STOP GROWING
Long ago while the great sage Agastya walked across the valleys and mountains, the path had finally split into two, one a mountainous one and the other a thick, dense forest. He stood confused as he wished to cross both. However, his mind wavered and his thoughts pulled him into the dense forest path. As he walked through the dense thickets, he saw dead bodies dangling upside down. He was moved by this and walked up to them and queried, “I am saddened by your plight. Who are you all? Please tell me of what help I can be? I have the strength to release you all at once.”
The bodies looked at him and said, “Agastya, we are your ancestors. You have faulted in your duty of liberating us. You must discharge your duty towards us by way of marriage. The progeny born to you will be the one to liberate us. If you fail to do so, there will be no one to do our final oblations. We persuade you to offer your obligation and save us from this jeopardy.”
Agastya was moved by their words. He promised them that he would soon offer them their need. He was now incensed to carry out on his mission. At the same time, he was visited by the King of Vidharba. He approached sage Agastya to bless him with a child. Saddened by his pitiable situation, Agastya agreed to grant him a boon of birthing a girl, but in return the King would marry his daughter to Agastya when the time of marriage came. Lopamudra was born and during the years of youth, she was slated within the kingdom as her father feared that she would love someone. When her time of marriage had come, the King informed his daughter about the promise he had made to Agastya. He was worried that his daughter who was used to all the luxuries would now be a forester. That saddened him immensely, but Lopamudra was daring and accepted the proposal.
They were now wedded and she proceeded with him to the forests adjoining the Ganges. As the spring time blossomed, an enduring love flourished between the two and they spent times in conjugal bliss. It was time for Lopamudra to ask from her husband what she desired. She told him that she needed a comfortable hermitage to reside in with simple luxuries. But the sage was skeptical as he didn’t have any to provide. So, she led him to seek from Kings. Agastya travelled to the neighboring Kingdom and asked him to show his expenses. But the king had very little to provide to his public and the sage was not ready to pressurize the public tax.
He went to an Asura kingdom led by Ilvala. He and his brother Vatapi were ambitious and cunning. They had acquired magical powers through bewitchment. They hated Brahmins. Whenever they had a visitor in a Brahmin, Vatapi would transform into a goat. Ilvala would direct his chefs to cook him. That would be served to the Brahmin on a platter of lavish meal. After he had his stomach full, Ilvala would say, ‘Vatapi come out.’ Tearing through the intestines of the Brahmin, the wicked Vatapi would come out brutally murdering them.
They were excited that a sage of such high order like Agastya was visiting them. They devised the same plan and decided to execute it. After a sumptuous meal, sage Agastya looked at Ilvala with contentment. Just like always, Ilvala repeated, “Vatapi come out!” But Agastya, the sage with great intellect placed his palm over his belly and said, “Vatapi be digested in my stomach for peace and eternity.”
Even after the frantic cries of Ilvala, Vatapi never returned.
Ilvala rewarded the sage with riches and money. With the money he had acquired, the sage gave the simple luxuries his wife had asked for. In the meantime, she had conceived and they birthed a son by the name of Dridhasyu.
In the later part of his life, Mountain Meru and Mount Vindhya competed with each other as to who was more superior. The heavens sought the help of Agastya to sort the matter. The continual growth of Vindhya would affect the structure of earth, also she would penetrate the heavens. Agastya addressed the mountain thus, “Dear best of mountains, please stop growing till I cross you on my way to south and return back. Please be assured to grow after I return northward again.”
He never returned northward and the Vindhya ceased to grow.
