‘Agasti’, actually, is not his original name. His original name is ‘Mānya Māndārya’. The name Agasti (Agastya) is derived from ‘Agan Styāyati Iti’ (अगं स्त्यायति इति), which means one who brought to a halt the growth of the Vindhya mountains. He earned his glorious name ‘Agastya’ because of one highly important deed that he performed in his life. According to the Tamil tradition, Agasti is considered to be the disciple of Paramshiva. Narad is considered as the only Devarshi while Agasti is considered as the first Brahmarshi. Therefore, very often, he is referred to as the oldest and the senior most Rishi (Sage).
Once, when he was eight years old, he witnessed a bolt of lightning suddenly flash and disappear in an instant. At that moment, he realised that this entire world is transient, momentary, and he set out in search of eternity. At first, he thought the Sun was eternal, so he began praying to the sun. The Sun manifested himself before the young child in a form that he would be able to withstand and explained the reality of his existence. Thus, the young Agasti came to realize that even though the Sun is the guardian of earth, he too is not eternal.
Read More – The Grand History – 12
