Agastya | |
|---|---|
 Agastya | |
| Title | Siddhar |
| Personal life | |
| Spouse | Lopamudra |
| Children | Drdhasyu |
| Parent(s) | Mitra-Varuna (father) andUrvashi (mother) orPulastya (father) and Havirbhū (mother)[1] |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Agastya was a reveredIndian sage ofHinduism.[2] In the Indian tradition, he is a noted recluse and an influential scholar in diverse languages of theIndian subcontinent. He is regarded in some traditions to be aChiranjivi. He and his wifeLopamudra are the celebrated authors of hymns 1.165 to 1.191 in theSanskrit textRigveda and otherVedic literature.[2][3][4]
Agastya is considered to be the father ofSiddha medicine. Agastya appears in numerousitihasas andPuranas including the majorRamayana andMahabharata.[4][5] He is one of the seven most reveredrishis (theSaptarishi) in the Vedic texts,[6] and is revered as one of theTamilSiddhar in theShaivism tradition, who invented an early grammar of theOld Tamil language,Agattiyam, playing a pioneering role in the development ofTampraparniyan medicine and spirituality at Saiva centres in proto-era Sri Lanka and South India. He is also revered in thePuranic literature ofShaktism andVaishnavism.[7] He is one of the Indian sages found in ancient sculpture and reliefs in Hindu temples of South Asia, and Southeast Asia such as in the early medieval era Shaiva temples onJava Indonesia. He is the principal figure andGuru in the ancientJavanese language textAgastyaparva, whose 11th-century version survives.[8][9]
Agastya is traditionally attributed to be the author of many Sanskrit texts such as theAgastya Gita found inVaraha Purana,Agastya Samhita found embedded inSkanda Purana, and theDvaidha-Nirnaya Tantra text.[4] He is also referred to asMana,Kalasaja,Kumbhaja,Kumbhayoni andMaitravaruni after his mythical origins.[8][10][11]
Several different etymologies have been suggested for "Agastya". One theory states that the root isAj orAnj, which connotes "brighten, effulgent one" and links Agastya to "one who brightens" in darkness, and Agastya is traditionally the Indian name forCanopus, the second most brilliantly shining star found in skies in the Indian sub-continent, next to Sirius.[12] A third theory links it to Indo-European origins, through the Iranian wordgasta which means "sin, foul", anda-gasta would mean "not sin, not foul".[13] The fourth theory, based on folk etymology in verse 2.11 of theRamayana states that Agastya is fromaga (unmoving or mountain) andgam (move), and together these roots connote "one who is mover-of-mountains", or "mover-of-the-unmoving".[14] The word is also written asAgasti andAgathiyar.[15][16]
Agastya is the named author of several hymns of theRigveda. These hymns do not provide his biography.[2][17] The origins of Agastya - Pulastya, one of the Rig Vedic Saptarishis is his father. His miraculous rebirth follows ayajna being done by godsVaruna andMitra, where the celestialapsaraUrvashi appears.[18] They are overwhelmed by her extraordinary sexuality and ejaculate. Their semen falls into a mud pitcher, which is the womb in which the fetus of Agastya grows. He is born from this jar, along with his twin sageVasistha in some mythologies.[19] This mythology gives him the namekumbhayoni, which literally means "he whose womb was a mud pot".[18][20]
Agastya is aTamilBrahmin (Maraiyar) who leads anascetic life, educates himself, becoming a celebrated sage. His unknown origins have led to speculative proposals that the Vedic-era Agastya may have been a migrant whose ideas influenced the south.[21][22][23]
According to inconsistent legends in the Puranic and the epics, the ascetic sage Agastya proposed toLopamudra, a princess born in the kingdom ofVidarbha. Her parents were unwilling to bless the engagement, concerned that she would be unable to live the austere lifestyle of Agastya in the forest. However, the legends state that Lopamudra accepted him as her husband, saying that Agastya has the wealth of ascetic living, her own youth will fade with seasons, and it is his virtue that makes him the right person. Therewith, Lopamudra becomes the wife of Agastya.[24] In other versions, Lopamudra marries Agastya, but after the wedding, she demands that Agastya provide her with basic comforts before she will consummate the marriage, a demand that ends up forcing Agastya to return to society and earn wealth.[25]
Agastya and Lopamudra have a son named Drdhasyu, sometimes called Idhmavaha. He is described in theMahabharata as a boy who learns the Vedas by listening to his parents while he is in the womb, and is born into the world reciting the hymns.[26]
Agastya had a hermitage (ashram), but the ancient and medieval era Indian texts provide inconsistent stories and location for thisashram. Two legends place it in Northwest Maharashtra, on the banks of the riverGodavari, nearNashik in small towns namedAgastyapuri andAkole. Other putative sites mentioned in Northern and Eastern Indian sources are nearSangli in Ainwadi (Agastinagar) (Tal-khanapur) village (Western ghats at Maharashtra), or nearKannauj (Uttar Pradesh), or in Agastyamuni village nearRudraprayag (Uttarakhand), orSatpura Range (Madhya Pradesh). In Southern sources and the North IndianDevi-Bhagavata Purana, hisashram is based in Tamil Nadu, variously placed inTirunelveli, thePothigai Hills, orThanjavur.[27] Facing east, he penanced upon a rock atKanyakumari immediately after the beginning ofKali Yuga. It is also considered that his final resting place is inAgastyarkoodam inThiruvananthapuram.
Agastya is mentioned in all the four Vedas ofHinduism, and is a character in theBrahmanas,Aranyakas,Upanishads, epics, and manyPuranas.[11] He is the author of hymns 1.165 to 1.191 of theRigveda (~1200 BCE).[2][17] He ran a Vedic school (gurukul), as evidenced by hymn 1.179 of theRigveda which credits its author to be his wife Lopamudra and his students.[11] He was a respected sage in the Vedic era, as many other hymns of theRigveda composed by other sages refer to Agastya. The hymns composed by Agastya are known for verbal play and similes, puzzles and puns, and striking imagery embedded within his spiritual message.[28]
Agastya vedic verses
With thee, O Indra, are most bounteous riches
that further every one who lives uprightly.
Now may these Maruts show us loving-kindness,
Gods who of old were ever prompt to help us.
—1.169.5,
Transl: Ralph T.H. Griffith[29]
May we know refreshment,
and a community having lively waters.
—1.165.15,1.166.15,1.167.11, etc.
Transl: Stephanie Jamison, Joel Brereton;[28]
His Vedic poetry is particularly notable for two themes.[28] In one set of hymns, Agastya describes a conflict between two armies led by gods Indra and Maruts, which scholars such asG. S. Ghurye have interpreted as an allegory of a conflict between Arya (Indra) and Dasa (Rudra).[22][30] Agastya successfully reconciles their conflict, makes an offering wherein he prays for understanding and loving-kindness between the two. Twenty one out of the twenty seven hymns he composed in Mandala 1 of theRigveda have his signature ending, wherein he appeals, "may each community know refreshment (food) and lively waters".[28] These ideas have led him to be considered as a protector of both the Arya and the Dasa.[31] However, some scholars interpret the same hymns to be an allegory for any two conflicting ideologies or lifestyles, because Agastya never uses the words Arya or Dasa, and only uses the phraseubhau varnav (literally, "both colors").[22][32][33] The theme and idea of "mutual understanding" as a means for lasting reconciliation, along with Agastya's name, reappears in section 1.2.2 of theAitareya Aranyaka of Hinduism.[34]
The second theme, famous in the literature of Hinduism, is a discussion between his wife Lopamudra and him about the human tension between the monastic solitary pursuit of spirituality, versus the responsibility of a householder's life and raising a family. Agastya argues that there are many ways to happiness and liberation, while Lopamudra presents her arguments about the nature of life, time and the possibility of both. She successfully seduces Agastya, in the simile filled Rigvedic hymn 1.179.[28][35]
Agastya is mentioned in both the oldest and the youngest layers of theRigveda (c. 1500–1200 BCE), such as in hymn 33 of mandala 7, which is older than mandala 1.[36] He is also mentioned in the other three Vedas and theVedanga literature such as in verses 5.13–14 of theNirukta.[11][36] Agastya and his ideas are cited in numerous other Vedic texts, such as section 7.5.5 ofTaittiriya Samhita, 10.11 ofKathaka Samhita, 2.1 ofMaitrayani Samhita, 5.16 ofAitareya Brahmana, 2.7.11 ofTaittiriya Brahmana, and 21.14 ofPancavimsati Brahmana.[14]
Sage Agastya is mentioned in the Hindu epicRamayana in several chapters with his hermitage described to be on the banks of riverGodavari.[37]
In theRamayana, Agastya and Lopamudra are described as living inDandaka forest, on the southern slopes of Vindhya mountains. Rama praises Agastya as the one who can do what gods find impossible. He is described by Rama as the sage who asked Vindhya mountains to lower themselves so that Sun, Moon and living beings could easily pass over it. He is also described as the sage who used hisDharma powers to kill demons Vatapi and Ilwala after they had jointly misled and destroyed 9,000 men.[5]
Agastya, according to theRamayana, is a unique sage, who is short and heavy in build, but by living in the south he balances the powers ofShiva and the weight of Kailasha and Mount Meru.[38] Agastya and his wife meet Rama, Sita and Lakshmana. He gives them a divine bow and arrow, describes the evil nature of Ravana and, according to William Buck, B. A. van Nooten and Shirley Triest, bids them goodbye with the advice, "Rama, demons do not love men, therefore men must love each other".[14][39]
The story of Agastya is mirrored in the second major Hindu epicMahabharata. However, instead of Rama, the story is told as a conversation between Yudhishthira and Lomasa starting with section 96 of Book 3, theVana Parva (the Book of Forest).[40]
He is described in the epic as a sage with enormous powers of ingestion and digestion.[18] Agastya, once again, stops the Vindhya mountains from growing and lowers them and he kills the demons Vatapi and Ilvala much the same mythical way as in theRamayana. TheVana Parva also describes the story of Lopamudra and Agastya getting engaged and married. It also contains the mythical story of a war between Indra and Vritra, where all the demons hide in the sea, and the gods request Agastya for help; Agastya then drinks up the ocean, revealing the demons to the gods.[40]
ThePuranic literature of Hinduism has numerous stories about Agastya, more elaborate, more fantastical and inconsistent than the mythologies found in Vedic and Epics literature of India.[4] For example, chapter 61 of theMatsya Purana, chapter 22 ofPadma Purana, and seven other MahaPuranas tell the entire biography of Agastya.[14][36] Some list him as one of theSaptarishi (seven greatrishi), while in others he is one of the eight or twelve extraordinary sages of the Hindu traditions.[41] The names and details are not consistent across the different Puranas, nor in different manuscript versions of the same Purana. He is variously listed along with Angiras, Atri, Bhrigu, Bhargava, Bharadvaja, Visvamitra, Vasistha, Kashyapa, Gautama, Jamadagni and others.[42]
Agastya is reverentially mentioned in the Puranas of all major Hindu traditions: Shaivism, Shaktism and Vaishnavism. Many of the Puranas include lengthy and detailed accounts of the descendants of Agastya and otherSaptarishis.[14][42]
In Tamil traditions, Agastya is considered as thefather of the Tamil language and the compiler of the firstTamil grammar, calledAgattiyam orAkattiyam.[43][44][22] Agastya has been a culture hero in Tamil traditions and appears in numerous Tamil texts.[45] Agastya learnt the Tamil language from godMurugan when he arrived in the southern Tamil country from north India.[46][47]
There are similarities and differences between the Northern and Southern (Tamil) traditions about Agastya. According toIravatham Mahadevan,[22] both traditions state that Agastya migrated from north to south. The Tamil textPurananuru, dated to about the start of the common era, or possibly about 2nd century CE, in verse 201 mentions Agastya along with many people migrating south.[22][48]
In the northern legends, Agastya's role in spreading Vedic tradition and Sanskrit is emphasized,[49] while in southern traditions his role in spreading irrigation, agriculture and augmenting the Tamil language is emphasized.[22] In the north, his ancestry is unknown with mythical legends limiting themselves to saying that Agastya was born from a mud pitcher. In southern traditions, his descent from a pitcher is a common reference, but two alternate southern legends place him as the Caṅkam (Sangam) polity and is said to have led the migration of eighteenVēlir tribes fromDvārakā to the south.[50][51]
The northern traditional stories, states Mahadevan, are "nothing more than a collection of incredible fables and myths", while the southern versions "ring much truer and appear to be a down to earth account of a historical event".[22] Others disagree. According to K.N. Sivaraja Pillai, for example, there is nothing in the earlySangam literature or any Tamil texts prior to about the mid 1st millennium CE that mentions Agastya.[52][53] The earliest mention of the role of Agastya in Tamil language, according to Richard Weiss, can be traced to theIraiyanar Akapporul by 8th-century Nakkirar. However, in medieval era stories of the Tamil tradition, Agastya pioneered the firstsangam period that lasted 4,440 years, and took part in the secondsangam period that lasted another 3,700 years.[54]
TheTirumantiram describes Agastya as an ascetic sage, who came from the north and settled in the southernPothigai mountains becauseShiva asked him to. He is described as the one who perfected and loved both Sanskrit and Tamil languages, amassing knowledge in both, thus becoming a symbol of integration, harmony and learning, instead of being opposed to either.[55] According to theSkanda Purana, the whole world visited the Himalayas whenShiva was about to wedParvati. This caused the earth to tip to one side. Shiva then requested Agastya to go to the southern region to restore the equilibrium. Thus, Agastya migrated south at Shiva's behest.[56]
Agastya, in Tamil Hindu traditions, is considered as the first and foremostSiddhar (Tamil:cittar, Sanskrit:siddha). Asiddhar is derived from the Sanskrit verbal rootsidh which means "to accomplish or succeed". As the firstSiddhar, Agastya is deemed as the first master, accomplished, the sage who perfected his knowledge of the natural and spiritual worlds. This Tamil concept has parallels to Tibetanmahasiddhas, Sri Lankan Buddhist, andNath Hindu yogi traditions of north India.[57]
Agastya, along with Tirumular, is considered asiddhar in both philosophical and practical domains, unlike most othersiddhar who are revered for their special domain of knowledge. Agastya is also unique for the reverence he has received in historic texts all over the Indian subcontinent.[57]
According to Venkatraman, theSiddhar-related literature about Agastya is late medieval to early modern era. In particular, all medicine and health-related Tamil text, that include Agastya as theSiddhar, have been composed in and after the 15th century. According to Hartmut Scharfe, the oldest medicine siddhar Tamil text mentioning Agastya were composed no earlier than the 16th century.[3]
His name is spelled asAgathiyar orAgasthiyar in some Tamil texts,[58] and some consider the writer of the medical texts to be a different person.[59]
According toKamil Zvelebil, the sage Agastya,Akattiyan theSiddhar, and Akatthiyar, the author ofAkattiyam, were three or possibly four different persons of different eras, who over time became fused into one single person in the Tamil tradition.[60]
Several Buddhist texts mention Agastya. Just like early Buddhist texts such asKalapa,Katantra andCandra-vyakarana adapting Panini, and Asvaghosa adopting the more ancient Sanskrit poetic methodology as he praises theBuddha, Agastya appears in 1st millennium CE Buddhist texts. In Tamil texts, for example, Akattiyan is described as the sage who learnt Tamil and Sanskrit grammar and poetics from Avalokitan (another name for Buddha-to-beAvalokiteśvara).[61][62]
According toAnne E. Monius, theManimekalai andViracoliyam are two of many South Indian texts that co-opt Agastya and make him a student of the Buddha-to-be.[61]
Agastya elsewhere appears in other historic Buddhist mythologies, such as the Jataka tales. For example, the Buddhist textJataka-mala by Aryasura, about the Buddha's previous lives, includes Agastya as the seventh chapter.[65] TheAgastya-Jataka story is carved as a relief in theBorobudur, the world's largest early medieval eraMahayana Buddhist temple.[66]
Agastya is one of the most important figures in several medieval-era Southeast Asian inscriptions, temple reliefs and arts. He was particularly popular in Java due to his teaching of
Saiva Siddhanta was easily accepted into the Javanese society. He introduced the Vedic science and the Pallavan Grantha script, but his popularity declined when Islam started to spread throughout the islands of Indonesia. He is also found in Cambodia, Vietnam and other regions. The earliest mentions of Agastya are traceable to about the mid 1st millennium CE, but the 11th-century Javanese language textAgastya-parva is a remarkable combination of philosophy, mythology and genealogy attributed to sage Agastya.[8][67]
TheAgastya-parva includes Sanskrit verse (shlokas) embedded within the Javanese language. The text is structured as a conversation between aGuru (teacher, Agastya) and aSisya (student, Agastya's son Drdhasyu).[68] The style is a mixture of didactic, philosophical and theological treatise, covering diverse range of topics much like Hindu Puranas. The chapters of the Javanese text include the Indian theory of cyclic existence, rebirth andsamsara, creation of the world by the churning of the ocean (samudra manthan), theories of theSamkhya and theVedanta school ofHindu philosophy, major sections on godShiva andShaivism, some discussion ofTantra, a manual-like summary of ceremonies associated with the rites of passage and others.[68]
While the similarities between theAgastya-parva text and classical Indian ideas are obvious, according toJan Gonda, the Indian counterpart of this text in Sanskrit or Tamil languages have not been found in Indonesia or in India.[69] Similarly other Agastya-related Indonesian texts, dated to be from the 10th to 12th centuries, discuss ideas from multiple sub-schools of Shaivism such as theistic Shaivasiddhanta and monistic Agamic Pashupata, and these texts declare these theologies to be of equal merit and value.[69]
Agastya is common in medieval-era Shiva temples of Southeast Asia, such as the stone temples in Java (candi). Along with the iconography of Shiva, Uma, Nandi and Ganesha who face particular cardinal directions, these temples include a sculpture, image or relief of Agastya carved into the southern face.[70] The Shiva shrine in the largest Hindu temple complex in southeast Asia,Prambanan, features four cellae in its interior. This central shrine within Prambanan group of temples dedicates its southern cella to Agastya.[71]
The Dinoyo inscription, dated to 760 CE, is primarily dedicated to Agastya. The inscription states that his older wooden image was remade in stone, thereby suggesting that the reverence for Agastya iconography in southeast Asia was prevalent in an older period.[72][73] InCambodia, the 9th-century king Indravarman, who is remembered for sponsoring the building of a large number of historic temples and related artworks, is declared in the texts of this period to be a descendant of sage Agastya.[74][75]
Agastya Saṁhitā (literally: "Agastya's Compendium") is the title of several works in Sanskrit, attributed to Agastya.
One of those works is theAgastya Samhita, sometimes called theSankara Samhita, a section embedded in theSkanda Purana.[4] It was probably composed in late medieval era, but before the 12th-century.[76] It exists in many versions, and is structured as a dialogue betweenSkanda and Agastya. Scholars such asMoriz Winternitz state that the authenticity of the surviving version of this document is doubtful because Shaiva celebrities such as Skanda and Agastya teachVaishnavism ideas and the bhakti (devotional worship) ofRama, mixed in with a tourist guide about Shiva temples inVaranasi and other parts of India.[77][78]
Agastya is attributed to be the author ofAgastimata, a pre–10th-century treatise about gems and diamonds, with chapters on the origins, qualities, testing and making jewellery from them.[76][79][80] Several other Sanskrit texts on gems andlapidary are also credited to Agastya in the Indian traditions.[81]
Other mentions of Agastya include:
Temples for Agastya are found in Tamil Nadu. InThirunelveli District,
Agastya statues or reliefs feature in numerous early medieval temples of north India, south India and Southeast Asia. One famous Agastya temple is also located in Uttarakhand in the town of Agastyamuni. The town derived its name from the name of Sage Agastya. TheDasavatara temple inDeogarh (Uttar Pradesh, near Madhya Pradesh border) features a 6th-centuryGupta Empire era Agastya carving.[87] InKarnataka similarly, he is reverentially shown in several 7th-century temples such as the Mallikarjuna temple in Mahakuta and the Parvati temple in Sandur. He is a part of many Chalukya era Shaivism temples in the Indian subcontinent peninsula.[87][88][89]
The artistic iconography of South Asian and Southeast Asian temples show common themes such as he holding a pitcher, but also differences. For example, Agastya is featured inside or outside of the temple walls and sometimes as a guardian at the entrance (dvarapala), with or without a potbelly, with or without a receding hairline, with or without a dagger and sword.[87] Rock cut temples and caves, such as the 8th-century Pandya rock temples group, show Agastya.[87]
The shrine to Agastya at the Pothigai hill source of the river is mentioned in bothIlango Adigal'sSilappatikaram andChithalai Chathanar'sManimekhalai epics.[90]
Similarly, the Sanskrit playsAnargharāghava andRajasekhara'sBālarāmāyaṇa of the 9th century refer to a shrine of Agastya on or nearAdam's Peak (Sri Pada), the tallest mountain in Sri Lanka (ancientTamraparni), from whence the river Gona Nadi/Kala Oya flows into the Gulf of Mannar'sPuttalam Lagoon.[91]
Maharishi Agastya is regarded as the founder ofSilambam, anIndian martial art fromTamil Nadu, andvarmam, an ancient science of healing using varmam points for varied diseases which is also utilized by practitioners of the southern form ofKalaripayattu, an Indian martial art fromKerala.[92]Murugan, the son ofShiva, is said to have taughtvarmam to Agastya, who then wrote treatises on it and passed it on to othersiddhar.[93][94]
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