Rishi Agastya- 2

Agastya and the Vindhyas

The Vindhyas, also known as Vindhyaachala or Vindhyaparvatha, are a discontinuous mountain range that are traditionally considered as the dividing line between the north and the south of India. A few Puraanas mention the mountain range located between the rivers Narmada and Tapti as the Vindhyas; this area corresponds with the present day Satpura range.

The word Vindhya is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘vaindh’ which means ‘to obstruct’. It is said that the Vindhyas, competing with Mount Meru*, grew taller and taller by the day, eventually obstructing the movement of the sun!

*Meru is a mythological mountain that represents the cosmic centre of the earth. There is a peak called Meru in the Himalayas, and two volcanoes, one in Tanzania and another in Indonesia, bearing the names Meru and Sumeru.

The popular tale of Agastya’s conquest of the Vindhyas describes how the sage travelled southwards and the Vindhyas bowed in reverence, allowing Agastya to pass. It stood bowed awaiting the sage’s return but Agastya remained ‘south of the Vindhyas’ forever. And the Vindhyas remained stunted forever, too.

The Vindhyas, though neither tall nor a continuous mountain range, may have been thought of as insurmountable owing to the range being unexplored, thick with vegetation and believed to be the home of hostile tribes.

The Rishi and Raama

One may recall that an unconscious Raavana had been whisked away by his charioteer and Raama was awaiting his return to the battlefield, to resume the battle. It was in this intervening period of time that Agastya, the mighty rishi who made an entire mountain range bow down to him, found his way from the skies to the battlefield to appear before Raama.

Agastya said to Raama, “O child, enough of this play... it has gone on for far too long. It’s time you put an end to it and established your supremacy”.

Then addressing Raama as Mahaabaho, Agastya says, “You are the bravest of the brave... Yet I offer an ancient, secret and powerful mantra which when chanted assures victory over enemies. You who need no help or support for achieving success can sanctify the mantra by chanting it ahead of your glorious truimph.”

Agastya then went on to do the mantropadesha to Raama who received it just as he had received the Bala and Atibala mantras from Vishwamitra in the past. Raama who had no fear of failure or in need of any form of assistance accepted the mantra out of compassion for Agastya.

Agastya was destined to gain immense spiritual merit for this act, and Raama’s acceptance and chanting of the mantra made the Aaditya Hrudaya, a Maha-mantra!

To be continued...