She was the wife of the sage Agastya who is believed to have lived in the Rigveda period (1950 BC-1100 BC)[citation needed] as many hymns have been attributed as her contribution to this Veda.

The name Lopamudra signifies the loss (lopa) that the animals and plants suffered by giving their distinctive beauties (mudra's) when Agastya created her.

In Rigveda, hymns authored by 27 female rishis or rishikas reflect their success and progress as women intellectuals.

The third group of hymns, though attributed to female rishis are not identified by any author and deal mostly with mythological characters and representation of theoretical qualities.

[13] The first two verses are expressions of Lopamudra's passion filled approach to her husband, highlighting his old age and his coolness towards her charms.

[13] जयावेदत्र शतनीथमजिं यत सम्यञ्चा मिथुनावभ्यजाव jayāvedatra śatanīthamajiṃ yat samyañcā mithunāvabhyajāva Laurie L. Patton interprets Rigveda hymn 79 as representing Lopamudra in a state of "voracious sexuality".

"[19] The background to Agastya and Lopamudra's legend in the Mahabharata starts with the asura brothers Ilvala and Vatapi of the region of Manismati.

As this did not materialize Ilvala and his brother Vatapi got annoyed with the Brahmins and started taking revenge against them by adopting magical tricks.

At that time Agastya who had attained benefit of his long penance through asceticism went to the heaven where on his way he saw a few manes suspended with their legs up over a gorge.

They also told him that they were his ancestors and it was now left to him (Agastya) to get married and soon beget a son, perform oblation rites to gods, and get them released from the curse so that they could go to heaven.

[4][18] In another version it is said that Agastya encountered his ancestors in a dream in the form of suspended manes with heels up over a deep ravine.

He did this creation from most graceful parts of various creatures possessing such a beauty (drawn from "different birds, animal and flower, the eyes of the doe, the grace of the panther, the slenderness of the palm trees, the fragrance of the champak flower, the softness of the feather on a swan's neck"[1]), who would eventually beget a son for him.

[3][1] She grew up to be a very pretty, learned and devoted daughter and the King wanted to get her married when she attained puberty.

This caused anguish to the king and queen as to how their daughter who was brought up in princely comforts could be married to an ascetic, a forest dweller.

Looking at the worried status of her parents, Lopamudra volunteered to marry Agastya and requested her father to perform the wedding.

Once married and taken to the forest to live with him, Agastya told Lopamudra to discard all her royal attire and ornaments and wear clothes fit for an ascetic's wife.

However, after a long lapse of time, Agastya then wanted to beget a son who would full fill his promise to his ancestors and relieve them of their curse.

However, Lopamudra was not willing as she put a condition that she would procreate with him only if she got all the riches and the princely comforts that she enjoyed at her father's place.

He met three kings, Srutarvan, Vradhnaswa, and Trasadasyu, one after the other, who welcomed him with due respects offering oblations and requested him to state his wish.

They all told him that after meeting the expenditure related to their commitments to the well-being of their subjects, with due diligence of the status of their revenue, they would be happy to spare surplus, if any.

[8][18][1] Laurie L. Patton, an indologist, has observed that "in the case of Lopamudra, both the retention of seed in asceticism and the making of progeny are goals of the rishi Agastya, ... she is portrayed more and more derivatively, almost anemically, as she helps her husband/creator to promote the abstract ideal of dharma.

"[21] In another version of the story narrated by Vasudha Narayanan of the University of Florida, Lopamudra who is fully cognizant of Agastya's imperative necessity for a progeny to redeem the curse of his ancestors and the demon king Illvala's "intentions and machinations", she manipulates the sage which ensures his success.

A version popular in South India during about the 6th century AD is called the Lopamudra mantra though now not practiced but it is also associated with traditions in Kashmir.

[24] Another version of Lopamudra being born as Kaveri is that she marries Sage Agastya on the condition that he would not leave her for too long or she would forsake him.

As the sage pursued his wife, she jumped into a divine tank at the top of the Brahmagiri hill, being reborn as the Kaveri and disappeared underground before reappearing at Bhagamandala and flowing east towards the ocean.