Vindhya Humbled by Agastya's Promise

At the time of rising and at the time of setting, the sun used to circumambulate the great mountain Meru, the golden king of mountains. Every day, Surya traced the same path around Meru's peak, honoring the mountain that stood at the center of the world. Mount Vindhya watched this and was not pleased. Vindhya was a king of mountains in his own right — vast, ancient, proud. He confronted Surya directly: "You always go around Meru. Circumambulate me in the same way." Surya replied: "O mountain! I do not circumambulate him out of my own desires. He who created the universe has assigned this path for me." The answer did not satisfy Vindhya. He was angered, and he began to increase — suddenly, massively, without restraint. He grew upward and outward, seeking to obstruct the paths of the sun and the moon. The celestial bodies that had always moved freely across the sky now found their way blocked by a mountain that refused to stop growing. All the gods assembled. With Indra at their head, they went to Vindhya, the great king of the mountains, and tried to restrain him. They spoke to him. They reasoned with him. He paid no attention to their words. So the gods went to Agastya. They found him in his hermitage — the ascetic who was supreme among those who followed dharma, radiant in his valor. They told him everything. "Consumed and overcome by anger, Vindhya, king of the mountains, is obstructing the paths of the sun, the moon and the nakshatras (constellations). O supreme among brahmanas! No one except you is capable of restraining him. O immensely fortunate one! Therefore, restrain him." Agastya heard them out. Then he went to the mountain. He went with his wife. He stood before Vindhya and spoke not as a commander but as a traveler: "O supreme among mountains! I wish that you should create a path for me. I have to go in a southern direction for some work. O Indra among mountains! Restrain yourself until I return from there — and you can then grow as much as you wish." Vindhya agreed. He stopped growing. He made a path. Agastya went southward. And he has not returned till this day. The mountain, bound by its promise, has remained restrained — waiting for a return that has never come.