Introduction
Agastya is a great sage who lived in the Dandaka forest. In the Ramayana he helps Rama with divine weapons before the war with Ravana.
This article primarily follows the Valmiki Ramayana. Where a well-known detail comes from a later retelling or tradition, the article identifies it.
Family
- Wife: Lopamudra
In the forest
During his exile Rama visited Agastya's hermitage. Agastya gave him a bow that had belonged to Vishnu, an inexhaustible quiver, and a sword, and advised him to settle at Panchavati.
Before the last battle
On the battlefield, when Rama was tired in his duel with Ravana, Agastya appeared and taught him the Aditya Hridayam, a hymn to the sun, which gave Rama new strength.
The sage of the south
Agastya is associated in tradition with the spread of Vedic culture to southern India, and with humbling the Vindhya mountains. His wife, Lopamudra, is herself a sage.