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.
Agastya had done everything Lopamudra had desired. The sage, who had once swallowed the ocean and humbled the Vindhya mountains, had now fulfilled the wishes of his wife — whatever she had asked for, he had granted. When he was done, Lopamudra spoke.
"O illustrious one! You have done everything that I had desired. Now beget on me a son who is supreme in valour."
Agastya looked at her with affection. He was pleased with her conduct — her devotion, her discipline, the way she had matched him in austerity and grace. He told her what he was thinking about the offspring.
"You can have a thousand sons," he said. "Or a hundred, each equal to ten. Or ten, each equal to a hundred. Or one son equal to a thousand. Choose."
Lopamudra did not hesitate. "O one rich in austerities! Let me have one son who is equal to one thousand. One learned and virtuous son is superior to many who are not righteous."
Agastya promised it would be that way.
At the right time, he faithfully united with his wife — who was his equal in conduct and devotion. When the embryo had been conceived, he went away to the forest. He did not wait for the birth. He left.
The embryo developed for seven autumns. Seven years passed. And when the seventh year was complete, a son was born — immensely wise, blazing in his powers. They named him Dridhasyu.
Even as a child, Dridhasyu seemed to issue forth reciting the Vedas and the Upanishads and their branches. He carried loads of kindling in his father's house — idhma in Sanskrit — and so he came to have a second name: Idhmavaha, the kindling-bearer.
When Agastya saw his son thus endowed — already learned, already devoted, already carrying the fuel for the sacred fire — the sage was delighted. The ancestors obtained the worlds they had desired. The lineage was secure. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 394