How Rishi Agastya Killed Vatapi – Stories from Aranyaka Parva

Yudhistira wanted to know why Rishi Agastya killed Vatapi. Rishi Lomasa shared the detailed story summarized below. 

Ilava was a daitya living in the city of Manimati with his dear brother, Vatapi. They were the sons of Diti. One day, Ilava asked a rishi for a boon. He wanted a son equal to Indra. However, the Brahmin refused to give such a boon. This angered Ilava who hatched a plan to take revenge. 

Ilava had already had a powerful boon that he could summon anyone dead and bring them alive. He asked his brother Vatapi to turn into an animal. Ilava then cooked the meat of this animal and served the Brahmin. He waited until the rishi had his food. Once done, he summoned his dead brother to return. The meat inside the rishi’s stomach became Vatapi. The daitya tore open the rishi’s body from the inside and came out. The rishi passed away, and Ilava got his revenge. 

Soon, this became a pattern for the brothers. They started to kill several Brahmins at once in the same manner. 

Meanwhile, Rishi Agastya, one day, saw his ancestors hanging upside down inside a dark cave. When he inquired about their state, they replied it was due to the lack of offspring. Agastya didn’t have children, which resulted in his ancestors being barred from the pitr world (this is similar to how Rishi Jarakatu had to marry to save his ancestors from pain). The rishi promised his ancestors that he would do the needful. However, he felt none of the existing women were suitable. He collected limbs from different dead people and arranged them to form the body of a woman. Using his tapasya powers, he installed life in the body. Agastya then handed over her temporary responsibility to the king of Vidharba who also wanted a child of his own. The king was delighted to adopt a lovely daughter and named her Lopamudra. He took great care of her for a few years. 

Then, he decided it was time to get her married to a worthy man. Rishi Agastya went to the king and asked for Lopamudra’s hand in marriage. However, the king didn’t want to. Yet, he knew the rishi was powerful and couldn’t be angered. Lopamudra convinced her father to get her married to Agastya. After the wedding, Agastya asked her to discard her expensive jewelry and clothes and move with him into his humble hut in a forest. She did so, and the couple spent many years living in the forest. 

One day, Rishi Agastya decided it was time to fulfill his promise to his ancestors. But Lopamudra said she wished to unite with her husband in a luxurious setting. When the rishi said he didn’t have the riches for it, she suggested he create a setting using his powers. The rishi replied that would deplete his tapasya power. Lopamudra thought about it and said that she loved him a lot but that her wishes were important. However, the rishi should find a way to fulfill her wishes without damaging his powers. The rishi agreed and asked her to wait while he completed the task. 

Rishi Agastya went to King Shrutarvana and said he wanted riches but asked the king to give him a share without affecting others. The king listed his income and expenditure and requested the rishi to take whatever he wanted. However, Agastya refused to take anything since it would affect others in the kingdom (the income was enough for the expenses). Taking the king with him, Agastya went to King Vadhryashva and repeated the question. The result was the same. 

With Shrutarvana and Vadhryashva with him, Agastya went to King Trasadasyu. The same thing occurred. All three kingdoms, though prosperous, had only enough wealth for their citizens and couldn’t afford to give a share to others without facing losses. Agastya didn’t want anyone to suffer on his behalf. 

The rishi then took the three kings to Ilava. The daitya king welcomed his guests with honor and cooked his brother Vatapi as a meal. The kings were afraid but Agastya assured them to not eat the meat and that he would consume all of it. Once he ate everything, Agastya belched loudly and digested the food. Ilava tried to call his brother back but it didn’t work. Vatapi was truly dead and consumed. Thus, Agastya killed Vatapi by consuming and digesting him.

Note: In Hindu households, elders teach kids to rub their hands on their tummies in clockwise directions three times and say ‘jeernam jeernam Vatapi jeernam’ three times. This is said to help digest the food easily. The metaphor has its roots in this story, indicating that a hearty meal consumed by kids would be as easily digested as Agastya digested the powerful Vatapi.

Ilava bowed to the rishi and asked what he wanted. Agastya asked him to give the four of his guests a share of his riches without affecting anyone in the kingdom. Ilava set a condition for this. He said that if Agastya could guess what he intended to give, the king would indeed do as asked. Rishi Agastya replied that Ilava intended to give each king ten thousand cows each and an equal amount of gold coins. He planned to give the double of it Agastya along with a golden chariot and two powerful and intelligent steeds. He added that Ilava should check the chariot and it was indeed made of gold. The daitya king had no choice but to give all of this to the kings and Agastya.

The kings took the rishi’s blessings and went to their kingdoms. Agastya took his riches to his wife Lopamudra. When she conceived, he went into the forest to resume his tapasya. Lopamudra gave birth to Dridhasyu (he was also called Idhmavaha as he carried large loads of kindling for his father’s yagnas). 

Thus, Rishi Agastya killed Vatapi, got the riches his wife wanted, and saved his ancestors by having offspring.