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caupā’ī.
ēka bāra trētā juga māhīṁ. sambhu ga'ē kumbhaja riṣi pāhīṁ. 1.
saṅga satī jagajanani bhavānī. pūjē riṣi akhilēsvara jānī. 2.
Once upon a time, during the age of Treta^1 , Lord Shiva went to the hermitage of sage
Kumbhaj (or sage Agastya)^2. (1)
The Lord (Shiva) was accompanied by Sati, his divine consort who is also
known as Bhavani, and who is the great Mother of the entire creation. The sage
reverentially worshipped him, knowing that he (Shiva) was the Lord of the entire
creation. (2)
[Note—^1 Treta— The Tretayug is equivalent to 3600 divine years of Gods, and
12,96,000 human years. It is second era of the 4-era Hindu cycle of creation and
destruction. It was during this Yug that Lord Ram manifested on earth as an
incarnation of Vishnu, and it concluded when the Lord left the earth for his heavenly
abode.
(^2) Sage Agastya/Kumbhaj—Sage Agastya is a renowned sage who had composed
several of the hymns of the Rig Veda, e.g. Rig Veda Sanhita, 1/166-191. He is known
as a ‘Brahm-rishi’ or a celestial sage tracing his origin to the creator Brahma.
He was born to sage Pulastya and his wife Havirbhuk. During this birth, his other
brother was sage Visrawaa. It is also believed that in the Swayambhu Manvantar (age
of Manu named Swambhu), he was born as the son of sage Pulastya, but in that birth
he was named Dattoli.
According to another version, he was the son of Mitra and Varuna. In this
version, he was born in a jar or pitcher known as ‘Kumbha’. Hence, he is also known
as Kumbhaja (born out of a Kumbha), Kumbhodbhava (rising out of a Kumbha),
Kalasi-suta (son born from a Kalas or a pitcher or jar). During this birth, his twin
brother was sage Vashistha, the great sage who was the court priest of the kingdom of
Ayodhya where Lord Ram was the king.
His wife was a princess of the kingdom of Vidharva, and her name was
Lopaamudraa, also known as Kaaveri. The sage had a son whose name was
Drudhaasya, also known as Idhmavaaha.
His chief disciple was Agniveshya.
Sage Agastya did severe Tapa and had vast knowledge. He is said to have
destroyed the two demons named Ilvala and Vaataapi. The sage had stunted the
growth of Mt. Vindhya which was growing and expanding endlessly so much so as to
obstruct the light of the sun.
Once, when Indra had killed the demon Vrittaasur, other demons named
‘Kaaleya’ managed to escape and they hid themselves under the water of the ocean.
From there they began terrorizing the sages and seers. They stayed under water
during daytime and came out at night to torment and devour these sages, and
generally cause nuisance and havoc all around. These demons had not spared even
such renowned sages of the time as Vashistha, Chyavan and Bharadwaj, because the
demons attacked their hermitages and killed the sages and seers who lived there. It
was then that the Gods, led by their king Indra, requested sage Agastya to somehow
expose the demons. At this, the sage had scooped up the water of the ocean in a cup
made by joining the two palms of his hands and had drunk the water of the ocean in
one gulp so as to expose the demons. The Gods were then able to destroy them.