Agastya Marries Lopamudra and Begets a Son
Aranyaka Parva
Can the sage Agastya fulfill his duty to produce offspring while maintaining his ascetic vows?
Agastya's ancestors plead for him to marry and produce offspring, leading him to marry Lopamudra. After a period of austerity, Lopamudra requests a royal bed for intercourse, prompting Agastya to seek wealth from kings, including the demon Ilvala. He eventually begets a son, Dridhasyu, fulfilling his ancestral duty.
5 stories · 0 pivotal · Chapters 391–394
Begin readingCausal position
How this arc sits in the story chain
Born from
—
This Arc
Leads into
Agastya's departure to the forest after begetting Dridhasyu sets the stage for his later action of drinking the ocean to destroy the Kaleyas; the birth of Dridhasyu allows Agastya to fulfill his ancestral duty and then be available for the gods' request.
Stories
Showing all 5 stories
Spine stories carry the arc's main thread. Essential adds key turning points. Supporting covers depth and backstory.
Supporting
Agastya's Ancestors Plead for Offspring
The sage Agastya discovers his ancestors hanging upside down in a cave, condemned to suffer for lack of descendants. They beg him to father a child to free them from hell — and Agastya, bound by truth, promises he will. But when he searches for a worthy woman to bear his son, he finds none, and so he does something no one has done before: he builds one.
Chapter 391 · ~2 min
Supporting
Agastya Marries Lopamudra and Begins Austerities
Agastya obtains Lopamudra as his wife and immediately commands her to discard her fine garments and ornaments. She obeys without hesitation, donning bark and skins, and together they go to Gangadvara to undertake severe austerities — she serving him with devotion, he growing affectionate toward her. After much time passes, Agastya sees her radiant after a bath and summons her for intercourse.
Chapter 392 · ~1 min
Supporting
Lopamudra Requests a Royal Bed for Intercourse
When Agastya summons Lopamudra for intercourse, she joins her hands in salutation and speaks — not in refusal, but in request. She asks him to come to her on a bed like the one in her father's palace, garlanded and adorned in ornaments. Agastya protests that he has no such riches, but Lopamudra reminds him that his austerities could summon any wealth in an instant.
Chapter 392 · ~1 min
Supporting
Agastya Seeks Wealth from Kings and Ilvala
Agastya, accompanied by his disciple Shrutarvana, approaches King Vadhryashva seeking riches. The king lays bare his accounts: his income exactly matches his expenditure. Agastya refuses to take anything that would cause oppression to others. They try King Trasadasyu next — and find the same balance. The kings look at one another and together suggest a different source: the wealthy danava (demon) Ilvala.
Chapter 393 · ~1 min
Supporting
Agastya Begets a Son at Lopamudra's Request
Having fulfilled every desire his wife Lopamudra expressed, the sage Agastya offers her a choice: a thousand sons, or a hundred, or ten, or one equal to a thousand. She chooses the one. Agastya promises it, unites with her at the appointed time, and then leaves for the forest — leaving the embryo to develop for seven autumns before a blazingly wise son is born.
Chapter 394 · ~1 min