Editing Agastya (section)

====Siddhar====
[[File:Agathiyar.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Reverence at the Agastya shrine atop the peak of [[Agastya Mala|Agastya mala]], with garlands of fruits and flowers.]]
Agastya, in Tamil Hindu traditions, is considered as the first and foremost [[Siddhar]] (Tamil: ''cittar'', Sanskrit: ''siddha''). A ''siddhar'' is derived from the Sanskrit verbal root ''sidh'' which means "to accomplish or succeed". As the first ''Siddhar'', Agastya is deemed as the first master, accomplished, the sage who perfected his knowledge of the natural and spiritual worlds. This Tamil concept has parallels to Tibetan ''mahasiddhas'', Sri Lankan Buddhist, and [[Nath]] Hindu yogi traditions of north India.{{sfn|Weiss|2009|pp=47–48}}
[[File:Sri Lobamudra Sameda Agasthiyar.jpg|thumb|Lobamudra sameda Agasthiyar Temple, A. Vallalapatti, Madurai]]
Agastya, along with Tirumular, is considered a ''siddhar'' in both philosophical and practical domains, unlike most other ''siddhar'' who are revered for their special domain of knowledge. Agastya is also unique for the reverence he has received in historic texts all over the Indian subcontinent.{{sfn|Weiss|2009|pp=47–48}}

According to Venkatraman, the ''Siddhar''-related literature about Agastya is late medieval to early modern era. In particular, all medicine and health-related Tamil text, that include Agastya as the ''Siddhar'', have been composed in and after the 15th century. According to Hartmut Scharfe, the oldest medicine siddhar Tamil text mentioning Agastya were composed no earlier than the 16th century.{{sfn|Weiss|2009|pp=49–51}}

His name is spelled as ''Agathiyar'' or ''Agasthiyar'' in some Tamil texts,<ref>{{cite book|author=Vē. Irā Mātavan̲|title=Siddha medical manuscripts in Tamil|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fyu4AAAAIAAJ| year=1984|publisher=International Institute of Tamil Studies|page=28}}</ref> and some consider the writer of the medical texts to be a different person.<ref>{{cite book|author=P Karthigayan|title=History of Medical and Spiritual Sciences of Siddhas of Tamil Nadu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q4HDDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT438|year=2016|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-93-5206-552-3|page=438}}</ref>

According to [[Kamil Zvelebil]], the sage Agastya, ''Akattiyan'' the [[Siddhar]], and Akatthiyar, the author of ''Akattiyam'', were three or possibly four different persons of different eras, who over time became fused into one single person in the Tamil tradition.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1992|pp=237-238 with note 2}}