Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c17.s2.29

c17.s2.29

(ii) The tale of Agastya and his neglected wife Lopāmudrā (i 179) has been lately treated by Dr Emil Sieg (*Die Sagenstoffe des Rgveda*, pp. 120–126). Agastya as a sage is bound by a vow of chastity: Lopāmudrā’s youth is passing, yet she remains childless. To her passionate appeals Agastya gives way. So far the poet has only blame for the woman. But in the concluding stanzas excuses are found for the pair. The divine Soma may well forgive the sin, for desire is human: besides Agastya has won offspring, to the advantage of both the light and the dark races (Lopāmudrā, we may conclude, is a native woman) and the high purposes of the gods are after all fulfilled.