Agastya or
Agathiyar(അഗസ്ത്യ in
Malayalam, அகத்தியர் in
Tamil) was a
Vedic Siddhar or sage. Agastya and
his clan are also credited to have "authored" many
mantras of the
Rig Veda, the
earliest and most revered Hindu scripture, in the sense of first
having the mantras revealed in his mind by the Supreme
Brahman. Agastya is also the author of Agastya
Samhita[ref: Dharma Bharathi]. In some reckonings, Agastya is the
greatest of the Seven Sages or
Saptarshis.
The word is also written as
Agasti. A-ga means a
mountain, Asti, thrower. Also a name of
Shiva.
Agastya the Muni, was born of both Gods,
Mitra
and
Varuna, from Urvashi.
Agastya is
also the Indian astronomical name of the star of Canopus, is said to be the 'cleanser of waters',
since its rising coincides with the calming of the waters of the
Indian
Ocean
.Another reference is in the
Mahabharata in Sauptikaparva as the teacher of
Guru
Drona, who gave Drona, the greatest of
weapons,
Brahmastra (used by both
Arjuna and
Ashwatthama at the end of the war).
Agastya and Lopāmudrā
As with all other
Hindus, it was necessary for
Agastya to marry and sire a son, in order to fulfill his duties to
the Manus. Once he resolved upon doing this, Agastya pursued an
unusual course of action: by his yogic powers, he created a female
infant who possessed all the special qualities of character and
personality that would be appropriate in the wife of a renunciate.
At this time, the noble and virtuous king of
Vidarbha (an area in south-central India, just
south of the Vindhya mountains), was childless and was undergoing
penances and prayers for the gift of a child. Agastya arranged for
the child he had created to be born the daughter of that noble king
of Vidarbha. The child was named "
Lopamudra" by her parents. Upon her coming of age,
Agathitar approached the king and sought the hand of his daughter.
The king was initially chagrined to hear such a suggestion from a
renunciate, but found that his daughter, who had early exhibited
extraordinary standards of mind and character, was insistent that
he should accept the proposal. She was utterly intent upon
exchanging the palace of her father the king for the
forest-hermitage of Agastya. Lopamudra and Agastya were duly
married and lived a life of extraordinary felicity. It is believed
that they had two sons - Bringi & Achuthan.
In Mahabharata (Vana Parva: Tirtha-yatra Parva),
there is mention of his penance at Gangadwara (Haridwar
), with the
help of his wife, Lopamudra (the princess
of Vidharba) .
Legends about Agastya
One story about Agastya goes that once the demons had taken refuge
in the ocean and it was difficult for the gods to vanquish them, so
they went to Sage Agastya for help. Then, after hearing the gods,
the sage drank the entire ocean water and held it within him until
the demons were destroyed. After the demons were destroyed, Devtas
requested him to save the sea animals who were dying because of
lack of water. At Devtas request Agathiya munivar released all the
water as urine and that is why the sea water became salty.
Agastya is said
[] to have "dedicated"
all the forest animals to the deity
Rudra
hence making them fit for eating if killed while hunting.Agastya is
famous for being the first siddhar in the siddhars tradition. He
created many medicines, and jadhakam, mandhrikam and he said all of
them.
In his book, he gives description of, and instructions for the
creation of medicines for fever(it may be of any type), cancer,
treatments for impotence, abdominal problems, brain and eye
problems, bone problems, etc. Reputedly, his medicines give quick
results without any side effects.
Another legend is about how Sage Agastya saved the earth from
imbalance. Mount Meru, a mountain in the Vindhya Range, felt that
the Sun should not go from East to West without its permission, so
it grew and grew and grew, till the sun could not pass. The devas
were worried and approached Sage Agastya to help them. Sage
Agastya, and his family traveled to South India, via mount Meru. On
their way, Sage Agastya requested the mountain not to grow any
further, until his return. Mount Meru humbly agreed. After passing
through the mountain, sage Agastya told his wife that they will
never go back north of mount Meru.
And it is believed that till date Sage Agastya has never left South
India. It is believed that he was the only sage excused from
attending the wedding of Lord Shiva, and other events that
consisted of the Seven Siddhar(Seven Sages), so that the earth
would not be imbalanced.
Before Sage Agastya left for South India, it is believed that Lord
Shiva requested him to create a new language for the people of
South India, Tamizh (Tamil as it is pronounced). Hence Siddhar
Agastya is considered the father of Tamizh Mozhi (Tamil
Language)
Vathapi legend
Another story has it that two demon brothers, Ilvala and Vathapi,
used to kill people who were passing by the forest in a special
manner. Vathapi was good at changing to other life forms and the
other, Ilvala knew the supernatural slogan
Sanjivani mantra which, when invoked can
bring back a dead person to life. They hatched a plan against
Agastya that Vathapi would turn into a goat and be killed and fed
to Agastya. After Agastya had eaten the meat, Ilvala would invoke
the Sanjivani mantra to bring back his brother Vathapi to life, who
in turn would rend Agastya's stomach and come out thereby killing
him. By the plan, one changed into a goat and the other disguised
himself as a
Brahmachari who invited
Agastya to a meal. Agastya knew beforehand about the plan due to
his immense
Vedic powers,
but he resolved to teach both a lesson. After the meal, Agastya
simply rubbed his stomach saying
Vathapi JeerNo bhava;
literally
may Vathapi be digested, while the other demon
tried to bring his brother to life in vain. Agastya plainly
informed the demon that his brother has been digested and could no
longer be brought back to life.
Other facets of Agastya
He is considered as the first and foremost
Siddha. He is considered the guru of many other
Siddhas. He is also called Kurumuni, meaning
short (kuru) saint (muni). He made contributions to the field of
Medicine and
Astrology - especially
Nadi astrology. He is said
[] to have lived for over 5000 years, and that one
of his medicinal preparations, Boopathi Kuligai, is so powerful
that it can even bring the dead back to life. Two of his students
and disciples were
Therayar and
Tholkappiar.Another story about him is that once
when the great sage accompanied by his beloved royal wife were
wandering through forests, she fainted due to the humidity and hot
conditions prevailing in the south. She was royal, hence not
exposed to hard conditions. By seeing this the great sage became
angry and prepared to punish the Sun God with his bow and arrows.
Upon seeing this the sun god feared and appeared before Agastya and
presented him with umbrella and
chappals
(foot wear).
Unity of Vishnu and Shiva
At a
Saivite temple named Kutralam
, formerly a
Vishnu temple, in Tamil
Nadu
, Agastya, in one legend, was refused entry.
He then appeared as a Vaishnavite devotee and is said to have
miraculously converted the image to a Shiva
linga. A symbolic meaning of this conversion is to
show that Vishnu and Shiva are different aspects of the one and
same God.
In Akilam
According to
Akilattirattu
Ammanai, the religious book of
Ayyavazhi, Agastya was created from the mind of
lord
Siva inorder to offer boons to
Kaliyan (See:Boons offered to Kaliyan). As
per the order of Siva, Agastya offered many boons including all
worldly knowledge to him.
So as per Ayyavazhi, in
Kali Yukam all
the knowledge, including the basic formulae and forms of modern
scientific technologies came from Agastya.
Certain important Stotrams
See also
References
- Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN
0-500-51088-1) by Anna Dhallapiccola
- Sanskrit-English Dictionary (ISBN 0-19-864308-X) by
Sir Monier
Monier-Williams
- The Sauptikaparvan of the Mahabharata A new verse
translation by W.J. Johnson
- The Epic Tale of Mahabharatam
- Dharma Bharathi, 2007, Karnataka, India - Carried a series
of articles on Agastya Samhita and its contents.
- Agastya, Amar Chitra Katha
Notes
- Lopamudra The Mahabharata, translated by Kisari Mohan
Ganguli (1883 -1896), Book 3: Vana Parva: Tirtha-yatra Parva:
Section XCVII.
- http://www.celextel.org/storiesandanecdotes/agasthya.html
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