Editing Agastya (section)

===Ramayana===
[[File:The Hindu Sage Agastya.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|A 12th-century statue of Agastya from [[Bihar]].]]
Sage Agastya is mentioned in the Hindu epic ''[[Ramayana]]'' in several chapters with his hermitage described to be on the banks of river [[Godavari]].<ref>{{cite book|title=India through the ages|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year= 1990| page= 62|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}}</ref>

In the ''Ramayana'', Agastya and Lopamudra are described as living in [[Dandaka]] forest, on the southern slopes of Vindhya mountains. Rama praises Agastya as the one who can do what gods find impossible. He is described by Rama as the sage who asked Vindhya mountains to lower themselves so that Sun, Moon and living beings could easily pass over it. He is also described as the sage who used his [[Dharma]] powers to kill demons Vatapi and Ilwala after they had jointly misled and destroyed 9,000 men.{{sfn|Buck|2000|pp=138–139}}

Agastya, according to the ''Ramayana'', is a unique sage, who is short and heavy in build, but by living in the south he balances the powers of [[Shiva]] and the weight of Kailasha and Mount Meru.{{sfn|Buck|2000|pp=139–140}} Agastya and his wife meet Rama, Sita and Lakshmana. He gives them a divine bow and arrow, describes the evil nature of Ravana and, according to William Buck, B. A. van Nooten and Shirley Triest, bids them goodbye with the advice, "Rama, demons do not love men, therefore men must love each other".{{sfn|Daniélou|1991|pp=322–323 with footnotes 5 and 6}}{{sfn|Buck|2000|pp=140–142}}