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Sage Agastya is regarded as one of the Saptarishis in the Mahabharata. He is born to the two Gods Mitra and Varuna from Urvashi. He is credited with many hyms of the Rig Veda. He is said to have helped in the development of the Tamil language. He is considered the first and foremost person of Sidda. He has contributed to the Nadi form of astrology. Sage Agastya was the first to listen to the Lalita Sahasranama from Hayagriva. He is said to have composed the Aditya Hrudayam and the Saraswati Stotram
Agastya & Vindhya
Vindhya mountains separate the North and the South India. Legend has it that the mountain had the tendency to keep growing so as to obstruct the Sun. Agastya journeyed from the Northern part of India to the south. On the way he met the mountain and requested him to give way since it has now become impassable. The mountain in reverence to the Sage bowed low. Now the Sage Agastya and his disciples and family passed from the North to the South. The Sage told the mountain to remain so until his return. Agastya settled permanently in the South. It is beleived that from this incident the Vaasthu Sastra was born
Agastya & the Ocean
It is said that once all the demons hid in the ocean and attacked at night. Sage Agastya drank the entire ocean to enable the Gods to fight and vanquish them
Agastya & Lopamudra
Sage Agastya was a renunciate. But he had to marry and beget children to repay the Manus. So he created a girl child that would be a fit wife for a renunciate and arranged that she be born as the daughter of the Vidarbha King. The child was named Lopamudra. At the oppropriate time Agastya went to the King and sought Lopamudra’s hand in marriage. At first the King hesitated but Lopamudra was intent on leaving her father’s palace and living in Sage Agasthya’s forest Ashram. They were duly married.
Agastya & Vatapi
Ilvala and Vatapi were two demon brothers. Vatapi could changed himself into any form he desired. IIvala knew the Sanjivini Mantra. Hence the demons used to trick people into eating Vatapi who would assume the form of a goat and then IIlava would say the mantra enablign Vatapi to tear the stomach and come out. Agastya wanted to put an end to their ways. Hence we met them and as expected IIlava offered Vatapi as food to the Sage. The Sage after eating simply said “Vatapi Jeerno Bhava”. Then IIlava could not bring back his brother’s life.
Agastya and Kutralam
There was a Vishnu temple in Kutralam. Sage Agastya was denied access since he was a Shivite. Agastya then assumed the form of a Vishnavite and entered the temple. He then by his miraculous power changed the idol to a Shiva Lingam. He showed the people that Shiva and Vishnu are manifestations of the Supreme Atman.
Atreya is a descendent of Sage Atri. He had done many yagnas and was able to go to any place he liked. One day in course of his wanderings he came to the court of Indra which fascinated him by its beauty and festivities. He thought that no other place could be more pleasant and he wanted it with all his heart. His modest hut could not please him any more. He called his wife and told, ‘What sort of rubbish are you giving me to eat? Does it taste good? Your fruits and vegetables cannot come anywhere near the sweetmeats I ate at Indra’s court’. So saying he called Viswakarma and asked him to make his hermitage like Indra’s palace. If you do not do as I tell I shall reduce you to ashes by curse. The buildings, the court, the gardens, the elephant, the horse, the chandelier, the music, the food, the courtiers – all these must be as they are in Indra’s palace.
Afraid of the curse, Viswakarma forthwith built a palace which could rival Indra’s palace. Much pleased the muni said, ‘This is the very thing I wanted’. After some time however the demons began to frown at the place and said, ‘Look, that fellow Indra has surreptitiously left the heaven and built up a home on earth. Let us go and give him a good thrashing for killing our Vritra’. Shouting, ‘Kill Indra! Kill Indra!’ the demons in a body laid that palace under siege. The muni was happily reclining on his bed. But when he heard the shouts of the demons he became mortally afraid. Within minutes using all kinds of weapons the demons reduced the place to a heap of rubbles. The muni himself did not escape some minor injuries. He came out trembling and going to the demons he told them with folded hands, ‘I swear, I am not Indra, I am a muni, a Brahmin and a very poor and innocent man. Why are you so angry with me?’ ‘Then why have you been posing like Indra? Remove your trappings at once’, said the demons. ‘At once I am doing as you say. I must have lost my head and did these foolish things. I shall never do it again.’ Viswakarma was summoned and was told by the muni to replace the palace with his modest ashram. He told him, ‘Do it soon, or I shall die at the hands of these demons.’
Realizing that the muni was in grave danger Viswakarma readily obeyed and the huts and the forests reappeared where a short while ago a palace stood. However, before he left Viswakarma enjoyed a hearty laugh at the predicament of the muni.
He was a descendent of Sage Bhrigu. His wife was Renuka. His sons are Sushena,Vasu, Viashvavasu and Parashurama. Jamadagni engaged deeply in study and obtained the entire posession of the Vedas.
Jamadagni’s birth
Jamadagni’s mother, Satyavati, was daughter of King Gadhi, a Kshatriya. The Vishnu Purana relates that when Satyavati was pregnant, her Brahman husband, Richika, prepared a concoction for her to eat for the purpose of securing that her son should be born with the qualities of a Brahman. He also gave another concoction to her mother that she might bear a son with the character of a warrior. The women changed the messes, and so Jamadagni, the son of Richika, was born as a warrior-Brahman, and Vishvamitra, son of the Kshatriya Gadhi, was born as a priest.
Jamadagni & Renuka
Renuka was an embodiment of chastity. This chastity enabled her to perform feats others coudnt imagine. Everyday she used to bring water from the river in a pot made of unbaked clay. One day while she was fetching the water from the river a handsome Gandharva named Chitraratha was passing by in a chariot. For a split second Renuka was infatuated for the handsome being. This weakened her powers and the pot dissolved in the river. Afraid to go back she waited near the riverbed. Sage Jamadagni through his powers came to know of all that had happened. He called his sons and asked them to go and behead Renuka. None of the sons were willing to do it except for Parashurama. The other sons were turned to stone. Parashurama went and beheaded his mother with the axe. He was the embodiment of obidiency. Jamadagni was pleased and told Parashurama to ask for boons. Parashurama asked that his mother be brought back to life and that his brothers be revived.
He was the father of the famous Dronacharya & Garga. Bharadwaja’s wife was Susheela. He was also the disciple of Sage Valmiki. Marudwaja Devatas found him abandoned as a boy and brought him up and taught all that they knew about the Vedas.
Bharadwaja & Indra
The sage performed rigorous penance with the wish of learning more about the Vedas. Indra appeared
before him and created 3 mountains. He took 3 handfulls from the mountains and said “Bharadwaja the learning you have is like the handful of mud and the Vedas are like the three mountians. This doesnt mean you know very little. In fact you know more about the Vedas than the Devas. As much as it is important to learn, it is more important to spread what one has learnt. Pray to Almighty Shiva to bless the yagna”
Bharadwaja & Shiva
Sage then went to see Lord Shiva in Mount Kailas. There Shiva and Parvati were budy in the divine dance. Parvathi saw the sage and smiled. The dance continued for many days. The Sage was paralyzed and fell. Shiva and Parvati then revived the Sage and blessed him
Bharadwaja, Abhyavarti & Divodasha
Once the Vaarshikas invaded the kingdom of Abhyavarti. Divodasha also arrived to assist Abhyavarti. The Vaarshika demons interrupted religious ceremonies and destroyed dweellings and killed the people of the kingdom. Abhyavarti and Divodasha fought the Vaarshikas but the demons had the upper hand. Abhyavarti and Divodasha fled from the battlefield and arrived at Sage Bharadwaja’s ashram.
Hearing about what had happened the otherwise embodiment of calm, the Sage was extremely angry. The Sage said ” By your diffidence you are bringing disgrace to the warder race. Like cowards, you fear a war! Get up, Abhyavarti, arm your bow, and chase away the - unrighteous demons. For once, remember your people who are suffering like orphans. For their safety, sacrifice your body!” The Kings replied ” You are our Guru who teaches us the path one has to lead. Save us from this unfortunate situation”. Sage Baradwaja then defeated the demons and restored the Kingdom to Abhyavarti and Divodasha.
Drona’s birth
Once when Rishi Bharadwaja saw the Apsara Ghritachi rising from the river after abulations, his vitality emerged from his body. The Rishi stored this vitality in a pot. Drona was born from this pot. The meaning of Drona is Pot-born.
