Amazing stories of Agastya Muni- Part II

 Once Agasthya thought he should marry.

So he went in search of a suitable bride to the King of Vidarbha who had a daughter named  Lopamudra. 

Agasthya met the king and said,“0 King, I want to marry your daughter.”

Lopamudra agreed to marry Agasthya. 

After marriage  she followed Agasthya .

 She proved an excellent wife. 

She obeyed every wish of his and never said a word in disagreement. 

Agasthya was very happy to get such a dutiful wife.

Once Lopamudra remembered the ornaments and silk sarees that she wore in the palace of her father.

 So she said very hesitantly to Agasthya,

“I want to wear ornaments and fine clothes. Please get me some.”

She was the daughter of a king.

 Hence it was natural that she should ask for such things. 

And he felt that it was his duty to fulfill her .

He went to emperors and monarchs and asked them for ornaments.

Many kings, feeling happy and thinking that it was their good fortune to fulfill the wishes of such a great sage, gave him jewels.

 Thus Agasthya went to three kings. Shrutharva, Bradhnashwa, and Thrasadasyu.

They too gave ornaments and dresses happily. 

Then they said, “The rakshasa kings of Badami, llvala or Atapi, and Vatapi, are very rich.

You can ask them, too” Sage Agasthya came to Badami. 

It is said that the place where Vatapi and llvala lived, is the present Badami of Karnataka, in South India.

Ilvala wanted child like Indra,but the bramhmins refused to pray for him. So he was taking  revenge of them by killing. 

Ilvala and Vatapi had a clever trick to kill the sages. 

Both were masters of magic. 

They could do what seemed impossible to others.

They would go to the sages in mock humility and invite them.

 The sages used to accept the invitation.

llvala with his magic would convert Vatapi into a goat.

 He would kill the goat and cook the meat.

 It was fed to the guest. 

The innocent sages used to eat it. 

Then after the meal llvala would shout, “Vatapi, come out.”

 Then Vatapi who was in the stomach of the guest would tear it open and come out thereby  killing  them. 

They killed  9000 sages till Agastya visited them. 

The demons were happy as Agastya  came without their invitation. 

Before giving Agastya  the ornaments,they asked him first accept their hospitality .

The food was ready. Atapi called Agasthya to dinner. 

Agasthya asked  for  Vatapi.

Atapi  said, 

“He has gone on an urgent work. You are a Maharshi, why should you wait? Please have food. He will come soon.”

Agasthya laughed and said, ”Yes, yes; of course, he will come soon.” 

Atapi meant that Vatapi would burst forth from Agasthya’s body. 

Agasthya understood what  Atapi  said, but Atapi  did not understand the meaning of Agasthya’s comment.

Agasthya happily finished his meal. Later addressing Atapi, he said,

“I had never eaten such a sumptuous meal. I have never seen such a dutiful host like you.”

So saying he drew his hand on his stomach and said, “I am satisfied, really satisfied. Vatapi, be digested” and belched.

Agastya  said,"Vaatapi Jeerno Bhava"

Seeing all this Atapi was afraid. As usual, he called out, “Vatapi, come out.” But no one came.

He called again and yet again. But it was of no use. Vatapi had been digested by Agasthya long before. How could he come out?

Atapi  lost his senses  & attacked Agasthya.

Then begged mercy. 

Agastya  turned him & his brother into  a hillock nearby  Aiohle &  so the city nearby get the name of Vatapi. 

There's a lake beside the hill called Agastya Tirth.

 He then gathered all the fine clothes and jewels he wanted from the treasury of the evil brothers and went back to his hermitage.

Agasthya’s fame spread all over the world.

Even today ‘Vatapi, be digested’ has become a proverb reminding people of Agasthya’s might.

Kaveri the Great Mother

The people of Karnataka rejoice at the very mention of Kaveri.

 The river Kaveri flows through three states and bestows food on human beings and animals; she gives them water to drink, too.

It is Kaveri who gives electricity so that towns and villages of Karnataka have light and industries have power.

Food for the body, light to the eyes, wealth to the state, and joy to the mind – Mother Kaveri grants all these. Kaveri was the wife of Agasthya.

She flowed in the form of a river, so that the people may be happy. And Agasthya consented because it was for the good of the people.

This, too, is an interesting story.

There are different versions of the story of Agasthya and Kaveri. 

But the most important thing is that the daughter of the sage Kavera became Kaveri. 

She married Agasthya and, so that the people may prosper, she became a river.

 Kavera was living in BBrahmagir.It is a part of the Sahyadri mountain ranges.  He performed tapas and became a rishi. He had built a hermitage where he could perform tapas.

His great ambition was to help mankind in some way or the other and acquire ‘Punya’ (merit in the eyes of God). 

Lord Shiva was pleased with his long tapas and appeared before Kavera. He listened to his prayer and blessed him with a daughter by name Kaveri. He said, “Your ambition will be fulfilled through Kaveri.”

Kaveri grew up and became a lovely maiden. The rishi, Kavera, told his daughter Kaveri how he yearned to help mankind. As she listened to his words, Kaveri also thought, ‘how wonderful would it be if through me the whole land is benefited! Then my life will become meaningful.’

At this time Sage Agasthya came to Brahmagiri. All the sages of the place welcomed and honored him. Kavera, too, invited Agasthya to his hermitage. On seeing Agasthya, Kavera had an idea.

“After all Kaveri is of marriageable age. If she is married to Agasthya then she will be his partner in the service of mankind.”

He spoke his mind to Kaveri, too. She also knew the greatness of the sage. She was very happy at the thought of becoming the wife of Agasthya.

Sage Kavera married her to Agasthya and felt that his life’s mission had been fulfilled. Kaveri lived happily serving her husband. Agasthya too built his hermitage in the Brahmagiri itself and was immersed in tapas. But one thought always troubled Kaveri; she yearned to serve the world.

She spoke about her desire to Agasthya too and asked for his guidance. He used to console her saying ‘There will come a time for everything.’

At this period in the south, there was a powerful rakshasa by name Shoorapadma. He hated Indra, the king of the gods. He was angry at human beings too, because they worshipped the gods. To destroy human beings, he used his magical powers and prevented the rains from reaching the earth.

There were no rains and so people suffered intensely. The lands became parched and cracks appeared. Animals and birds could not get food or water. Their suffering was beyond words. All over the land, there was sheer misery. Lack of food and water made life unbearable.

Kaveri had always been yearning to help the people; now she saw an opportunity. She was very eager to help the people and the animals in their distress. She prayed to all the gods with folded hands: “At least now grant my wish.” At last, the hour of the fulfillment of Kaveri’s prayer dawned!

It was early morning; Agasthya was getting ready to go to the lake for his bath. Kaveri had to be alone in the hermitage. She could not accompany him as usual, as she was not well.

How could Agasthya leave her alone in the hermitage? Then Agasthya thought of a plan. He transformed Kaveri into the water; he filled up his ’Kamandla’ (water pot) with the water and thus took Kaveri along with him to the lake. He put the water pot on a rock nearby and entered the lake for his bath.

The gods had decided that Kaveri should be instrumental in ending the famine and that the people should be saved. So they were waiting for Agasthya to leave the water pot and go.

Immediately the Lord of the Gods, Indra prayed to Ganesha to release Kaveri from the pot. 

Then Ganesha transformed  himself in the form of a crow and gave jerk to the water pot. The water gurgled forth. The earth, which was parched, was thrilled and rejoiced at the touch of water.

Agasthya knew nothing of what had happened. He returned after his bath. What did he see? Released from the pot Kaveri was racing forth gladly. Wave followed wave and the foam danced on the gurgling water.

She turned this way and that; formed a little circle here and a little circle there, and laughing ran away. She was moving quite happily. Agasthya was thunder-struck. 

He was very unhappy and cried out,“Kaveri, 0 Kaveri, why did you leave me?”

Calling out her name he tried to catch her. But Kaveri was now beyond his reach.

Ganesha appeared before Agasthya along with the gods and said,

“Agasthya, do not be troubled. By your grace, Kaveri has gone forth like a river to help the people. She and her father had been waiting for such a fulfillment for a long time. Her wish was fulfilled as soon as you transformed her into water. May Kaveri give wealth and food to the people of the South as long as the world lasts! May she sustain millions and millions of lives! May she be the river of grace that washes away sins and makes sinners pure!“

Agasthya felt as though Kaveri, too, was praying, with bowed head saying,

“Lord, I changed into a river and left you without your permission. Please forgive me.”

‘True,’ said Agasthya to himself, ‘how many lives does Kaveri sustain now? She is the mother of mankind. Well, I have served the world in my way; let the world now receive help from her!’

These thoughts comforted the sage. He blessed Kaveri and took leave of the gods. And Kaveri became far-famed as the Ganga of the South!

In some stories  Lopamudra  is called as Kaveri. 

Shri Rama visited

Agasthya was living amid the sages in the forest of Dandakaranya. He was running a Gurukula (a residential institution to which students who sought education joined) and was the teacher of a large number of students.

Shri Rama, the Prince of Ayodhya, had to spend fourteen years in the forest. 

He came to Dandakaranya with his wife Seetha and his brother Lakshmana. The sages welcomed them with great affection. Shri Rama, Seetha, and Lakshmana came to the hermitage of Agasthya.

Because of his spiritual powers, Agasthya had known for a long time that Shri Rama would visit him. Agasthya looked after the guests well. He gave Rama a mighty bow known as the Vaishnava Dhanus and a quiver known as Akshaya Thuneera.(अक्षय भाता)

This was a quiver that would always be full of arrows. He also bestowed on him several weapons of rare power. According to his advice, Rama and Lakshmana built a ‘Parnakuti’ (a hut) on the banks of the river Godavari and went to live there.

Later, in the war between Rama and Ravana, Agasthya was among the many sages who assembled to watch the mightly battle. Ravana, too, was a great warrior. Shri Ramachandra was worried. He did not know how to kill Ravana.

Then Agasthya came forward and taught him the most sacred mantra known as the ‘Adithya Hridaya’. It was addressed to the Sun God. By chanting it three times Rama got the strength to kill Ravana. Then peace and happiness reigned on earth.

After returning to Ayodhya Shri Rama Chandra became the king. He had killed Ravana and brought relief to a troubled world, but his mind was not at peace. He was worried. At this time with Agasthya as the leader, a group of sages came to see Shri Rama.

Agasthya understood the cause of Rama’s unhappiness. Rama had killed Ravana, the great-grandson of Brahma, the Creator, and so his mind was clouded. As a remedy, Agasthya advised Rama to perform the Ashvamedha Sacrifice.

Such acts of Agasthya won him reverence everywhere. He was a devotee of Ishwara and Shanmukha; it is said that carrying out their instructions, he popularized the Tamil language.

The people of Tamil Nadu honor him even today as the Father of the Tamil Language. The Shivalingas installed by Agasthya are famous to this day as ‘Agasthyeshwara’. There is also a pool by the name Agasthyateertha in the south.

Since he was the first among the sages to come to the south, the south is named after him. There is also a story about his mastery over the music. It is said that Agasthya defeated even the great Ravana in a contest of playing on the Veena.

                              Agastya plays better  Veena than Ravana

He gave many disciples to the world; he formulated many Vedic mantras; he wrote a learned work called ‘The Grihyasuthra’, and the credit of popularizing the famous ’Lalithasahasranama’ (the Thousand Names of the Goddess Lalitha) goes to Agasthya and Lopamudra.

In all the stories about Agasthya, we find magnificent will power. A mountain or the ocean, what does it matter? I shall conquer all – such was the undaunted attitude of this great sage.

Mountain, river, or ocean – everything should be of service to the world. Human beings or rakshasas – the evil doer must be punished. That was his principle. Because of his tapas, he equaled in weight all the gods; the very mountain bowed before him; all the water of the ocean just filled his palm.

Thus in every story about him, we see the heroic soul of man.  It is no wonder that people devoutly believe that God, pleased with the magnificent deeds of Agasthya, transformed him into a star so that he might look down from the sky on that world which he saved, guided, and enriched. May the blessings of such a great soul be on us and be our shield in life!