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.
Agastya was walking through the world when he came upon a cave. Inside, he saw his ancestors — hanging upside down, their faces toward the ground. He asked them: why are you in this state?
They were learned in the nature of the brahman (the ultimate reality), and they answered plainly: for the sake of offspring. We are your ancestors. We have reached this cave and are suspended here because we have no descendants to carry our line forward. If you give birth to excellent offspring for our sake, we will be freed from this hell. And you, Agastya, will also attain the supreme objective.
Agastya was always devoted to the dharma of truth. He told them: I will do what you desire. Remove the fever from your minds.
Then he began to think about offspring.
He searched. He looked across the world for a woman fit to bear his child — someone worthy of the lineage he would create. He could not find one. No woman he saw seemed suitable for the task.
So Agastya did something extraordinary. He chose those limbs from different beings that are regarded as unsurpassed — the best eye from one creature, the finest voice from another, the most graceful form from a third — and collected them. From these assembled parts, he created a woman. She was supreme in every aspect.
Having created her for himself, the immensely ascetic sage gave her to the king of Vidarbha, who was himself desirous of offspring. The king accepted her. She was born there — as radiant as lightning, with a face of perfect beauty and a body of flawless form. When the king saw her, he was delighted and announced her birth to the brahmanas (priests). They blessed her. They gave her a name: Lopamudra.
She grew swiftly, like a lotus rising from water, like the auspicious crest of a fire. When she reached youth, one hundred maidens adorned with ornaments and one hundred female servants attended to her, following her every instruction. Surrounded by them, she blazed like the star Rohini in the night sky.
But though she was accomplished in conduct and manners, no man asked for her hand. They were afraid — afraid of the great-souled sage who had created her, and who they knew intended her for himself. The truthful maiden surpassed the apsaras (celestial dancers) in beauty. She satisfied her father and her relatives with her good conduct.
The king of Vidarbha watched his daughter grow into her full radiance and began to think: to whom shall I give my daughter? Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 391