AGASTYA, – AGASTI
A rishi (sage) who conquered the Vindhya mountains Agasti was mentioned in a hymn in the Rigveda dedicated to Mitra, a solar deity. That hymn said that two of the adityas, Mitra (comradeship) and Varuna (binder, “all-seeing”), placed their semen in a pot and set it before Urvasi, an unusually beautiful apsara (celestial maiden). Because she had aroused their desires, Mitra and Varuna cursed Urvasi to live on earth as the wife of the rishi Pururavas. Agasti (or Agastya) and Vasishtha were the sons born to her. Later versions expanded … Continue reading