Vātāpi

Vātāpi was a rākshasa, the brother of Ilvala, the rākshasa king of Maṇimatī. He could take any form he wished. With Ilvala he took part in the killing of brāhmaṇas. The Mahābhārata tells how Agastya Maharshi ended this plan by digesting him.

The power to take any form

Vātāpi could change himself into any form: an animal, a human, or something else. This was a siddhi (a special power). Ilvala used it as a weapon.

Ilvala would turn Vātāpi into an animal and cook him as food. He would serve the meal to a brāhmaṇa guest. Then he would call Vātāpi back to life from inside the guest’s body, and the brāhmaṇa would die. This plan worked against every brāhmaṇa who came, until Agastya Maharshi came. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 96)

Agastya ends the plan

Agastya Maharshi ate the meal in which Vātāpi had been cooked. His tapas (austerity) gave his digestive fire a power greater than any siddhi. He turned his mind inward to the fire of his tapas and with it digested Vātāpi completely.

Ilvala then called out his brother’s name, but Vātāpi was gone. Agastya patted his own belly and said calmly, “Your brother has already been digested.” The plan ended there, and so did Vātāpi. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 97)

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 96–97