Agastya

Quick Facts

About Agastya

Son of Mitra and Varuna, the short and terrible sage of the south. He digested the shape-shifting asura Vatapi so that the demon could never rise again, and when the Kalakeyas hid in the sea he drank the ocean dry at the gods' request so that they could be slain in the open.

In Their Words

Vatapi is digested. Call him as long as you please, he will not answer.

Agastya

Traits

• Austere
• Irascible
• Resourceful
• Unbending

Story Appearances

• The Sage Who Drank the OceanDevourer of Vatapi and drinker of the sea❧ 13 min
• The Mortal Who Sat on Indra's ThroneThe sage yoked to the car who cursed the false Indra
• Bhima at Kubera's LakeWhose old curse on Kubera's friend ended with Bhima's raid

Stories Featuring Agastya

17 further tales on this site name Agastya, in canonical reading order.

• Ancient BeginningsThe Line of the Moon, from Soma to ShantanuAdi Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Heir ApparentA crown promised, a second fee demanded, and the conquests that frightened a blind kingAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Court of Sages at the Dvaita LakeAn exile that filled up with brahmanas instead of soldiersVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Council at PrabhasaThe Yadavas find the exiles on the shore and argue about ending the exile by forceVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Bow at the FrontierParashurama Tests Rama of Ayodhya and Loses His EnergyVana Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Hands Marked With CornsA night in the kitchen, and everything she had not saidVirata Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Weapon He Could Not LiftAshvatthama's bargain on the Dwaraka shoreSauptika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Savitri Mantra of SalutationsBhishma gives Yudhishthira the roll of names to be said at dawnAnushasana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Names That Cleanse SinAsked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• Bhrigu in Agastya's HairHow an unseen sage cursed the mortal king of heaven into a snakeAnushasana Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Three Sages Who Saved the GodsAgastya burns the Danavas, Vashishtha brings down the Sarayu, and Atri becomes the moon and the sunAnushasana Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Brahmanas Who Deserve WorshipNarada tells Krishna whom he bows to, and Bhishma tells a king what it costs to forgetAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• Gifts Under the Lunar MansionsNarada tells Devaki what to give under each star, and the gods ask Brahman for ground to stand onAnushasana Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Wrong Man Before YamaA crow-faced messenger seizes the neighbour instead of Sarmin, and Yama sends him home with a rule of lifeAnushasana Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Fourfold Religion of CompassionBhishma on abstaining from meat, and the kings who kept the vowAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Wind Answers the Thousand-Armed KingKartavirya boasts, and an invisible voice begins to argueAnushasana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Rain Agastya Did Not NeedTwelve years of drought against one sage's seedsAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 16 min

Character Arc

1. 1The AncestorsHe sees his fathers hanging head down and takes a wife to free them
2. 2Come Out, VatapiHe digests the asura before he can be called forth
3. 3The Dry SeaThe gods slay the Kalakeyas on the bared floor of the ocean

Key Relationships

• Ally of the gods➝Indra
• Curser of➝Nahusha
• Curser of➝Kubera

Places in Agastya's Story

Drawn from the stories Agastya appears in.

• Pratishthanaप्रतिष्ठान
• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर
• Amaravatiअमरावती
• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Sauviraसौवीर
• Mahishmatiमाहिष्मती
• The Oceanसमुद्र
• Yamunaयमुना
• Saraswatiसरस्वती
• Sarayuसरयू
• Forest Hermitageवन आश्रम
• Uttarakuruउत्तरकुरु

Related Characters

Others counted among the Sages & Others.

• ✦Sage Kanva
• ◎Eklavya
• ★Shukracharya
• ♛Vrishaparva
• ♛Yadu
• ✧Princess Amba