Mu. spoke about
this; A. said that if Indra did not pour rain during those
twelve years he would perform the mental sacrifice, or the
touch-sacrifice, or other sacrifices; then A. by his words
caused all wealth in the three worlds, all Aps., G., Ku.,
Viśvāvasu, etc., the wealth of the Northern Kurus, Heaven,
the gods, and Dharma, to come to the place of his sacrifice;
Ṛ. praised him, but did not wish that his penances should
suffer any diminution. Indra poured rain and came with
Bṛhaspati and pacified A. After the completion of the
sacrifice, A. duly worshipped those great Mu. and dismissed
them: XIV, 92δ, 2849—50, 2856—8, 2861, 2873, 2882,
2884.—Compare Kumbhayoni, Maitrāvaruṇi, Mitra-Varuṇayoḥ
putra.
[Footnote] *) Natus erat cum fratre Vasiṣtho semine Mitri et Varuṇi, quum nympham
Urvaśīm vidissent, amore incensorum in urceum profluente (Bṛhaddevatā,
5. 30 ff., see BR.).
AGASTYA .
1)
Genealogy. Descended from Viṣṇu in this order
Brahmā-Marīci-Kaśyapa-Sūrya-Agastya.
2)
Birth. A story occurs in Uttara-Rāma-Carita
about the birth of Agastya. Nimi was the son of Ikṣ-
vāku of the Sūrya dynasty. When he ascended the
throne he decided to celebrate a sacrifice of long
duration. He invited Vasiṣṭha to perform the sacrifice.
But Vasiṣṭha, who had to participate in the sacrifice
of Indra, could not accept the invitation and Nimi
had to return disappointed. At this he got angry,
sought the help of Śatānanda, the son of the great
hermit Gautama and the sacrifice was begun. Vasiṣṭha
did not like this. He cursed Nimi that life might be
separated from his body. Nimi retorted with the same
curse. Vasiṣṭha's spirit separated itself from his body
and began to roam about in the sky. At last he re-
quested Brahmā to provide him with a body. Brahmā
granted his wish and said that he would be born again
from Mitra and Varuṇa.
When the spirit of Vasiṣṭha returned to the earth it
was Mitra and Varuṇa moving about, having only one
body for both. Vasiṣṭha's spirit entered into that body.
One day Mitra-Varuṇa happened to see the celestial
beauty, Urvaśī on the seashore. They embraced Urvaśī
and immediately the spirit of Vasiṣṭha entered the
body of Urvaśī.
After this Mitra and Varuṇa separated themselves
from one another and assumed two different bodies.
Varuṇa approached Urvaśī with lustful desire, but
rejecting him Urvaśī accepted Mitra. Varuṇa had
seminal flow and this semen was taken and kept in a
pot. At the sight of this, remorse and passion arose
in Urvaśī and the semen of Mitra already received
in her womb oozed out and fell on the ground. This
also was. collected and kept in the same pot along with
that of Varuṇa. After a few days the pot broke open
by itself and two babies came out. One was Agastya
and the other Vasiṣṭha. As these two were born of the
semen of Mitra and Varuṇa, they came to be known
as Maitrāvaruṇis later. This story partly occurs in Śānti
Parva of Mahābhārata, Verse 343 of Chapter 88.
3)
Education. Very little is mentioned in the Purāṇas
about the education of Agastya. Still there are am-
ple proofs that he was well-versed in the Vedas and
sciences and well skilled in the uses of diverse weapons.
In Verse 9, Chapter 139 of Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva,
Droṇa says to Arjuna as follows:
“Agniveśa, my teacher was the disciple of Agastya, in the
art of using bows and arrows and I am his disciple”.
When it is said that even Agniveśa the teacher of
Droṇa was a disciple of Agastya, his proficiency in the
art of using weapons could easily be discerned.
4)
Marriage. There is an interesting story behind the
marriage of such an austere man as Agastya, who had
brought all the passions under control. As the hermit
Agastya was walking along the forest, he saw his
ancestors (Pitṛs) hanging head downwards in a canyon.
He wanted to know the reason and they replied:
“Child; we would be allowed to enter heaven only
if sons are born to you. So get married as soon as
possible”. The necessity of marriage occurred to him
only then. But will there be any woman who could be
patient enough to become the wife of this bearded
dwarfish hermit? Agastya did not lose heart. At that
time the King of Vidarbha was doing penance to
obtain a son. Agastya collected the quintessence of
all living beings, with which he created an extre-
mely beautiful lady and named her Lopāmudrā.
Agastya gave Lopāmudrā as daughter to the King of
Vidarbha. The King who was delighted at getting
such a daughter, employed hundreds of maids to look
after the child, who soon grew up to be a young lady.
Agastya once approached the King of Vidarbha
and expressed his wish to have Lopāmudrā as his
wife. The King was in a dilemma. On the one hand
he did not like his beautiful daughter having the
brightness of fire, to be given as wife to the hermit,
clad in the bark of trees and wearing tufts of matted
hair. On the other hand he was afraid of the curse
of the hermit Agastya. As the King was trying hard
to find a solution, Lopāmudrā herself came to the
King and said “Father, I am happy to say that I shall
willingly become the wife of the hermit Agastya.” At
last her father consented and discarding royal garments
and ornaments, Lopāmudrā accompanied Agastya.
It is mentioned in Vana Parva, Chapter 130, Verse 5,
that they were married at Mahāsindhutīrtha. After
their marriage they went to Gaṅgādvāra. (Mahā-
bhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 96).
5)
The story of how Agastya ate Vātāpi. While Agastya
was doing severe penance, Lopāmudrā attained
puberty and had menstruation. Longing for a child,
she went and stood beside Agastya. She expressed
her wish to lead a family life. Her demands did
not stop there. During conjugation, Agastya should
wear flower garlands and ornaments, and she must
be provided with divine ornaments. Agastya was
surprised at the enormity of her demands. Poor, penni-
less Agastya! Leaving Lopāmudrā in the hermitage
he went in search of money. He at first approached
King Śrutarvā, who produced accounts of his in-
come and expenditure and convinced Agastya that
he was having no balance at all. Agastya, accompa-
nied by Śrutarvā, then proceeded to King Bradh-
nāśva. He also produced accounts and refused to help
Agastya, who then followed by Śrutarvā and Bradh-
nāśva went on to the wealthy King Trasadasyu,
who also producing his accounts refused to render
any help to Agastya. Finally Agastya accompanied
by the three Kings, went to the house of Ilvala, a
noble asura of immense wealth.
This asura Ilvala lived in Manimatpattana with his
younger brother Vātāpi. Once Ilvala approached
a hermit Brahmin and requested that his wish for
a son, having the power and status of Indra, be grant-
ed. The Brahmin refused to grant such a boon.
Since then Ilvala and Vātāpi considered Brahmins
as their enemies. The elder brother converted the
younger one (Vātāpi) into a goat and whenever a
Brahmin visited his house, he would kill the goat,
prepare mutton dishes and set them before his
guest. When he had finished eating, Ilvala would call
aloud. “Vātāpi, come out”. Breaking the stomach
of the guest open, Vātāpi would come out. In this way
Ilvala had killed a good number of Brāhmins. It was
at this juncture that Agastya and the Kings came to
beg money of him.
Ilvala welcomed the guests with hospitality and as
usual killed the goat, prepared food with it and served
the food before Agastya. When Agastya had finished
eating, Ilvala called Vātāpi loudly. But Agastya slowly
said, “Vātāpi, jīrṇo bhava” (Let Vātāpi be digested)
and immediately Vātāpi was digested in the stomach
of Agastya. The awe-stricken asura Ilvala gave each
Brahmin ten thousand cows and as much gold and
to Agastya he doubled the quantity of alms. Over
and above this, he presented Agastya with a chariot
hitched with two fine horses called Virāvān and
Surāvān. Agastya returned to his hermitage and
adorned himself as Lopāmudrā had demanded. (Mahā-
bhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 99).
6)
Birth of a son. Lopāmudrā became pregnant.
Agastya told her, “A thousand ordinary sons, or
hundred sons, each having the strength of ten ordinary
sons, or ten sons, each having the strength of hundred
ordinary sons, or a son, greater and nobler than one
thousand sons—which of these do you prefer?”
Lopāmudrā preferred one son. When she was with
child Agastya again went to the forest to do penance.
After seven years of pregnancy Lopāmudrā gave
birth to a lustrous son. The hermit Dṛḍhasyu, who is
also called Idhmavāha, is this son. This child is said
to have chanted the Vedas (Holy Scriptures) im-
mediately on his birth. He used to gather twigs for
kindling the sacrificial fire of his father, and hence he
got the name Idhmavāha.
[Footnote] *) Idhma—twigs of firewood. (Idhma=twigs of firewood) (vāha=carrier).
7)
How he stamped the Vindhya mountain down. Once the
talebearer Nārada happened to come to the Vindhya
Mountain, who gladly welcomed Nārada, gave him a
seat, showed hospitality and asked for news. Nārada said
“May you be blessed. Just now I am coming from the
Mahāmeru. Indra, Agni (fire) and other gods live
there. Kailāsa, Niṣadha, Nīla, Gandhamādana etc. are
mountains far nobler than this Meru. But they are
not so haughty as him. That the Sun and the Moon
and such others revolve round him, is the reason for his
arrogance”. On hearing these tales, Vindhya thought
that Meru should be taught a lesson. Once Vindhya
made his peaks grow higher and higher till they touched
the sky. The Sun, the Moon and others found it very
difficult to pass over the high peaks in their usual jour-
neys to the West, and so they had to roam about in
the sky. When the journeys of the Sun and the Moon
were hindered, everything in the world fell into chaos.
The gods came to Vindhya in groups and tried to
pacify him. But their attempts were futile. So they
approached Agastya and made their petition to him.
He agreed to pacify Vindhya somehow or other. Agas-
tya and his wife came to Vindhya from Kāśinagara.
When Vindhya saw Agastya he began to shiver with
fear. Contracting all his high peaks, he bowed before
Agastya, who said to Vindhya thus “Vindhya, I am
going to South Bhārata. Let your heads be low till I
come back”. Vindhya agreed. Agastya passed on to
the South and built a hermitage in the Malayācala and
lived there. Since then Agastya had never gone to
the North and Vindhya had never risen up. As he had
made the mountain (Aga) bow its head he got the
name Agastya. (Tenth Skandha of Devībhāgavata).
8)
Nahuṣa transformed to a huge serpent by Agastya. Devendra killed Vṛttrāsura, an enemy of the gods.
As Devendra had resorted to treachery for killing the
enemy (see the word Vṛttrāsura) he incurred the sin
of ‘Brahmahatyā’. Once Indra went to the Mānasasaras,
without the knowledge of anybody and hid himself in
the petal of a lotus flower. The gods and especially
Śacīdevī were much alarmed at the disappearance of
Devendra. Heaven was without a King. Bad omens
began to appear. Indra, who had hidden in the lotus
stalk in the shape of a water-snake, was not at all visible
as the petals had closed over him. It was at this critical
moment that King Nahuṣa had completed hundred
horse-sacrifices and became eligible for the throne of
Devendra. At a great gathering of the Gods Nahuṣa
was elected as Devendra. Though Nahuṣa got all the
celestial maids at his disposal in the Nandanodyāna
(Nandana Garden) his passion for women was not
satiated. So he began to have an eye on Indrāṇī. She
was in sorrow and misery at the disappearance of her
husband Indra, and did not at all look with favour on
this new move on the part of the new Indra. She sought
the help of Bṛhaspati, who agreed to protect her
from Nahuṣa. The newly-elected Indra could not tole-
rate this disloyalty on the part of Indrāṇī. He became
furious and threatened Bṛhaspati with death, if Indrāṇī
was not sent to him forthwith. All hermits gathered
round Nahuṣa and tried with their advice to dissuade
him from this attempt, but he would not be dissuaded.
Nahuṣa belittled Bṛhaspati and all the hermits and was
rude to them. Finally the hermits, being afraid of
Nahuṣa, went to Bṛhaspati to persuade him to send
Indrāṇī to Nahuṣa. Bṛhaspati suggested to Indrāṇī a
way of safety. Accordingly she came to Nahuṣa and said
to him “Lord, to become your wife, is a matter of great
pleasure to me. But before that I must make sure if
my husband is living anywhere. So allow me to make a
search”. Nahuṣa agreed to this and by the blessings
of Devī, Indrāṇī found out her husband. But Indra
would not return to the court, with Indrāṇī, who
then complained about Nahuṣa's outrageous behaviour.
Indra advised her a new way to protect herself from
Nahuṣa's onslaught.
Indrāṇī returned to Nahuṣa and told him “Lord, wo-
men generally love pomp and glory. I have a mania
for vehicles. You should make a palanquin. Let the
palanquin bearers be hermits. You must come to my
house in that palanquin with hermits as your palanquin
bearers and then I will accept you as my husband.”
Nahuṣa agreed. He employed Agastya and such other
hermits to bear his palanquin. He got into his palan-
quin and started for Indrāṇī's house. His desire to
reach Indrāṇī was such that he thought the hermits to
be very slow. To make them quick enough he ordered
“Sarpa, Sarpa” (walk quick, walk quick). The hermits
began to run. Still Nahuṣa was not satisfied. He kicked
at the heads of the hermits and whipped the dwarfish
Agastya.
Agastya got angry and cursed Nahuṣa thus: “Since
you have whipped me saying ‘Sarpa Sarpa’, may you
be transformed into a mahāsarpa (huge serpent) and
fall into the great forest.”
[Footnote] **) It is mentioned in the Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 100, that the person who cursed Nahuṣa and turned him
into a huge serpent, was the hermit Bhṛgu, who had been hiding in the hair of Agastya.
The horror-stricken Nahuṣa pleased Agastya by praise.
Agastya said that Nahuṣa would be freed from the
curse and attain heaven when he happened to meet
Dharmaputra. Nahuṣa instantly changed into a
serpent of immense size and slided into a great forest
in the Himālayās. (Devībhāgavata, 8th Sarga).
During their sojourn in the forest, the Pāṇḍavas
visited many holy places and reached the Yāmuna
mountain in the Himālayās. When Bhīma was passing
by the mouth of a cave he was attacked by a huge
serpent. In spite of his immense strength Bhīma could
not extricate himself from the hold of the snake, who
eventually informed Bhīma of its previous history.
When Bhīma understood that the serpent was none
other than Nahuṣa, a King of the Sūrya dynasty
(Solar), he felt sorry for him. Dharmaputra, who
came there in search of Bhīma, talked with Nahuṣa,
who immediately regained his original form and
went to heaven. (Mahābhārata, Chapter 17 of
Udyoga Parva; Chapter 179 of Vana Parva; Chapter
342 of Śānti Parva).
9)
How Agastya drank up the ocean. Indra ruthlessly
killed Vṛttrāsura, who had been harassing the Gods,
with the help of the Kālakeyas. The frightened Kāla-
keyas got into the ocean and hid themselves at the
bottom. From that hideout they decided to destroy
the three worlds. At night they came out on the
earth and ate a good deal of Brahmins, and caused
much damage to the hermitages of Vasiṣṭha and
Cyavana. All the Brahmins on the earth were terribly
afraid of the Kālakeyas. The gods went to Viṣṇu
and prayed for protection. Viṣṇu informed them that
the Kālakeyas could not be caught unless the ocean
was dried up, and this task could be performed only
by Agastya. So the Gods approached Agastya and told
him what Viṣṇu had informed them. With pleasure
Agastya accepted the job. Accompanied by the Gods
and hermits he neared the swaying and surging ocean.
While all were watching unwinkingly Agastya brought
the great ocean into his palm and drank it up very
easily and subsequently the Kālakeyas were killed.
Now the Gods again approached Viṣṇu and made
representation about the loss of the ocean. Viṣṇu told
them that by the penance of Bhagīratha the divine
Gaṅgā would fall into the earth and then the ocean
will be filled. In this way the earth regained its lost
ocean. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 101 to
105).
10)
Agastya cursing Kubera and his companion. In the
course of their sojourn in forest, the Pāṇḍavas
visited several holy places and reached the proximity
of the Himālayas. Leaving his brothers behind,
Arjuna went up the Mahāmeru to worship Śiva.
Years passed by. At last his brothers also started
for the Mahāmeru in search of Arjuna and with
the help of the hermits Vṛṣaparvā and Ārṣṭiṣeṇa, they
reached Kuberapurī (the capital of Kubera). There
Bhīma destroyed the army of Kubera and killed
Maṇimān, his friend and favourite. Dharmaputra,
repenting of his younger brother's iniquity bowed
before Kubera and asked him with politeness, why the
power of Gods gave way to the power of man. Kubera
replied that it was due to the curse of Agastya and
began to depict the event thus: Once my friend
Maṇimān and myself were going, in a chariot, to be
present at the singing and chanting just begun at
Kuśavatī. At that time Agastya was standing in his
hermitage on the bank of Kālindī, performing Sun
worship. When Maṇimān saw this from the sky, he
spat on the head of Agastya, who instantly getting wild
cursed me. “Lo, Kubera, your friend Maṇimān
spat on my head in your sight. So this Maṇimān and
your army will meet with death at a man's hand.
When they die you should not feel sorry for them. If
it becomes possible for you to meet the man who
killed Maṇimān you will be liberated from the curse.”
It is this curse that brought about the death of
Maṇimān and the army. When Kubera saw Bhīma
face to face his curse was revoked. (Mahābhārata,
Vana Parva, Chapter 160).
11)
Agastya cursing Mārīca and Tāḍakā. The boys
Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa went to the forest with Viśvā-
mitra for protecting sacrifice. When they entered the
Tāḍakā forest Viśvāmitra told them the story of
Tāḍakā thus:—
Tāḍakā is the daughter of Suketu, a semi god of the
tribe Yakṣa. Being childless for a long time Suketu was
miserable and began to do penance before Brahmā,
who blessed him and granted his wish and a daughter
was born to him. This daughter was named Tāḍakā.
Brahmā blessed her, giving her the strength of one
thousand elephants. Tāḍakā grew up and became a
young woman. Suketu gave her in marriage to Sunda,
son of Iharjha. Tāḍakā gave birth to a son called
Mārīca. When Sunda was killed, Tāḍakā got wild
and ran into the hermitage of Agastya causing much
havoc there. At this Agastya got angry and cursed
her to become a Rākṣasī (giantess) and instantly
the bodies of Tāḍakā and Mārīca were deformed.
Tāḍakā could not control her anger and she demo-
lished the hermitage of Agastya. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa,
Bālakāṇḍa).
12)
The story of the theft of lotus. Once Bhṛgu,
Vasiṣṭha and other hermits went on a pilgrimage,
with Indra as their leader. On the way they
reached Brahmasaras, in the holy place of Kauṣikī.
Agastya had grown some lotus flowers there. The
pilgrims plucked stealthily all the lotus flowers nur-
tured by Agastya and ate them. The furious Agastya
got into the midst of the hermits in search of the
culprit. None admitted the theft. Finally he caught
hold of Indra, as the thief. Indra said “O, Lord,
had it not been for my eagerness to hear discourses
on duty from your face, I would not have stolen
your lotus flowers.” Saying thus Indra returned the
lotus flowers. Agastya was pleased and let Indra
and the hermits depart in peace. (Mahābhārata,
Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 94).
13)
How Agastya burned the Asuras (demons). (This
story occurs in the Mahābhārata as, having been told
by the God Vāyu to Bhīṣma as a discourse on the
greatness of Agastya, and Bhīṣma reiterating it to
Arjuna).
Once the Gods had to accept defeat at the hands of
the Asuras (Demons) and they approached Agastya
and said thus: Oh, hermit, since we have been defeat-
ed by the Asuras, our prosperity is at an end. There
is none to help us but you.” Hearing this Agastya
became angry and began to burn the Asuras to death,
by the merits of his penance. Many of them fell down
on the earth and some fell into Pātāla (the nether world).
The asuras who thus fell were not killed by Agas-
tya. Thus the menace of the Asuras in heaven was
warded off, and the Gods lived in peace and prosperity.
(Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 155, Verses
1 to 13).
14)
Indra's conflict with Agastya. Once Agastya com-
menced a sacrifice of twelve years' duration. Many
hermits participated in this sacrifice. No sooner had
the hermit begun the sacrifice, than Indra, (the God of
Thunder and Rain) stopped rain in the world. Crops
could not be raised. But Agastya provided everybody
who took part in the sacrifice, with sumptuous meals.
The hermits wondered how Agastya could do this. Some
of the hermits feared that the sacrifice would have to be
stopped before the stipulated time, if the drought con-
tinued. Agastya told them not to fear, and that if
Indra refused to send rain, he himself would become
Indra and protect the subjects. Indra was horrified,
when he heard this and he began to send rain regu-
larly. (Mahābhārata, Āśvamedhika Parva, Chapter
92).
15)
Story of Gajendramokṣa (The redemption of an elephant). In the Bhārata a story occurs, as to how Agastya
cursed King Indradyumna, and turned him to an ele-
phant. While Indradyumna, the King of Pāṇḍya was
absorbed in deep meditation on Viṣṇu, Agastya reach-
ed the palace. Being immersed in meditation the King
failed to notice the arrival of the great hermit, who
getting angry with the King, cursed him to become an
elephant, for one thousand years. Instantly the King
was deformed into a big tusker and quitting the palace
it went to a big forest and lived there happily with the
she-elephants there. At that time a hermit named De-
vala was doing penance in that forest. One day Hūhu,
a gandharva (a class of semi-gods) enjoying the com-
pany of some celestial maids came to the place where
Devala had put up his hermitage. The hermit saw
the Gandharva and the maids playing and bathing in
the pond in front of his hermitage in complete nudity.
Getting angry Devala cursed Hūhu and he was de-
formed into a crocodile. This pond which was in the
Trikūṭa Mountain was thus under the suzerainty of
the crocodile. The tusker (Indradyumna) entered the
pond to drink water. The crocodile caught hold of the
leg of the elephant. Each tried to pull the other with
equal force. This fight is said to have lasted for a
thousand years. When both were tired, godly feelings
began to dawn in their minds. Then, riding on an
eagle Mahāviṣṇu appeared before them, cut them
asunder with his Cakrāyudha (the wheel-weapon)
and both were given deliverance. (Bhāgavata, 8th
Skandha, Chapter 2).
16)
Agastya teaching Śrī Rāma the Āditya-hṛdaya Mantra (A hymn in praise of the Sun). When Śrī Rāma was
fighting with Rāvaṇa in Laṅkā, dejection befell him,
his heart being weighed down with faintness, for a
little while. Rāvaṇa made the best use of this oppor-
tunity and began to advance. The gods had gathered
in the sky above to witness the fight. Agastya, at that
particular moment, taught Śrī Rāma the Āditya-hṛdaya
Mantra, a hymn in praise of the Sun-god and when
Śrī Rāma chanted that mantra, he resumed fight with
Vigour and Rāvaṇa was defeated and slain. (Vālmīki
Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Sarga 107).
17)
How the slant of the earth was rectified by seating Agastya. The matrimonial ceremony of Śrī Parameś-
vara and Pārvatī was held in the Himālayas. On
that auspicious occasion all the living beings of the
world were present, and as a result the Himālayan
region sank down and the earth slanted to that side.
To keep the equilibrium of the earth, Śiva sent
Agastya to the south. Accordingly Agastya reached
Kuttālam, where there was a temple dedicated to
the worship of Viṣṇu. Agastya had besmeared his
forehead with ashes and so admission to the temple
was denied to him, by the devotees there who were
Vaiṣṇavites. By his own power Agastya turned him-
self into a vaiṣṇavite and got into the temple, and
immediately the image of Viṣṇu in the temple chang-
ed by itself into a Śivaliṅga (idol representing Śiva).
Since then the temple at Kuttālam has remained a
temple of Śiva. Agastya proceeded to the southern-
most point of the earth and sat there and because of
his weight the earth regained its normal position.
(Skanda Purāṇa).
18)
Agastya and the Krauñca Mountain. When Agastya
passed the Vindhya mountain and proceeded to the
South a Rākṣasa (giant) called Krauñca hindered
his way. By his power the Rākṣasa caused to fall
everywhere a very heavy rain. Agastya sprinkled a
few drops of water from his waterpot on Krauñca,
who instantly became a mountain. Telling him that
he would get deliverance from the curse when the
weapon of Subrahmaṇya struck him, Agastya continu-
ed his journey to the South. (Skanda Purāṇa.).
19)
Agastya and the River Kāveri. Once Sūrapadmā,
an Asura (demon) drove the Gods out from heaven.
Indra came to Śiyāli a place in the district of Tanjāvūr
(Tanjore) and began to do penance to please Śiva.
Rain was completely stopped. Agastya had com-
pressed the river Kāverī and held the water in his
waterpot. Gaṇapati having come to know of this,
came in the form of a crow and toppled the water-
pot. Agastya got angry and ran after the crow, which
immediately assumed the form of a boy. Agastya caught
hold of him. The boy instantly revealed himself as
Subrahmaṇya and granted Agastya a boon. “Your
waterpot will always be full”. Since then there had
never been shortage of water in the Kāverī. (Skanda
Purāṇa).
20)
Agastya in the palace of Bhadrāśva. Once Agastya
lived in the palace of Bhadrāśva as his guest for
seven days. Agastya praised Kāntimatī the queen
on several occasions. The King wanted to know the
reason. Agastya said: During her previous birth
Kāntimatī was the handmaid of a rich man. On
one occasion of dvādaśī (twelfth night after full
moon) in the month of Tulā (second half of Octo-
ber and first half of November) the rich man had
asked his handmaid to see that the lights in a cer-
tain temple did not go out and she did so, in conse-
quence of which, during her current birth she has
become your queen, bearing the name Kāntimatī.
The King and the queen were much pleased at this
explanation of Agastya and thenceforward they
began to observe dvādaśī as a day of fasting. (Vāyu
Purāṇa).
21)
Agastya cursing Urvaśī, Jayanta and Nārada. Once
Agastya went to the realm of the Gods, as a guest
of Indra. On that day a performance of dance by
Urvaśī was held in honour of Agastya. In the midst
of the dance Urvaśī's eyes fell on Jayanta and she fell
in love with him; her steps went out of beat. Nārada
also went wrong slightly in playing on his famous
lute called Mahatī. Agastya got angry and cursed
Urvaśī, Jayanta and Nārada. According to the curse
Jayanta became a bud. Urvaśī was born in the earth
as a woman called Mādhavī and ‘Mahatī’ the lute of
Nārada became the lute of the people of the earth.
22)
Agastya cursing Duṣpanya. Duṣpanya was the last
son of the King of Pāṭaliputra. The wicked Duṣpanya
had slain a large number of babies, and the King
therefore expelled him from the palace. Duṣpanya
went into the forest, where he caught hold of the
child of Ugraravas and killed it by putting it under
water. Ugraravas cursed him and accordingly he fell
into water and died and his spirit became a ghost
and wandered about tormented with pain and
anguish. At last the spirit approached Agastya, who
called his disciple Sutīṣṇa and asked him to go and
bathe in the Agnitīrtha (a bath) in the Gandhamā-
dana mountain and bring some water from the tīrtha
and sprinkle it on the spirit of Duṣpanya. Sutīṣṇa
acted accordingly and immediately the spirit of Duṣ-
panya received divine figure and entered heaven. (Setu
Māhātmya).
23)
How Agastya got golden Bangle. Once Agastya
entered a forest of about a hundred yojanas wide. The
forest was devoid of life. When he had walked a few
more steps some Gandharvas (semi-gods) and celestial
maids came there singing and dancing. From among
them a noble male being came forward to the bank of
a lake in the forest and ate without any hesitation, the
corpse of a man that was lying there. After that he
walked round Agastya and made obeisance to him.
Agastya asked him why he had eaten the corpse of a
man. The noble man told Agastya thus: “In tretā
yuga (the third age) there lived a King named Vidarbha.
I am his son and my name is Śveta. After having ruled.
over my kingdom for a long time, I came to the bank
of this lake and began to do penance. After that dis-
carding my body I entered heaven. Though I attained
heaven my hunger was not appeased. I asked Brahmā
how, I, a dweller of heaven, got this hunger. Brahmā
said that when I was King I had given nothing to any-
body and so I got this hunger even after entering
heaven. As a remedy Brahmā suggested that I should
come here everyday and eat corpse and when I had
completed ten thousand days the hermit Agastya
would come here and that when I offered him a golden
bangle my sin would be washed away.” Saying thus
Śveta offered to Agastya the golden bangle given by
Brahmā and then he vanished and the corpse also dis-
appeared. Śveta went to heaven. (Uttara Rāmāyaṇa).
24)
Other informations concerning Agastya. (1) Agastya had a brother called Sutīṣṇa. (Agni-
purāṇa, Chapter 7).
(2) Sutīṣṇa was Agastya's disciple too. (Setu Māhā-
tmya).
(3) Ilvala and Vātāpi were the sons of the giantess
Ajamukhī. In the valley of a mountain Ajamukhī pray-
ed to Durvāsas for love and thus Ilvala and Vātāpi
were born from Durvāsas. These two sons demanded
that Durvāsas should impart to them all his merits of
penance. Getting angry Durvāsas cursed them that
they would meet with death at the hands of Agastya.
(Skandapurāṇa, Āsura Kāṇḍa).
(4) Agastya had been the priest of the King Khela.
(Ṛgveda, 112th Sūkta).
(5) When Śrī Rāma returned to Ayodhyā, with Sītā
from Laṅkā, hermits from various parts visited him,
among whom, Dattātreya, Namuci, Pramuci, Śrī
Vālmīki, Soma, Kaṇḍu, Agastya and their disciples
were from the South. (Uttara Rāmāyaṇa).
(6) Agastya gave Śrī Rāma an arrow, which, when
shot at an asura (demon) would pierce his heart, pass
on to the other side, fly to the sea and bathe in the
sea-water and return to the quiver, it is said. (Uttara
Rāmāyaṇa).
(7) Once Agastya visited the hermitage of Āpasṭamba.
He asked Agastya, who, of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva,
was the Supreme deity. Agastya replied: “These three
are only three different manifestations of the one
supreme Being”. (Brahmapurāṇa).
(8) For the story of how Agastya cursed the sons of
Maṇibhadra and transformed them to seven palms,
see the word ‘Saptasāla’.
(9) There was a hermit called Sutīṣṇa, to whom Śrī
Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa paid a visit when they were
wandering in the forest. This Sutīṣṇa is the young-
er brother of Agastya. (See the word Sutīṣṇa).
(10) Agastya cursed Śuka and deformed him into a
Rākṣasa. (See the word Śuka ii.).
25)
Conclusion. It is believed that the great hermit
Agastya, who had performed such wonderful deeds by
the merits of his penance, is still doing penance in the
Agastya Kūṭa hills. Agastya who had travelled through-
out the length and breadth of Bhārata had several
hermitages. In the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Āraṇyakāṇḍa,
Sarga 11, a description is given, of a beautiful hermit-
age of Agastya, and the peaceful atmosphere that
prevailed in and around it. Agastya had presented to
Śrī Rāma a bow got from Viṣṇu, when the brothers
visited his hermitage. Agastya had accompanied Śrī
Rāma and his followers on his return journey to
Ayodhyā from Laṅkā, with Sītā after killing Rāvaṇa.
There is a legend in the Tamilnād that Agastya was a
member of the first two ‘Saṅghas’ (groups) of the
“three Saṅghas”, mentioned in Tamil literature. As
Agastya was dwarfish he is mentioned as Kurumuni,
(short hermit) in Tamil works. He has written a Tamil
grammar on music, literature and drama. But this
work is not available now. The Tamil Grammar
‘Tolkāpyam’, which is considered to be the oldest gram-
mar, was written by Tolkāpyār, one of the twelve
disciples of Agastya. Even today in certain temples in
the Tamilnād, Agastya-worship is carried on. Kambar,
has mentioned about Agastya in his Rāmāyaṇa. A great
Tamil author Villiputturan says that the Tamil langu-
age is the beautiful maiden presented by Agastya.
It is believed that the following works have been com-
posed by Agastya:
1) Agastya Gītā; in the Varāhapurāṇa, Paśupālopākh-
yāna.
2) Agastya Saṃhitā; in Pañcarātra.
3) Agastya Saṃhitā, in the Skandapurāṇa.
4) Śiva Saṃhitā, in Bhāskara Saṃhitā.
5) Dvaidha-nirṇaya Tantra.