Devāgama (Mountain)

Devāgama · deva-āgama, “the coming of the devas”

Devāgama is a mountain on the bank of the Gautamī, also called Priya. It stands at the tīrtha of the same name, where the devas gathered before their war with the asuras, and from it the tīrtha is also known as Devapriya. The Brahma Purāṇa tells its account, Brahmā speaking to Nārada.

The coming of the devas

Once there was great rivalry between the devas and the asuras. Svarga belonged to the devas and the earth to the asuras, who spread everywhere and killed those who offered the devas their shares in yajñas. The devas came to Brahmā, and he told them to defeat the asuras by their might and receive the holy rites on earth. The asuras, led by Ahi, Vṛtra, Bali, the son of Tvashṭṛ, Namuci, Śambara and Maya, gathered at the southern ocean on the mountain Malaya. The devas, led by Agni, Indra, Varuṇa, Tvashṭṛ, Pūshan, the Aśvins, the Maruts and the dikpālas, came in their vimānas to the banks of the Gautamī, because Bhagavān Śiva is present there, and after praising Maheśvara they took counsel together.

Then an unembodied voice spoke: “Enough of your strain, O devas. Hasten to the Gautamī and worship Hari and Hara with devotion. What is impossible if the Godāvarī and those two, Hari and Hara, favour you?” By the grace of Hari and Īśa the devas won the victory they desired.

The mountain and the tīrtha

The place where the devas came and gathered became famous as Devāgama, “the coming of the devas”, and ṛshis who know the truth praise it. There are eighty thousand Śiva-liṅgas there. The mountain Devāgama is also called Priya, and from then on the tīrtha is known as Devapriya. The tīrtha fulfils every desire, gives bhukti (enjoyment) and moksha to all, and brings satisfaction to the pitṛs.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 90

Sources

• Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 90