Sages

Agastya

The great sage of the south. He meets Rāma in the forest, and again before the last duel.

Araṇya KāṇḍaVālmīki (primary text)In the text

Illustrated portrait of Agastya, The great sage of the south — Illustration

Agastya is the ṛṣi the exiles seek out in the south. Rāma hears of his feats before they meet: he destroyed the demons Vātāpi and Ilvala, and at his word the Vindhya mountain stopped growing. When the exiles reach his hermitage, he sends them to settle at Pañcavaṭī, and Rāma's long stay in the south begins.

Primary text: Śrīmad Vālmīkīya Rāmāyaṇa, Gita Press, Gorakhpur. Later traditions and living-tradition associations are labelled as such. Return to the Rāmāyaṇa World.