Agastya (अगस्त्यः)

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वंशावली ॥ Ancestry

The Puranic encyclopaedia traces the ancestry of Rshi Agastya right up to Lord Brahma.

Ancestry of Agastya

इल्वलः वातापिः च । Ilvala and Vatapi

Rshi Agastya's encounter with the daityas Ilvala and Vatapi is described in the Chapters 96-99 of the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata.

The daitya (son of Diti) Ilvala lived in Manimati. Vatapi was his younger brother. Once Ilvala approached a tapasvi brahmana and requested that he be granted with a son as powerful as Indra. However, the brahmana refused the same. This enraged Ilvala and since then, filled with anger, Ilvala began to destroy brahmanas. The elder brother converted the younger one (Vatapi) into a goat and served him as the meal everytime a brahmana visited his house. Ilvala had the power to bring back anyone from the yamaloka by merely calling them out by their name.It is said that,

स चाह्वयति यं वाचा गतं वैवस्वतक्षयम्। स पुनर्देहमास्थाय जीवन्स्म प्रत्यदृश्यत ॥९६.९॥ (Maha. Vana Parv. )

sa cāhvayati yaṁ vācā gataṁ vaivasvatakṣayam। sa punardehamāsthāya jīvansma pratyadr̥śyata ॥96.9॥

Therefore, when the brahmana finished eating, Ilvala would call aloud. “Vatapi, come out”. And breaking the stomach of the guest open, Vatapi would come out. In this way Ilvala had killed a good number of brahmanas. It was to this Ilvala that Rshi Agastya, in order to fulfil his duty as a husband towards his wife Lopamudra, once came to ask for money along with the Rajas Shrutarva, Bradhnashva and Trasadasyu. Ilvala welcomed the guests with due hospitality and as usual killed the goat to offer it to the guests. This disturbed the Rajarshis and they became stunned.However, Rshi Agastya Said,

विषादो वो न कर्तव्यो ह्यहं भोक्ष्ये महासुरम् ॥९९.४॥ (Maha. Vana Parv. )

viṣādo vo na kartavyo hyahaṁ bhokṣye mahāsuram ॥99.4॥

Meaning: Do not yield to grief, I will eat up the great Asura. Saying thus, the mighty Rshi sat himself down and the prince of Asuras, Ilvala, served the food smilingly. When Agastya had finished eating, Ilvala called Vatapi loudly. He kept repeating,

वातापे निष्क्रमस्व ॥९९.८॥ vātāpe niṣkramasva ॥99.8॥ (Maha. Vana Parv. )

Meaning: Come out, O Vatapi ! Then that best of Munis, Agastya, bursting out in laughter, said,

कुतो निष्क्रमितुं शक्तो मया जीर्णस्तु सोऽसुरः ॥९९.९॥ (Maha. Vana Parv. )

kuto niṣkramituṁ śakto mayā jīrṇastu so'suraḥ ॥99.9॥

Meaning: How can he come out ? I have already digested that great Asura. Beholding his brother already digested, Ilvala though sad, joined his hands and asked the guests about the purpose of their visit. At this, Agastya said,

यथाशक्त्यविहिंस्यान्यान्संविभागं प्रयच्छ नः ॥९९.१२॥ (Maha. Vana Parv.)

yathāśaktyavihiṁsyānyānsaṁvibhāgaṁ prayaccha naḥ ॥99.12॥

Meaning: Give us what you can, without injuring others. To this Ilvala said,

दित्सितं यदि वेत्सि त्वंततो दास्यामि ते वसु ॥९९.१३॥ (Maha. Vana Parv.)

ditsitaṁ yadi vetsi tvaṁtato dāsyāmi te vasu ॥99.13॥

Meaning: 'If you say (guess) what it is that I mean to give, then will I give you wealth.' To this the sage replied,

गवां दशसहस्राणि राज्ञामेकैकशोऽसुर। तावदेव सुवर्णस्य दित्सितं ते महासुर ॥९९.१४॥

मह्यं ततो वै द्विगुणं रथश्चैव हिरण्मयः। मनोजवौ वाजिनौ च दित्सितं ते महासुर ॥९९.१५॥ (Maha. Vana Parv.)

gavāṁ daśasahasrāṇi rājñāmekaikaśo'sura। tāvadeva suvarṇasya ditsitaṁ te mahāsura ॥99.14॥

mahyaṁ tato vai dviguṇaṁ rathaścaiva hiraṇmayaḥ। manojavau vājinau ca ditsitaṁ te mahāsura ॥99.15॥

Meaning: O great Asura, you wish to give each of these Rajas ten thousand cows and as many gold coins. And to me you have thought to give twice as much, as also a chariot of gold with two horses with speed as fast thought attached to it. To this, Ilvala agreed that all that Rshi Agastya had said was true but for the chariot which, according to him, was not made of gold. Rshi Agastya then said,

न मे वागनृता काचिदुक्तपूर्वा महाऽसुर। विज्ञायतां रथः साधु व्यक्तमस्ति हिरण्मयः ॥ (Maha. Vana Parv.)

na me vāganr̥tā kāciduktapūrvā mahā'sura। vijñāyatāṁ rathaḥ sādhu vyaktamasti hiraṇmayaḥ ।।

Meaning: O great Asura ! Never has a false statement ever been uttered by me before. Therefore, enquire now, you will soon learn that your chariot is made of gold. And indeed on enquiry, the chariot turned out to be made of gold. The awe-stricken asura Ilvala thus gave each Raja ten thousand cows and as much gold and to Agastya, he doubled the quantity and also presented him with a chariot hitched with two fine horses called Viravan and suravan.In fact, as the horses took flight towards Agastya Rshi’s hermitage along with the wealth and other Rajas, the Asura Ilvala followed the Rshi with the desire to kill him. However, the great Rshi is said to have burnt the Asura with a mere ‘hunkara’

इल्वलस्त्वनुगम्यैनमगस्त्यं हन्तुमैच्छत। भस्म चक्रे महातेजा हुङ्कारेण महाऽसुरम्' ।। (Maha. Vana Parv.)

ilvalastvanugamyainamagastyaṁ hantumaicchata। bhasma cakre mahātejā huṅkāreṇa mahā'suram' ।।

And thus, Agastya Rshi returned to his hermitage and fulfilled the wishes of his wife Lopamudra.

अगस्त्यपुत्रः ॥ Agastya's Son

The birth of Rshi Agastya's son is described in the chapter 99 of the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata. When Rshi Agastya's wife Lopamudra expressed her desire for a powerful son, Rshi Agastya who was pleased with her virtuous behaviour asked her,

सहस्रं तेऽस्तु पुत्राणां शतं वा दशसम्मितम् । दश वा शततुल्याः स्युरेको वाऽपि सहस्रजित् ॥९९.२१॥ (Maha. Vana Parv.)

sahasraṁ te'stu putrāṇāṁ śataṁ vā daśasammitam । daśa vā śatatulyāḥ syureko vā'pi sahasrajit ॥99.21॥

Meaning: 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 one son greater and nobler than one thousand sons - which of these do you prefer? Lopamudra preferred one son. She said,

सहस्रसम्मितः पुत्र एकोऽप्यस्तु तपोधन । एको हि बहुभिः श्रेयान् विद्वान् साधुरसाधुभिः ॥९९.२२॥

sahasrasammitaḥ putra eko'pyastu tapodhana । eko hi bahubhiḥ śreyān vidvān sādhurasādhubhiḥ ॥99.22॥

Meaning: Oh sage, may I have just one great son equal to a thousand. For, in comparison to many wicked sons, one scholarly and great son is always considered best.

Rshi Agastya granted her wish and as she was carrying, he went to the forest to do penance. This lustrous child of Rshi Agastya and Lopamudra, born after spending 7 years in his mother's womb was the great hermit Drdhasyu. Right from the time of his birth, this child is said to have studied the Vedas along with its Shad angas and the Upanishads. Since he used to gather samidha, also known as idhma, (twigs for kindling the ritual fire) for his father, he was also known by the name Idhmavaha (one who carries idhma).

Agastya and the Vindhyas

Once the talebearer Narada happened to come to the Vindhya mountain, who gladly welcomed Narada, gave him a seat, showed hospitality and asked for news. Narada said “May you be blessed. Just now I am coming from the Mahameru. Indra, Agni (fire) and other deities live there. Kailasa, Nishadha, Nila, Gandhamadana 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 journeys 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 deities approached sage Agastya and made their petition to him. And he agreed to pacify Vindhya somehow or the other. With this objective, sage Agastya and his wife came to Vindhya from Kashinagara. When Vindhya saw sage Agastya, he began to shiver with fear. Contracting all his high peaks, he bowed before the sage, who then said to the mountain thus “Vindhya, I am going to South Bharata. Let your heads be low till I come back” and Vindhya agreed. Sage Agastya then went on to the South, built a hermitage in the Malayachala and lived there. Since then, neither has Agastya ever gone to the North nor has the Vindhya ever risen up. In fact, as he had made the mountain (Aga) bow its head, the sage is said to have got the name Agastya. This story is enumerated in the Tenth skandha (Chapters 2-7) of the Devi Bhagavata.

अगस्त्यकर्तृकं विन्ध्यगिरिवृद्धिनिवारणं देवैः सह सागरतटगमनं च (3.104)

पञ्चाधिकशततमोऽध्यायः

तीर्थयात्रापर्व

अगस्त्येन समुद्रसलिले पीते सति देवैर्दैत्यसंहारः पुनः समुद्रपूरणविषये देवानां ब्रह्माणं प्रति प्रश्नः

षडधिकशततमोऽध्यायः

तीर्थयात्रापर्व

राज्ञः सागरस्य सन्तानार्थं तपः शिवकर्तृकं वरप्रदानं च