Person · Vedic sage & Siddha founder · India
Agastya
Also known as Agathiyar, Agasthiyar
Agastya, the short Vedic sage of the Rig Veda (Maṇḍala I) and the Puranas, credited by the Siddha tradition of Tamil medicine as its founder — the first of the eighteen Siddhars who received medical knowledge from Śiva at Mount Kailāsa and brought it south across the Vindhyas. Over two hundred Tamil Siddha medical texts are attributed to him (Agathiyar Vaidyam, Agathiyar Kaṉma Kāṇḍam, Agathiyar Nāḍī), covering herbal preparations, metal-and-mineral alchemy and the rejuvenation (kāyakalpa) therapies that distinguish Siddha from Āyurveda. He is also credited with Tamil grammar (Agattiyam) and the astronomical observation of Canopus (Agastya nakshatra).
- Periods
- Vedic Age, Classical and Puranic Age
- Function
- Science & medicine
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
Connections (1)
- Founder ofSiddha medicine
Agastya is traditionally named the first of the eighteen Siddhars and the founder of Siddha medicine.
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Sources
Standard reference.
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