Name Etymology The name Avvaiyar is a combination of Tamil word avvai with honorific suffix ar. Avvai refers to respectable elderly woman as the word ammai which means good woman in general term for a woman of any age.
Thus the name Avvaiyar means a respectable good woman hence a generic title rather than a specific name of a person. Sangam age Avvaiyar The Avvaiyar who lived during the Sangam period is considered to be contemporary to poets Paranar, Kabilar and Thiruvalluvar.
Legend states that she was a court poet of the rulers of the Tamil country. She travelled from one part of the country to another and from one village to another, sharing the gruel of the poor farmers and composing songs for their enjoyment. Most of her songs were about a small-time chieftain Vallal Athiyamaan Nedumaan Anji and his family. The chieftain had also used her as his ambassador to avert war with another neighbouring chieftain Tontaiman.
The rest of her songs related to the various aspects of state governance. Although traditions claim that she was a sister of Kabilar, Thiruvalluvar and Athiyamaan, V. Ramachandra Dikshitar refutes this claim based on his studies that all four of them were most likely of different walks of life, thus from different caste backgrounds and hence impossible to be siblings. Chola age Avvaiyar The medievaal period Avvaiyar was the court poet of the Chola monarch and was the contemporary of Kambar and Ottakkuttar.
She found great happiness in the life of small children. Her works, Aathichoodi and Konraiventhan written for young children, are even now generally read and enjoyed by them. Her two other works, Mooturai and Nalvali were written for older children. All the four works are didactic in character — they explain the basic wisdom that should govern mundane life. By tradition, this is stated to be the spot where the great poetess left the mortal world.
This festival is celebrated every year in the month of Panguni on Sadhayam star day. Kampan, born c. About Avvaiyyar Avvaiyyar was a female poet of the ninth century, who lived in the southern parts of India. She is known, not only for her extraordinary poetry, but also, as a noble and revered saint. The bardic poetry of the Sangam era is largely about love akam and war puram , with the exception of the shorter poems such as in paripaatal which is more religious and praise Vishnu, Shiva, Durga and Murugan….
Sangam literature. Here, it refers to Tamil Sangam, an association of Tamil poets, which flourished in ancient history of South India. These Tamil poets composed the Sangam literature and the period in which it was composed is called Sangam Age. Among them, the first Avvaiyar lived during the Sangam period c.
Anyone who was educated in the Thamizh region would have studied and memorized ouvaiyAr's poems early in school. Her list of Do's and Don'ts, useful for daily life was arranged in simple and short sentences. The recital of these poems by groups of children with a characteristic melody would always bring nostalgic memories of childhood days. One of the major criticisms of Thamizh poets and authors is that, in their zeal to display their literary skills, they made their style very difficult.
Only after attaining a certain level of proficiency, one would be able to understand the meaning or appreciate the finer points of literary maneuvers. In these days of technical specialization, many do not ever reach this stage so that our own literary treasure becomes a closed chapter for them.
Auvaiyar followed a different strategy and directed her moral instructions at children who have open minds and are more receptive. Salient Features of ouvaiyAr's Literary Works a By considering universally acceptable values in just one line ouvaiyar even excelled ThiruvaLLuvar's brevity and succeeded in making them stay in memory for the rest of one's life. In the next example the first two lines depict the concept and the next two denote the simile.
When you do a good deed to someone else, you should do so without expecting when it will be repaid. The analogy is the coconut palm tree which takes in water from the ground and gives it back through the coconut milk without expecting any thanks.
In the following example, the evils of the caste distinctions were pointed out in the clearest possible manner. She states that human beings can be divided only into two divisions, high and low, depending upon how much they are willing to share their fortunes with others.
The stratification of people into high and low was not desirable whether it was based on caste, religion or wealth. When Kampan tried to put Auvaiyar on the spot with some disparaging remarks, she proved that she could be as ruthless as the next person. Without actually calling him names, Auvaiyar recited a poem which, on the surface, gave the impression that she was praising Kampan.
Auvaiyar had a tremendous capacity in expressing profound concepts in a simple but convincing manner. She said,. It is amazing that with a short but effective minor poems, Auvaiyar gained fame and remained in the hearts of people for over a millennium, a feat not accomplished even by poets who have great literary works to their credit.
The fact that this was done by a woman is something Thamizh people can really be proud of. The surprise is why her advice has fallen on deaf ears. As a young girl, she was deeply devoted to religion and literary pursuits and wanted to serve the people.
Known for her intelligence and extraordinary beauty, she had many aristocratic suitors, and pressure was brought to bear for arranging her marriage. While most young women would welcome such attention, it was for Auvaiyar more threat than opportunity. Her interests were philosophical and devotional, and her life revolved around her love of Siva.
She did not want to make a man the center of that universe. Faced with the impending marriage that her family would surely arrange, Auvaiyar wept and prayed before her chosen Deity, Vighneshvara, to save her from this fate:. Please take away my youth and my beauty so that I can have peace and follow my chosen way of life. Ganesha heard her prayer, and in the days that followed her skin wrinkled, hair grayed, eyes dulled, limbs stiffened and breasts sagged.
Looking at her reflection in the village well, the maiden was overcome with joy, knowing she was safe from the world, knowing that her loving Ganesha had graciously answered her prayers.
Auvaiyar left the shelter of home, where most people find security, and wandered far and wide in the palmyra-covered Tamil kingdoms of Chola, Pandya and Chera. Her life was simple, dedicated to the practice of yoga and to following her guru's instructions.
As her spiritual sadhana bore fruit, she slowly matured into spreading the tantras, the mystical teachings of the siddhars, the wisdom of God Siva and the Gods. Her innumerable literary and philosophical works, for both children and elders, cover the entire gamut of human experience and testify to her profound wisdom.
Her royal benefactors, among whom were Shri Shri Shri Adiyaman, Pari, Kari and Seraman, are historical figures distinguished by their bravery and benevolence. These maharajas patronized her cultural works so that her fame spread far and wide.
She is now acclaimed as the wisest woman of all ages in the chronicles of Indian culture. Auvaiyar Ma was a contemporary and close associate of two noble Siva bhaktas, Sundarar and Seraman Perumal , ruler of the Chera kingdom, both extolled as great Saiva saints in Sekkilar's epic hagiography, the Periyapuranam. One day, near the end of her life, it is said that Auvaiyar was in the midst of her daily worship of her beloved Ganesha.
Sundarar was riding a white elephant, and Seraman was on a white horse. They were as aware of her as she was of them. She became disturbed and tried to rush her worship, filled with a yearning to join her spiritual friends on their last journey. But Lord Ganesha appeared and told her to finish her rituals calmly and without haste, with the promise that she would be taken to Kailasa ahead of her two friends.
Thereupon she entered her trance even more deeply and sang the renowned hymn of praise entitled Vinayaka Ahaval. This great song of religious devotion to Ganesha is sung to this day throughout the Tamil land at the time of Ganesha worship, particularly during the annual Ganesha Chaturthi festival. As she finished her worship and placed the sacramental offering at His gracious feet, Vinayaka appeared before her, lifted her in His gentle trunk and delivered her to the Sivaloka, to Mount Kailasa, before the two friends arrived.
When Seraman Perumal inquired how it was that she had arrived ahead of them, she sang this in her unique and charming Tamil: O king, is there anything unattainable To them who intensely contemplate On the fragrant feet of the son Of Ummaiyal, of sweet and comely speech? The thunderous thud of the swift elephant And that of the agile horse must give place To that of the rider of this old dame!
He is none other than the mighty Mahaganapati. Swaminathan, From Om Ganesha, the Peace of God Cool, fragrant lotus feet with anklets tinkling sweet, gold girdle, flower-soft garment setting off the comely hips, pot-belly and big, heavy tusk, elephant-face with the bright red mark, five hands, the goad, the noose, blue body dwelling in the heart, pendulous jaws, four mighty shoulders, three eyes and the three required marks, two ears, the gold crown gleaming, the breast aglow with the triple thread, O Being, bright and beautiful!
Wish-yielding elephant, born of the Master of Mystery in Mount Kailasa, mouse-rider, fond of the three famed fruits, desiring to make me yours this instant, you like a mother have appeared before me and cut the delusion of unending births. You have come and entered my heart, imprinting clear the five prime letters, set foot in the world in the form of a guru, declared the final truth is this, gladly, graciously shown the way of life unfading.
With that unfailing weapon, your glance, you have put an end to my heinous sins, poured in my ear uncloying precepts, laid bare for me the clarity of ever-fresh awareness, sweetly given me your sweet grace for firm control of the senses five, taught how to still the organs of action; snapped my two-fold karma and dispelled my darkness, giving, out of grace, a place for me in all four states; dissolved the illusion of triple filth, taught me how to shut the five sense gates of the nine-door temple, fixed me firm in the six yogic centers, stilled my speech, taught me the writ of ida and pingala, shown me at last the head of sushumna.
To the tongue of the serpent that sinks and soars you have brought the force sustaining the three bright spheres of sun, moon and fire -- the mantra unspoken asleep in the snake -- and explicitly uttered it; imparted the skill of raising by breath the raging flame of muladhara; explained the secret of immortality, the sun's movement and the charm of the moon; the water lily's friend, the sixteen states of the prasada mantra; revealed to me in thoughtful wisdom the six-faced form and the meanings four; disclosed to me the subtle body and the eight separate modes of being; the orifice of Brahman opened, giving me miraculous powers, by your sweet grace, and mukti, too; revealed my Self to me and by your grace swept away accumulated karma, stilled my mind in tranquil calm beyond speech and thought; clarified my intellect, plunged me in bliss which is the common ground of light and darkness.
Boundless beatitude you have given me, ended all affliction, shown the way of grace: Siva eternal at the core of sound, Sivalinga within the heart, atom within atom, vast beyond all vastness, sweetness hid in the hardened node. You have steadied me clear in human form all besmeared with holy ashes; added me to the congregation of your servants true and trusty; made me experience in my heart the inmost meaning of the five letters; restored my real state to me; and rule me now, O Master of Wisdom, Vinayaka.
Your feet alone, O Master of Wisdom, Vinayaka, your feet alone, are my sole refuge. The symbol of divine grace is conveyed by the image of the feet of Ganesha. She commences her poem by extolling the feet in words that vibrate with melody.
In the middle and at the end of the poem, too, we find the allusion to the sacred feet of grace, signifying that the poem has been based on the foundation of grace, outflowing from the elder son of Siva, Vittaka Vinayaka. Thus the hymn Vinayaka Ahaval is a highly mystical work. It consists of seventy-two lines of poetry. The author begins the poem with a salutation to the holy feet of Ganapati.
His feet are mystically placed at the tail end of the spinal column called muladhara, which generates the heat necessary for the functioning of the inner organs. His feet guard, as it were, the source of the bodily energy from extinction and are a symbol of grace. From His feet emanate the seven modulations of the musical notes, giving rise to the succinct vibrations of mantras. The primordial vibration from the muladhara, the eternal substratum, gives rise to the cosmic dance full of dynamic motion around and within.
So potent are His lotus feet of grace. Meditating on His feet, the poetess describes the vision of the beauteous formation of the body of Ganesha, so symmetrical and subdued, radiating light with the golden hip-chain and white, silken attire.
He is a living presence to Mother Auvai and not an image of stone. Ma Auvai sees, in her yogic perception, the impressive nature of Vinayaka's countenance. She sees one tusk broken and kept in one of His hands, while the other tusk adorns His comely elephant face and is the source of mitigating countless malicious forces. Eka dantaye vighna vinashine. Ganesha's elephant face, adorned with the red mark on the forehead, beams with beauteous smile at the votary who sings His praise.
The twinkle in His eye symbolizes His auspicious nature. His five hands signify the five-fold activities of the manifested cosmos.
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