Karaikal Ammaiyar

Karaikal Ammaiyar

(This is not yet a heritage trip- but a talk attended by me by Prof.Madhusudhanan Kalaichelvan.)

The history of the Saiva saints or “Nayanmars  have been recorded in verse form by Sekkizhar, who was the Chief minister of the Chola kingdom and also one of the great Tamil poets. Sekkizhar has recorded in greater detail the  12^th Thirumurai of the Saiva canonical scripture, held in great veneration. This records the lives and devotion of the three saints Thiru Gnanasambandhar, Thiru Navukkarasar and Sundaramurthy Nayanar. This is more than just poetry , it’s a documentation of the history, literature and music of those centuries.

Thirugnanasambandhar is said to have travelled widely and sung in many sthalams .When he came to Thirualankadu- he is said to have stood outside the main temple and sung, as Karaikal Ammaiyar had travelled on her head, using her hands to reach this temple and sit at the feet of dancing Shiva, to attain her moksham. He did not wish to walk on this holy land. Such was his respect for this lady of Karaikal.

Who was she? Why is only she sitting among all the 93 standing Nayanmars?

At the special talk with music (sung by Vidya Kalyanaraman) held on 18^th May 2018,for Madhuradhwani  Prof Madhusudhanan Kalaichelvan explained her life, her devotion, her works and shared some of her outstanding poems/songs, pointing out that she lived several centuries before the above mentioned three Nayanmars, her songs were composed in “ Natapadi pan”- one of the earliest form of  tamil grammar.

Her life story:

Karaikal- is a temple town today, once a prosperous sea port , it had many rich Vanniar (trading community) families living there. Into one specially pious and straightforward family was born  a female child, who was called Punithavathi by her fond parents. Steeped in Saivaite worship, Punithavathi was devoted to Shiva even as a child, lisping  his name even before she spoke words. (Recorded in her own song later.) As she matured into a lovely lady, her marriage was fixed with another Vanniyar youth Paramadattan  from Nagapattinam- but the fond father had laid a condition- the groom should move into Karaikal, so that his only daughter can continue to live in a new house built for them.

They lived happily for some time. One day while at the shop, Paramaduttan was presented two mangoes by some visitor. As these were reputedly of a  very special variety, he sent them home , intending to taste them at lunch. Punithavathi was in the habit of feeding all Siva bhaktas and mendicants who passed by and entered her house for alms or food. One such mendicant appeared that day. She happily laid out the food, prepared but the items were not yet ready- only freshly cooked rice and some curd was available.  (Please note- no curry or lentils – only white rice was served).To top this simple meal, she cut up one of the mangoes and served it to the visitor. The visitor had his fill and departed. (This incident was to  change her life forever)

Paramaduttan came home , sat down for his meal. Punithavathi brought the mango and served it at the end of the meal. It tasted delicious! Paramadattan asked for the second fruit also to be served.

Punithavathi dutifully went back into the kitchen, but beseeched Lord Shiva- to help her .Siva had been waiting for her to ask him anything. Even now she had not asked for herself. Immediately a fruit appeared and fell into her hands. Punithavathi went and served this to her husband. Paramadattan tasted this fruit and then grew suspicious. He asked her –“ this is not the fruit that you served me earlier- it tastes divine. I cannot imagine any variety of mango tasting like this one- where did you get it?” Confronted so directly, she answered truthfully- that she had served one of the fruits sent by him to a mendicant and now had asked Siva to help her, and he had given this fruit. Stunned with this answer, Paramadattan said-“ Oh so a miracle happened? Get me another fruit from Siva”.

Punithavathi went back into the kitchen and held out her hands, thinking “Siva- if you do not help me, my predicament will be grave”- Lo! Another mango dropped into it.

She returned and placed it in her husband’s hands. While he looked incredulously at it, it disappeared into thin air. The husband was totally shaken and frightened now. He felt his wife was no ordinary human.

 He very soon announced he would like to travel and build his business and therefore planned an ocean trip. Setting off with goods in  boat commissioned with their  resources, he left Karaikal on an auspicious day.

After travelling to many lands and making some money he reached a Pandian  town and settled there. He built himself  mansion and also enjoyed success and prosperity. He married again and had a daughter, whom he named Punithavathi.

Back in Karaikal, Punithavathi continued to live as usual, entertaining Siva mendicants who approached her home for food. Soon some one from her town happened to visit the Pandian town where Paramadattan lived, recognised him as the husband of Punithavathi. He reported back to this family. The elders felt they should take Punithvathi to her husband and make them re join, as she was still young and deserved a happy married life. Punithavathi dutifully went there with her parents, but Paramadattan , hearing of their approach, came to meet them outside the town and with his current wife and daughter, prostrated before Punithavathi, seeking her blessings. This sudden behaviour shocked everyone.

He explained that he could no longer think of Punithavathi as his wife as she was like  divine mother. Which is why he had named his daughter after her grandma!

Punithavathi realised this was another turning point for her. She prayed to Lord Siva to release her from worldly coils, transform her youth into old age- make her a crone- remove the attractions of flesh (curry) from her self and leave only the bones (The white rice). Her second wish to Lord Siva also was not for her comfort, but to release her from wordly responsibilities and help her attain him! Instantly her wish was granted.

She then started to travel on her own, writing many verses in Siva’s praise. She is said to have composed many songs describing Siva’s attributes, his hair, his dress, mainly his dance. She finally travelled to Kailasam, and went round the peak on her head rather than put her foot on the sacred soil. This crazy image is there in many sculptures and temples, but one should also treat this description  not literally but  philosophically,  it means she did not go in the way her feet led (Kaal pora pokule) but instead her intellect and wisdom. Anyhow- when she approached Siva, Parvathi asked  him, “ Who is this strange woman who seems to be all bones, and is approaching you, using  her head and hands?”

 Siva introduced her as his “ Ammai” –“ or “  mother.” He who has no parents, no beginning, no family, no attachments, craved for a mother and here she was- He asks “ Ammai ”- what she wants from him. She asks for her third and final boon- “Grant me release- no rebirth, if born ,I must never forget you,  always be with you, even when you dance the ugr thandavam. I should always sit at your feet and sing . Whenever I sing, you must dance for me!”

Siva grants her that- and says, “ Mother-  you need not suffer this harsh climate- go to the south and see me in Tirualankadu- (ala maram filled grove) and I will dance for you there.”

So Karaikal Ammaiyar returned to Tamil land, went to Alankadu temple and entered it on her head.

She is interned there in the main sanctum, which has Siva – with a walled up portion next to him, where she is supposed to have attained Samadhi. The Nataraja in Tirualankaadu is one of the oldest, it was here that Siva and Kali held their dance competition- as this was originally a Kali shrine.

Karaikal Ammaiyar’s stunning bronze figures are all lost from India- many are there in British museums and one on the Metropolitan Museum NY. There are also very stunning stone  ones in Srilanka, Cambodia and other lands wherever Hindu temple builders went to construct through the centuries.

Wherever there is a Siva dancing with his feet raised, there will be a Karaikal Ammaiyar figure on one side- seated with cymbals in her hand, keeping beat and singing. Siva dances whenever Ammaiyar sings.

(Google and see these figures – key in  Karaikal Ammaiyar Bronze- )

She is shown like  an ugly hag, drooping pointy breasts, bones and poky legs, grinning toothy mouth, wild hair. Outwordly ugly- shunning all wordly norms.

Probably the first truly liberated female .

Her temple in Karaikal enacts the mango story every year- with people throwing the fruit to all devotees on the streets. The folk play has the mango incident too as part of the family drama.

(documented and shared as blog  by Nithya Balaji)

Image below  of Siva dancing and Karaikal Ammaiyar seated nearby by S.Rajam in his book " Periapuranm in Pictures" published by The International Society for the investigation of Ancient Civiliztions. Edited by Dr.N.Mahalingam nd Narration in English by Dr.Prema Nndakumar.

Srivilliputhur trip- Chapter three written on 28^th Dec.1917.

Day two-

We all went to Thiruthankal- which is an old cave temple in Srivilliputhur. Cave temples came before the granite ones in history of temple architecture. 1500 years ago…!

Part of the early scooped out temples of the Pandya times- pre Raja Raja! Of course more sections would have been added during following centuries. The hillock has one side Shiva temple, with some fantastic nayak carvings, and a Vishnu temple on the other side of the same hill, interconnected! The Vishnu had an imposing and beautifully decorated Chengamala thayar. Early shaivites and vaishnavites were apparently not at loggerheads!

                                          Vaidyanathaswamy temple with tank- view from road.

Our next stop was the   Nayak period (500 years ago) Vaidyanathaswamy temple in Srivilliputhur called Madavar Vilakam. This very huge and imposing Shiva temple, with its full tank, has Vaidyanathaswamy as main deity, as one of the ministers of the Nayak king was cured here.

The  Sivakami amman shrine had a separate entrance .The gateway had the most adorable mud sculptures- kolu type- of Lakshmi, Parvathy and Saraswathy on the top. The Nayak mandapam inside had astounding stone carvings of the Nayak king, his brother in law and their queens. Very dark and ill lit, so photos were difficult to take. Sharing some here.

The main temple was huge, had a very unique stone Nataraja carved in granite. Another special sight! Photos shared from our group collection, some by myself, some by Parvathi.

The trip included a special visit to one of the most renowned paal khova making family owned enterprise- where huge vats of boiling milk was being stirred by automated machines. Only sugar is added and these get packed fresh and sold in the outlet just outside the main Andal temple. We tasted samples and bought plenty of packets to distribute to family and friends. Therutti paal is also made, equally yummy and famous. The difference is adding jaggery instead of sugar I think, as its brown in colour.

Enroute in the bus, Prof Madhusudhanan shared a lot of details about Andal, early temple architecture, evolution of the same etc. He is an architect by profession and teaches in one of the leading architectural schools in Chennai. We could ask him anything we want and he was most generous and eager to share his knowledge. I wanted to know more about what are the highlights in major Shaivaite and Vashnavaite temples- how are they similar and what are the differences. Also something more about particular deities like Dakshinamurthy, Durgai etc. We had a terrific time, listening to him. Have made copious notes.

Will not burden people here- as I think this is enough to whet your appetites so you sign up for the next trips! See them in mysticalpalmyra.com

                                             Detail of beautiful figures atop Sivakami shrine.

                                     Very old granite Nataraja- unlike usual Bronze in most temples.

                                               

 The Nayak pillars with great detail, Prof.Madhu expplaining some intricate aspects.

Chapter two of Srivilliputhur Heritage Trip

Chapter Two: (written on 27^th Dec. 2017)

Vatapatra Sayee Temple, Srivilliputhur.

Steeped in colourful mythology, the gigantic Vatapatra Sayee Vishnu leaves you in awe.  

This is to remind us of Vishnu floating on the Ala elai :  The mythological flooding of the earth (common in both Saivaite and Vaishnavaite stories , plus of course across religions) .

The Vaishnavaite version has  Vishnu saving the life forms. He balances himself on the banyan leaf ,not to be confused with baby Krishna shown on  arasa elai (peepul leaf ) by artists!  Apparently after the floods- Vishnu lets out Brahma who resides with him- to start the process of creation all over again from yuga to yuga.

 Noah packed in all the animals two by two. Vishnu just took Brahma ! Shiva and Parvathi came in a boat and rescued most living things (Sirgazhi temple has this story as part of a three storey structure also very unique). Maybe flooding inspired height everywhere? 

This temple has a unique two storey design with the Raa pathu and Pagal pathu mandapam on the first floor.

Why the name  Srivilliputhur?

This area was inhabited by a hunting tribe, eons ago. Two brothers Villi and Puthur were out hunting one day, they saw a boar and  gave chase. It disappeared in a shrubbery- they investigated and found the spot where Bhoomadevi and the Boar had conducted their discussion- “ Who is a Vaishnavaite? And how the “ only God” was Mahavishnu.  The brothers must have found a humble shrine, which later became a huge temple, first floor has a huge stucco image of reclining Vishnu. Andal has written 143 pasurams on this Vatapatra Sayee.

Most of the wealth and additions to the temples in Srivilliputhur- Vishnu or Shiva came during the Nayak period .Thirumalai Nayak was very partial to Andal and showered her with jewellery, built mahals (palaces) for himself to come and enjoy the festivals in this town and many temples have his mahals adjoining them.

To continue with the Vatapatra Sayee temple details:

 The mandapam is where the Arayars perform their “Raa pathu” and “Pagal pathu” chanting and dance! This is called Arayar Sevai. We were lucky to have arrived on the fourth day of Pagal Pathu.  (Ten days before Vaikunta Ekadasi is Pagal pathu,  so day time chanting and dancing- at around 2 p.m. daily. Post Vaikunta Ekadasi is Raa pathu, when action starts at 8 p.m. By the way, Vaikunta Ekadasi this year is on 29^th Dec.Friday. The chanting was good, done by seated elderly Vaishnavaite Brahmins and priests. The dancing was  so different- obviously one needs to cultivate an appreciation for it. Very unique to this group called “Arayars” and handed down from the time of  Nadamuni ,  who is said to have lived even before Ramanujar. So this very  old practice is  followed in many Vaishnavaite temples. The mandapam where this happened was very beautiful. They have set up all the wood carved pieces from the old temple car- as part of  roof decoration. Great idea to preserve crumbling temple cars!

We had taken  a lunch break- of a very traditional Iyengar "elai saapadu" in a mandapam outside the Andal temple. Rushed back to this hall and saw bits of the pagal pathu chanting and some part of the dancing.  Tough to keep awake after such a spread... 

The line of main idols and Alwars decorated to hilt, was simply beautiful. These stayed hidden behind a curtain while the chanting was going on. Then dancing happened by one person only, relatively younger than the other priests, wearing a special head gear, after curtains were opened and all could see the beautiful Utsava vigrahams of Andal, Perumal, the main Alwars etc.

Andal Temple unique details

The main Andal temple stands surrounded by rows of shops all selling paal khova and Therutti paal. The entrance has a beautiful gateway. Facing this- one sees another gateway to the right- which leads to the garden of Peria Alwar. We were also treated to a special visit to the most popular maker of Paal khova- near the temple.We tasted and bought yummy stuff by the kilo for family and friends. Priya had already whetted our appetites in her complimentary goody bag in our hotel rooms.

The Andal temple had very colourful first story carvings of Andal’s Pasurams- first 10 or so about waking up her friends to come and join in bathing and doing the nombu during the month of Margazhi. She had to do this “group puja” to attain her Govinda and  is therefore very persuasive in cajoling her friends to join. So Andal’s  "thiruppavai" deals with her first attempts to reach her Lord through penance and rituals with her friends. Then when this is not successful, she becomes desperate and turns to Manmatha- the God of love- and begs him to persuade her Lord. So “ Nachiar Thirumozhi” is a set of erotic poems, expressing  her total love for Krishna, verses that show yearning, filled with Premika and Premi rasa. 

Prof.Madhusudhanan sang both  type of verses , explaining the meaning. He has taken the pains to learn them, and sings beautifully. We were blessed.

“Premika and Premi” rasa - means the poet imagines himself or herself to be the lover and God to be their love. My all time favourite Sant Kabir has written an immortal doha (couplet) to show this-

“ Naino ki kari kotari, puthli palank bichai, palkon ka chik dari ke, piya ko liya rijhai!”

Translation:

In the private room of your eyes, with the pupil being the soft bed, the screen of your lashes- lower them; then entertain your lover!...... Merely means close your eyes- shut out the world , be alone with your lover ( God).  What a beautiful expression! 

The Gopuram has a very bright Golden sheet covered Vimanam, which could be seen close up from the first floor terrace, which was specially accessed by our group. All around the main shrine, on the walls are painted the different Perumals from all major Vishnu Sthalams. The story goes: once Perialwar realised Andal was special and would only marry her Srinivasa, he agrees once she is of marriageable age. ( Still too young by today's standards).

 Though the religious version is she went to Srirangam and disappeared into the temple. The popular version says all the different perumals from every major Vaishnavaite temple arrived for a Swayamvara in Srivilliputhur. Each of them were introduced. (The panels show all of them painted with location and names)

Example- Introduction would be “ This Perumal resides in a remote North East region of India, he is surrounded by forests and wild animals. It is very cold there” Andal says “ no no – he wont do!” 

This is Venkateswara from Tirupathi- Andal says "Oh no- he has Padmavathi already in his heart. Where will he have place for me?”  So finally some four contenders  are there- including Azhagar from Azhagarkoil. Of course the winner is Rengamannar or Ranganatha of Srirangam, who lives on an island  surrounded by Kaveri, lush fields and prosperity. 

So the very beautiful idols on the rear of the main shrine had Rengamannar with Andal, he holds the crook of the cowherd in his hand, He stands with Andal and Garuda!

There is no Garuda outside the main shrine in this temple. Because Rengamannar left in a hurry from Srirangam to make it in time- he just landed with Garuda into this temple and Garuda also came right in! He then requested the Lord-“ always I stand outside, please let me be with you and witness your wedding with Andal.” 

The other version is Perialwar was an avataram of Garuda- so the father is there with them at their wedding!

The difference in this heritage trip was it was full of such charming stories- who cares about history! Prof Madhusudhanan said  that during  the annual  wedding festival , Andal has a separate temple chariot and so do  the four final contestants, all racing to win Andal. Her chariot would  stand in facing the mada veethis….last minute, Rengamannar rushes ahead, beating Kalazhagar and others to come and stand beside Andal to thundering cheers from the crowds.  People enact this every year  as if they don’t know how it would end! He urged us to come and see it sometime.

…. More coming in final chapter.Sorry . I do not have good photos of these temples as we were not allowed to click. Also stories and experiences were too good, busy taking notes!

- Andal's Srivilliputhur

Aandal’s  Srivilliputhur- 21^st-24^th Dec 2017

                                         Aandal temple- Golden Vimanam. Pic. Nithya

Introduction:

Mystical Palmyra and RATHAM took us all on a magical tour, a  focussed look at Aandal & Rengamannarkoil, Vatapatra Sayee koil, Madavar Vilagam (Vaidyanathaswamy temple) and Thiruthankal (Cave temple).

Prof Madhusudhanan Kalaichelvan very graciously and generously shared his enormous knowledge and scholarship on all these topics, and sang for us select  Andal’s pasurams and from  Nachiar Thirumozhi , told us stories, pointed out the highlights and generally answered all our million   Qs most patiently. Made me recall the wonderful couplet by Tulsidas , which I always remember along with my Kabir’s dohas and Rahim’s few- even though I used to scrape through in Hindi, in school!

“ Dhan se vidya dhan bado- rehat pas sab kal” (Better than riches is the wealth of knowledge, it always stays with one)

 “ Deyi jitho- bhade thitho, Chor ne layee, nrupal!” (The more you dole out , the more it increases, no thief can take it away, nor can the  king grab it .) Prof Madhu has enriched himself and all of us, made us thirsty for more!

I will now transfer my hastily scribbled pencil jottings in some order, hopefully to remind me of how much I learnt, plus maybe interest more people in our own history , heritage and arts. These trips not only help me appreciate beauty, enjoy the wonderful stories and myths, but help me meet wonderful people, re charge my batteries, help me find my identity, as one small speck in the hoary tapestry of our past. Remind me that we continue to live on layers of history, civilizations and  dynasties. Help me co relate whatever I remember of the poetry, literature and music I have learnt and enjoyed. Of course I also try to sketch and draw something of interest to personalise these experiences and share with those I love and am close with.

Part one:

Is the temple Gopuram of Srivilliputhur the one on  our state’s emblem?

Back in 1947, Omandur Rediar asked Sri T.K.Chidambaranatha Mudaliar (Ti-ke-si) who was the first commissioner of HR&CE , to think of a logo for the state of Tamilnadu. Since he himself hailed from Srivilliputhur, he suggested the temple Gopuram of Srivilliputhur as one of the key elements. When the note went up to Nehru, reportedly the Prime Minister asked if a religious emblem would be suitable for the state? It was explained that this was a cultural symbol, temples were cultural centres, Tamilnadu gopurams were unique to the region, over thousands of years old… etc. The proposal was accepted.

Mr.Krishna Rao of the College of Arts Egmore( from the applied arts dept.) was asked to design the same. This gentleman hailed from West Street Madurai. He had always been  fascinated by the proportions of the West Gopuram of the Meenakshi temple. He designed the  logo with a temple gopuram, inspired by this particular one. (Prof.Madhusudhanan further  shared: a monograph has been released by Lalit Kala academy sometime ago on this, this fact has also been confirmed by the daughter of Krishna Rao- Ms.Kamala Rao).Yet most people continue to state it is the  Srivilliputhur Gopuram on the state’s emblem.  Looking closely at the emblem, it is not a faithful replica of any particular gopuram, as all emblems invariably get re hashed, to stand reduction and ensure clarity.

All of us felt that when an authentic account is made available, we should strive to be truthful.

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The Story of Andal starts with Perialwar .

Perialwar (before he attained that title) was Vishnu Chitthar, a devout Brahmin who lived between 7^th-8^th century, tending his little garden in Srivilliputhur. This garden (still marked with a garden on the right of the main temple) had plenty of flowering shrubs. Vishnu Chitthar would pluck the flowers every morning, string them into lovely garlands and take it to the Perumal temple. He was no pundit himself, only a most devout worshipper filled with pure love for the Perumal.  One day he heard the cry of a baby as he entered his garden. He found a beautiful baby girl among the tulsi plants . She was a radiant , beautiful child. He brought her up as his own daughter. He shared his love for the Perumal with her, told her stories of Krishna. Andal’s young heart was thus  already given to the Lord.

The Lord wanted the world to know the true devotion and strength of Vishnu Chitthar. So a drama was enacted. The Pandya king of those times , ruling from Madurai, once on his incognito tour of his land overheard a couple talking and got interested to know "what is the true purpose of this life…"? Here, a second version was shared by Prof Madhu: this version  says the king saw a line of ants scurrying into their ant hill- carrying food. He asked his minister why are they so much in a hurry? He was told that  they were storing food because the monsoon would  be there soon. The King wondered- “ but will these ants live that long? Why store when you don’t even know how long you will live?” Filled with such questions the king offered a purse of gold coins to whoever could clear his doubts.

As was the custom, this bag was hung in court.  Scholars came and tried to give explanations.If their answers were true- divine intervention would make the bag shower the gold down on them.

Vishnu Chitthar had a dream, in which Perumal asked him to go to the  Pandia kingdom (Madurai) and meet the king and answer his questions. The terrified Brahmin asked the Lord-“ But I am not equipped with such knowledge, I am a simple devotee of yours, content to string garlands for you”- but the Lord replied – “you will be equipped- I will give you the knowledge”.  There was an old friend of Perialwar who was a minister in the Pandya king’s court. So Perialwar journeyed to Madurai, met this man who presented him to the king. The king asked his queston. Perialwar’s total pure faith enabled him to answer simply and truthfully.

How did he explain the ants behaviour?

He is said to have pointed out that our sole aim in being born is to become one with the Lord, to attain his feet. Hence like the ant, regardless of our age, regardless of how long we are going to live, we should devote our time and attention in seeking Him. Not wait till we are too old to journey or unable to walk!

This simple truth made the bag of gold coins open up and shower on  Vishnu Chitthar , who is hailed as  Perialwar- one of the 12 venerated Alwars. He was given full honors, taken on a procession on the royal elephant around the streets of Madurai. Conches blared, attendants celebrated around him, crowds thronged to see him. Suddenly as this procession moved around the streets, Perialwar saw Lord Ranganatha with his consort in front of him. Unlike all other normal humans, he was filled with concern for the Lord! He was worried that the lord was exposing himself to such crowds and may be  in danger. So he  wanted to distract the crowds,  not realising that only he could see the Lord! He jumped down from the elephant and tolled the bell, to turn the attention of the crowd away from the spectacle, and he burst into song: “Pallandu, pallandu…pallayirathu andu” the first of his 450-500 songs!

Even though that is all he wrote- he is still “Perialwar”. Such was his protective love for the Lord! He brought back the gold and expanded the garden, continued to string garlands and sing songs on the Perumal.

We all are familiar  of how little Andal would try on the garlands first , without her father’s knowledge, admire herself in a reflection in a well, in their house. Then when Vishnu Chitthar found what had been happening he was terrified , admonished Andal for desecrating the garlands. He quickly made another on that day and took it to offer to the Lord. But Ranganatha would not have it. He missed Andal’s scent!

Then the father knew- this was no ordinary girl.

We saw the garden- or at least one on the spot where the mythical one was, saw a well, closed up, saw a hall of mirrors- to remind us of how Andal used to admire herself. Andal herself inside the sanctum was simply beautiful, decked in the finest jewels..well that’s another story for another chapter.