AGASTYA : EXPLORING THE MYTHS OF THE SOUTHERN DHRUVA

 

Agastya is mentioned in both the oldest and the youngest layers of the Rigveda , such as in hymn 33 of mandala 7, which is older than mandala 1.He is also mentioned in other three Vedas and the Vedanga literature.

In Indian Vedic literature, Canopus is associated with the sage Agastya.To Agastya, the star is said to be the 'cleanser of waters', and its rising coincides with the calming of the waters of the Indian Ocean. He and his wife Lopamudra are the celebrated authors of hymns 1.165 to 1.191 in the Sanskrit text Rigveda and other Vedic literature.

Agastya appears in numerous itihasas and Puranas including the major Ramayana and Mahabharata. He is one of the seven most revered rishis (the Saptarishi) in the Vedic texts,and is revered as one of the Tamil Siddhar in the Shaivism tradition, who invented an early grammar of the Tamil language, playing a pioneering role in the development of medicine and spirituality at Saiva centres in proto-era Sri Lanka and South India. He is also revered in the Puranic literature of Shaktism and Vaishnavism.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 on Java Indonesia. He is the principal figure and Guru in the ancient Javanese language text Agastyaparva, whose 11th century version survives.

Agastya is traditionally attributed to be the author of many Sanskrit texts such as the Agastya Gita found in Varaha Purana, Agastya Samhita found embedded in Skanda Purana, and the Dvaidha-Nirnaya Tantra text.He is also referred to as Mana, Kalasaja, Kumbhaja, Kumbhayoni and Maitravaruni after his mythical origins.

THE NAME

The etymological origin of Agastya has several theories. One theory states that the root is Aj or Anj, which connotes "brighten, effulgent one" and links Agastya to "one who brightens" in darkness, and Agastya is traditionally the Indian name for Canopus, the second most brilliantly shining star found in South Asian skies, next to Sirius. Theory, based on folk etymology  of the Ramayana states that Agastya is from aga (unmoving or mountain) and gam (move), and together these roots connote "one who is mover-of-mountains", or "mover-of-the-unmoving".

Canopus in Latin means a vase or jar.

BIRTH

Astronomical configuration of the Canopus rise and set events is worth taking note of as given in later legends on Mitrā  and Varunaa as the progenitors of Agastya. The popular legend on Agastya as born in a pot or Kumbha. The Adityas Mitra and Varuna , having seen the Apsaras Urvaśī in the sacrificial session, the seed was spilled. The seed fell into a jar of water that stood overnight. Therefore at that moment virile ascetics came into being, the two  is Agastya and Vasisthā. The seeds having fallen in many fold ways – in a jar, in water, on the ground – the sage Vasisthā, best of Rishis came into being on the ground; Agastya came into being in a jar while Matsya of great brilliance in water. Agastya of great glory then arose, the measure of a stick (samaya). Because of being measured with a measure, therefore he is here called Manyā. Or because the rishi was born from a jar, by a jar also measurement is made”.

Canopus rose in the north Indian latitudes and became visible coinciding with the solar sidereal longitude falling within 300 – 330 which included the constellation of Varuna (Śatabhisak) around 2500 BCE.  The visibility of the dawn phenomena coinciding with solar transit of 210-240 which included the constellation of Mitrā (Antares). Deities Varuna and Mitrā can be taken as synonyms of the naksatras Śatabhisak and Anurādhā.

 In the light of the astronomical configuration emerging from the computations, it can be inferred that the legends relating to Agastya and Kumbha had an astronomical origin in some distant past like the Harappa-Mohenjodaro epoch of 2500 BCE. It is worth remembering that the Tamil tradition also ascribes the name Kutamuni to Agastya, implying a connection to Kutam or Kumbha.

Maori tribes have several names for Agastya/Canopus star:

Ariki= High born (one of the seven virtues of sages is high birth)

Atutahi, Aotahi = all these are corrupted form of AGATHI (ya)

Food is offered to the star as offering. This shows the respect and worship of Maoris.

One mythology says that Atutahi was left out of the basket when Tane wove it. This is a Hindu story where he was known to be born out of a pot (basket). Agastya is called Kumbha muni, Kalasi Suta, Ghatodbhava and Kumbha sambhava all meaning pot born or basket born. Atutahi sounds Agathi.

The change in 1000 years for the observations at dawn includes the altitude touching nearly 4 degrees and the first visibility shifting from Anurādhā to Viśākhā. Fig.6 of the observations at the beginning of astronomical twilight has driven first visibility to the solar transit over Pisces – to the month of Caitra – and Agastya dipped into horizon when sun transited the Krittikā. Here the visibility began with the solar transit over Pisces close to the junction with Aquarius. ( Kumbha Rasi).

Heliacal rise of Canopus at dawn corresponded in 3000 BCE to the solar position of Jyesthā nakshatra (for which deity is Mitra) and it moved back in subsequent epochs to Anurādhā, Viśākhā, Swāti etc for the meridian transit of Canopus. Similarly at dusk the rise began with the Śatabhisak (for which deity is Varuna) and the phenomena can be interpreted as leading to the Mitra-Varuna legend of the birth of Agastya.

CANOPUS / AGASTYA : THE SOUTHERN STAR

Dhruva

Dhruva, the term means "unshakeable, immovable, or fixed" is said to be an ascetic devotee of Vishnu mentioned in the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana. The Sanskrit term dhruva nakshatra has been used for Pole Star in the Mahabharata, personified  grandson of Manu, even though Polaris at the likely period of the recension of the text of the Mahabharata was still several degrees away from the celestial pole. In this tradition, we have seen stars, planets and constellations personified into human like divine beings and their cosmic stories are written down into  hymns which are recorded cosmic events.  

 The first recognition of the southern star and its identification with Agastya seems to have happened c 2800 BC. It is interesting to note here that many of the legends connected with Agastya are about balancing the earth and rectification of the North-South direction.

According to the Skanda Purana, the whole world visited the Himalayas when Shiva was about to wed Parvati. This caused the earth to tip to one side. Shiva then requested Agastya to go to the southern region to restore the equilibrium.

 A popular astral legend appearing in the Mahābhārata is about King Nahusa seated in a palanquin being carried in the heavens by the Seven Sages and Agastya, on their shoulders, when Agastya was kicked by Nahusa for being too slow. Agastya in anger curses the heavenly King Nahusa to lose his exalted position to become an ordinary ajagara (python or huge serpent; literally goat-swallower). This legend is most likely an allegory for precession being felt in the form of the Śiśumāra (Draco) constellation losing its prime northern celestial position, along with star Agastya coming into prominence as a new bright star in the south. It may be noted here that the Mahābhārata also explicitly refers to movement of the Pole Star Dhruva as a bad omen.

While the Saptarishi constellation (U. Major) was circumpolar for people in North India in Vedic times, Agastya must have been visible in the southern sky rising to low altitudes every year but only during certain months, initially for a few days, but extending for longer periods as time progressed. Let see the famous 

Agastya-Vindhya myth :

It begins with Sage Narada who was in a particularly mischievous mood when he was travelling in the region of the Vindhyas. After some fulsome praise of the mountain, the sage said, “You should be the greatest mountain in the world.”The Vindhya, which had been happy to hear itself admired, asked wonderingly, “Should be? Am I not the greatest mountain in the world? After all that you have said, is there another mountain that can match me?”Narada offered a rather puzzling reply, “Ask the sun about his path. That will give you the answer,” and went on his way.

The next morning, when the sun god began his trip, Vindhya stopped him and asked, “Surya, tell me what is your path today?”A surprised Surya answered, “It’s always the same. I travel  around Mt Meru.” “Meru? Why do you have to go around it?” asked Vindhya angrily. “Am I not important? Why can’t you go around me?”

The sun god tried to explain that Meru was the tallest mountain and that Brahma lived on the mountain but Vindhya would not listen. An exasperated Surya continued on his round, and Vindhya seethed. The mountain decided to take matters into its own hands and began to increase its height. Ultimately, it grew so tall that it blocked the sun’s path, causing a lot of problems for the humans on earth. No matter who spoke to it, Vindhya refused to budge unless the sun’s path was changed to go around it.

With no other option, Indra, king of gods, went to Sage Agastya and told him about what was happening. “None of us are able to convince Vindhya. Please help us,” he begged. Agastya agreed and a relieved Indra returned to Amravati.Agastya, in the meantime, had thought of a plan. He explained the problem and the solution to his family. He, his wife and children then packed their belongings and set off on a journey to the south. When they reached the Vindhya, the mountain had grown so huge that they could not cross it. When the sage called, the mountain appeared before him to take his blessings. “What can I do for you?” it asked. The sage took the opportunity. “I am going to the south and I need to cross the mountain. Will you please bend down so that my family and I can go over to the other side?”

Vindhya agreed and reduced its size. Once they had crossed over, the sage blessed the mountain and said, “Please stay this way till I finish my work and come back. So that we can again make the crossing easily.” The unsuspecting mountain happily gave its promise. Sage Agastya and his family settled down in the South and never went back. And, true to its word, the mountain continues to wait for the sage’s return.

What did we understand from this myth ?

The myth basically takes about the migration of Agastya, the Canopus Star from North to the South. This is years long astrological observation that the ancient men recorded. Let us observe these diagrams:

Agastya was used to measure the size of the mountain as he was the star that was visualized at close proximity to the giant mountain. People saw that the Vindhya was increasing in size as years passed. But, the truth was that Agastya was moving to the south which gave an illusion of the mountain growing in size. They also observed that as Agastya passed by , the mountain stopped growing and remained still as if it was waiting for Agastya's return. The ancient men knew that it was the movement of the star from north to the south, that made the illusion of the growing mountain but they used their poetic myths to keep the historical record live long in the ages of man. The ancient men just wanted their generations of know about the migration of Agastya and they also knew that there will be men in future who will extract the truth from the myths.

Agastya star could not have been easily visible for observers in the Kurukshetra-Delhi region before 3100 BC. Further north at Jammu, first recognition of this new star in the southern horizon would have been possible around 1400 BC. Rise of Agastya is observed as a religious event in many parts of India even to this day. Agastya should have been visible early in the morning to viewers in Kurukshetra from around 2900 BC, in the month of October. 

 The attribution of Sage Agastya, as a son of the Sea-God Varuna, could be due to his being good at sea-navigation and probably sea warfare as well. Indra and other Devas sought the help of Agastya, in defeating a clan of Asuras called Kalakeyas, who were ferocious sea-warriors.

Did Agastya drink the ocean? Agastya was the first to cross the Indian Ocean for the first time to establish a great Vedic Empire in South East Asia.

# It is worth noting that the mythological Canopus, Agastya was considered as a navigation star by ancient men.

# Canopus was a navigator for Menelaus, king of Sparta.

 We now knew that there was a flourishing Vedic colony in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia for 1300 years, Agastya star helped the vedics to cross the ocean- that is he ‘drank’ the ocean! It is a symbolic story. There must have been wars between the vedic tribes and the indigenous tribes who is called Kalakeyas in the myths.

Agastya’s statues are displayed throughout South East Asian countries even today.

Marriage and destruction of Vatapi

Once when Agastiar walking through a forest, he came across a tree where many sages were hanging upside down. Upon inquiry he found out that they were his forefathers and since he hadn’t married and produced a son, they are doomed to this fate. Agastiar felt it was his duty to redeem his ancestors and set out to get married. In the kingdom of Vidarbha, he found princess Lopamudra and asked her hand for marriage. With the king’s approval, Lopamudra became the wife of Agastiar. After the wedding, Agastiar realized that he needed money to provide his wife with basic comforts. He then set out to a kingdom to request for money. The king showed his treasury and account book which showed that the king had no profit since all his tax collection was spent on the welfare of his people. This happened again in several kingdoms. (goes on to show how just the king of ancient times were!).

Agastiar found out there were two demon brothers named Ilvala and Vatapi who had amassed a lot of wealth. They killed many rishis and kings by inviting them into their house for a meal. Vatapi had a boon by which he could transform into food. Ilvala then served Vatapi to the guest. When the guest had eaten, Illvala called Vatapi to ‘come out’. Vatapi came alive by tearing through the stomach of the guest, killing him and acquiring his wealth. Hearing this, Agastiar went to the place of the two demons voluntarily. As usual Ilvala invited him to eat and put Vatapi in front of him who ate him. Then Agastiar, rubbing his belly, said “Vatapi, Jeerno bhava (Vatapi, remain digested)”. No matter how many times Ilvala called his brother, Vatapi stayed dead. Realizing his mistake, Ilvala begged for mercy and handed out all his wealth to Agastiar. The sage then distributed it to all the kings and took a small portion with him to satisfy his wife. They lived happily for a while and once she borne him a son, his ancestors were redeemed and Agastiar returned to his ascetic ways.

The Agastya story appears more vividly in Ramayana. Here ,Rama himself tells his brother Lakshamana about the greatness of Agastya. He describes him as one who intent upon the good of the world destroyed the deadly demon Vatapi and thereby rendered the earth habitable. It is to be observed with keen interest that Dandakaranya was forest made fit for human occupation i.e.Aryan occupation by the success of Agastya. If the geographical location of Dandakaranya is taken into account one finds that it is at the doorstep of the Aryans for them Dakshinapadha starts with Dandakaranya. Hence aryanisation of South commenced with bringing Dandakaranya under their influence and this is explained through Agastya legends.

The story of Agastya's encounter with the Daitya King Ilvala along with the three Aryan kings and the fate of Vatpi may be taken to mark the beginning of Agasty's connection with the South. The vedic Kings followed the Agastya star on his migration to the south. Please observe the following two passages for more proof : 

After conquering the eastern quarter, raghu, to whom victory came unsought marched on exactly along the eastern seacoast which is lined with areca plants laden with areca nuts towards the direction where sage agastya had once ambled, namely the southern direction. 

All the water became placid at the appearance of the star called agastya, but the hearts of raghu's enemies became distraught apprehensive of humiliation from raghu.

The Raghu talked about in the above passage is  one of the Kings of the Solar dynasty that is Raghuvanshi-Ikshvaku-Suryavanshi. Which indicates that the Vedic or  the Aryan Kings followed Agasthya to the south and also crossed oceans with his help. 

TIRTHAS 

We come across many “Tirthas” on the Indian peninsula which is attributed to many Hindu deities and divinities. Tīrtha has been derived from the root “tṛ” meaning “to cross over or to carry through. But we also have tirthas of Rishis like Vasiṣṭhatīrtha and Agastyatīrtha from the list of sacred place. Since we are going to talk about Agatsya and Mt. Mahendra from Ramayana verses, its worth noting here that Mt. Mahendra is also termed as Tirtha in the list of sacred place. Sage Agastya once penned its one end on the mountain Mahendra and the other end in the ocean, (as quoted in Ramayana). We have Mountain named Mahendra situated in Agastyamalai range, said to be located within the Dākṣiṇāpatha (Deccan) region.