In the 18th Century, AD, in the town of Thirukadaiyur, lived a man named Subramanyam Iyer. Everyday, he would visit the local temple of Amrithaghateswar (Lord Shiva) and would worship his consort (Goddess Parvati) as Mother Goddess Abhirami Devi. He would spend hours in meditation, recollecting her divine face. He was so devoted to her that he saw her in every woman, so much so that he would chase after women in the town, offer them flowers and prostrate at their feet for blessings. The Town folk deemed him mad.
New moon or Full moon
One day, the local king, Sarfoji I of Thanjavur, visited the temple. At the sanctum sanctorum of the goddess, while everyone paid him their obedience, he found a man (Subramanyam) sitting completely oblivious to what was happening around him. Infuriated, the king ordered his guards to shake the man out of meditation. The king asked Subramanyam, if he knew what the date – Thithi was according to the Lunar calendar on that day. Subramanyam, whose eyes were fixed on the face of the Goddess which was glowing like a thousand moons, said that it was a full moon day. The crowd gasped, for it was a new moon day, when it would be pitch black.
A trial by fire
The king further angered, sentenced Subramanyam to be burnt alive for his lies and disobedience. He would be suspended on a wooden deck hung over a blazing fire with the help of ropes. If the moon did not rise, as per his prediction, Subramanyam was to be plunged into fire. If it rose, he would be saved.
A suspension apparatus was created and Subramanyam was instructed to sit on it. At sunset, crowds gathered, as the fire was lit. Unperturbed by the heat, Subramanyam, composed and sang over a 100 hymns in praise of Goddess Abhirami – the Abhirami Andhadhi. As he sang the 78th hymn, the Goddess appeared and in a flash threw one of her earrings, her Kanaka Thadanga to the night sky, where it shone like the moon.
“Abirami’s eyes shower grace. Ruby and diamond earrings glow on her ears. Rich is her complexion like brightened copper and her face is shining like a full moon, in front of my eyes. That maybe why, I saw Poornima on Amavasya.”
Abhirami Bhattar
The Goddess, exclaimed that she wanted to hear the rest of the hymns and Subramanyam continued to chant. The king and his ministers were awestruck. They freed Subramanyam and asked for his forgiveness. He was now hailed as “Abhirami Bhattar – the worshipper of Abhirami” by the local public.
Andhadhi is a style of poetry where the last word of the preceding verse becomes the first word of the succeeding verse. Andh means end, Aadhi – beginning. Reading the hymns on a full moon day is believed to help with the pursuit and fulfillment of goals deemed impossible.
Loss of Jewelry
A loss of a piece of jewelry, particularly a favorite one can bring a lot of pain to a woman. To lose, destroy or let go of one knowingly is careful weighed decision. Golden earrings double disc earrings are a favorite of Goddess Parvati. Yet she lets go of them twice. In the story of Kanaka Thaganda where she choses to lose to her husband rather than shame him in public and has to leave behind a single thadanga. The story of Abhirami is the second instance where she throws again a single thadanga to the sky in order to save a devotee who saw her as his mother.
References and Further Reading
- “Amirtha Kadeswarar- Thirukadaiyur: Tamilnadu Temple.” n.d. Dinamalar: Temples. Accessed September 19, 2021. https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=639.
- Ramanan, Ramesh. n.d. SRI ABHIRAMI ANTHAADHI IN TAMIL AND ENGLISH. Advaita-Vedanta. https://www.advaita-vedanta.org/texts/Sri.Abhirami.Antadi.English-Tamil.pdf.
Note
All stories have been collected from various sources, including oral histories and temple histories and compiled to form one narrative. Hence, there may be different from the master narrative. The project hopes only to be a curator of stories and not an expert on history, religion and iconography.