The Vindhya mountain, at one time, stood tall and high in the centre of the country. The mountain had become so proud of its central position and height that it would not let anyone pass by without paying due homage to it.
Since gods and demons possessed supernatural powers, they could cross over it without paying homage but the sages had to bow before the mountain whenever they crossed it. They did so for some time, but one day they got together and decided that enough was enough and they were no longer going to obey Vindhya'sdictates. They all approached Sage Agastya to ask him to find a solution. They pleaded, ?We have tolerated the arrogance of the Vindhya for long. Now we have had enough. For how long can we continue to pay homage to it??
Agastya was moved at his fellowmen'splight and decided to teach the mountain a lesson. He went to the southern base of the Vindhya and stood there. He called out to the mountain, who on hearing the sage'svoice, looked down at its base. It saw the puny sage standing below. Knowing that the sage, though small in size, possessed unusual powers, hastened to win him over by bowing low and saying, ?What brings you here, Sage Agastya? Can I be of any help??
Agastya looked up at the mountain and said, ?I order you to stay in this position till I return from my journey to the south of this country.?
The mountain agreed, thinking that the sage would return soon. But days passed and became months, then years but there was no sign of the sage.
So angry was the sage that he decided never to return north. He established his ashram at Mount Kunjara in the south and built up a large team of his followers.
The Vindhya mountain remains crouched to this day. It has developed a whole range of hills, but they are so low that anybody can climb them now.
