The Bhikṣuṇī Maṇimēkhalai

62 - How Far Historical in Character?
The second place in which Agastya comes in for reference 16 is where
he is said to have advised the Cōḻa who destroyed ‘the moving fortress
in the air of the Rākṣasas’ by way of rendering assistance to Indra. On
the advice of Agastya this Cōḻa requested Indra that he might be
personally present in the capital city of Puhār or Kāvēripaṭṭiṇam
during the twenty-eight days festival which he had undertaken to
celebrate in honour of the god, his friend. The river Kāvēri itself was
given that name because she came there in response to the request of
the Cōḻa ruler Kavēra who performed a penance in one of the small
forests adjacent to the town 17 of Puhār. [28]
There is another reference to Agastya in connection with the same
ruler Kāntama against whom Paraśurāma appeared in his campaign
to uproot the Kṣatriya race. Kāntama in difficulty sought the advice
of Agastya and in accordance with that advice put the kingdom in
charge of his illegitimate son Kakandan, and remained in hiding till
the danger 18 should pass. In these references Agastya appears as a
holy Rishi, who was habitually in residence in the Tamil country, and
advised and assisted the Cōḻa ruler in difficulty as perhaps others as
well. In Tamil literature generally Agastya is associated with the hill
Podiyil and is regarded as being specially devoted to the interest of
the Pāṇḍyas.
The Rāmāyaṇa comes in for reference at least in two incidents. In
canto XVIII, lines 19 to 26, there is a reference to the illegitimate love
of Indra to Ahalya the wife of Rishi Gautama. The story occurs in so
many other places that it need not be regarded as exactly taken from
16 Canto I, ll. 3-9.
17 Padikam, ll. 9-25, III, ll. 55-56
18 XXI, ll. 25-39