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AG ASTY A CULT AND ICONOGRAPHY 211

2.2. Agnipurina aisó likewise contains a detailcd account (Ch. 206). It is interesting lo notę that the arghya to be offered to the holy sagę Agastya should be composed of bits of gold and silver, pańcaratnam, a metal bowl containing the seeds and grains known as saptadhinya, curd and sandał pastę and where the penitent would belong to the śudra community or women, the offerings are to be madę without any Vedic mant ras. The Garuda purina (Ch. 119) refers to the worship of Agastya being open to the sudras and women also. It is also relevant to notę here that the Yimalatantra (Granthappura No. 49)⁵ describing the Agastyapratimi dhyinavidhi mentions the presentation of an idol of Sagę Agastya for warding olT the effects of evil spirits, sorcery, maladies, etc. Another work Dina Hcmidri⁶ refers lo the gift of an image of Agastya to remove disease. K. N. Sivaraja Pillai⁷ observes that there are certain communities in the south, the weaver class for instance, who consider Agastya as their tutclary dcity and olTer him regular daily worship. Pcrhaps thcse allusions may. indicate the non-Aryan character of the origin of Agastya and the dcvelopment of his cult.⁸

3. Iconographic Characteristics :

3.1.    The various accounts contained in the PurSnas as quoted above provide uscful information about the development of iconography relating to Agastya. Prof. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri^Q observes that the following expressions found in the Malsya Purina in the exposition of the cult of Agastya are of iconographic intcrest : “ańgusthamitrarfi purusam; atyiyata-bihu-dandarh, caturmukham, lambodara dirgha-bihum. ”

3.2.    It is seen that the Skanda purina¹⁰ also reproduces expressions_# which have a bearing on the iconographic evolution. To quote these expressions:

⁴⁴Jatibandhamanohararh, Karapadmibhyirh, Aksamiliifi, Kamanda-lurii, Mrgacarmauttanyarh, Rudriksakrtabhusanam."

3.3.    The Agamas give a detailcd description of the iconography of the rsis, which includc Agastya.¹¹ According to the Agamas, the images of the rsis should be sculptured as eilher seated or standing on the padmapftha; they must be shown as pcaceful old people with flowing beards reaching upto the chest; with jatimukutas on their heads with rudriksamili round their ncck; yajńopavfta, with their forcheads marked with three streaks of vibhuti or bhasma; they may have in their hands a walking stick and an umbrella or they may keep their right hands in the jńinamudri pose and rest the lcft anns on the knee of the left leg which must be bent and resting