Shloka 276
Agni’s Withdrawal to the Forest and Identification with Āṅgirasa (अग्न्याङ्गिरस-इतिहासः)
अगस्त्यमृषिमासाद्य जीर्ण: क्रूरो महासुर: । ब्राह्मणोंका तिरस्कार करनेसे ही क्रूर स्वभाववाला महान् असुर अत्यन्त दुरात्मा वातापि अगस्त्य मुनिके पेटमें जाकर पच गया
agastyam ṛṣim āsādya jīrṇaḥ krūro mahāsuraḥ | brāhmaṇānāṃ tiraskāra-karaṇenaiva krūra-svabhāvo mahān asuraḥ atyanta-durātmā vātāpiḥ agastya-muneḥ peṭe gatvā pacito 'bhavat ||
Al acercarse al sabio Agastya, el gran asura, viejo y cruel—Vātāpi, perverso por naturaleza—entró en el vientre de Agastya y fue digerido. El episodio subraya que la arrogancia y el desprecio hacia los brāhmaṇas y los justos recaen sobre el ofensor, mientras que el poder del tapas y del dharma ampara a los virtuosos.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Contempt for the righteous—especially brāhmaṇas who embody sacred learning and restraint—leads to ruin. The narrative affirms that dharma and tapas are protective forces, and that cruelty and arrogance ultimately consume the wrongdoer.
The demon Vātāpi approaches the sage Agastya; due to his wickedness and his pattern of insulting brāhmaṇas, he ends up entering Agastya’s belly and is digested—symbolizing the defeat of demonic deceit by ascetic power and moral order.