A. Royden D'souza

Aṅgirā. No genealogy bound him. He was not born, he emerged. One of the first visionaries, one of the founders of sacred insight, a being who heard the rhythm of the cosmos before anyone else understood its beat.

Dharma, born not as an enforcer of law, but as the living essence of righteousness. Brahmā welcomed him warmly.

In the line of the first Manu, Svāyambhuva, there was a son named Priyavrata. Priyavrata had a brother—Uttānapāda, father of the famous king Dhruva. From this same lineage emerged a child destined to become the next Manu. Uttama Manu.

Agastya begins not as a “character” but as a ṛṣi in the Veda, a poet-seer of Ṛgveda Maṇḍala. His origin myth is cosmic: Mitra and Varuṇa, gods of vow, law, oaths, behold the celestial Apsarā Urvaśī. A moment of desire flickers. Their semen spills.

Indra had come in the guise of Gautama. Ahalya had been clever enough to seek certainty, but not clever enough to turn away when the certainty she sought was not pure certainty, but desire and flattery wearing the form of trust.