There are many ways to reach God, with the commonest being by way of bhakti, expressed by chanting of a few hymns, every day. These include Vishnu Sahasranamam, Lalitha Sahasranamam, Kanda Shashti Kavacham, Narayaneeyam and Abhirami Andhadhi, said P. Swaminathan in a discourse.
The power of Abhirami Andhadhi (composed in Tamil) is reinforced by the unswerving devotion that ‘Abhirami’ Bhattar had for Abhirami, the Consort of Amritakadeswara, the presiding deity at Tirukkadaiyur.
Abhirami Bhattar, alias Subramanian, spent all his time in the sannidhi of Abhirami. Like many evolved souls, Abhirami Bhattar too was in the habit of conversing with the Higher Power, so much so that he would break into a smile or reply to questions no one else could hear, because of which he was branded as mad by many. Ignoring them, he would continue to pray to Abhirami, often going into a state of ecstasy.
One day, (Amavasya in the Tamil month of Thai) the ruler Serfoji I arrived in Tirukkadaiyur, after completing the Amavasya rituals at the confluence of river Cauvery and the sea at Kaveripoompattinam. When the king and his entourage arrived, Bhattar was fully absorbed in Abhirami and when the king asked him what day it was, he muttered, full moon day.
Coming out of his ecstasy later, and realising that he might have offended the king, Bhattar prayed to Abhirami saying, “My devotion to you made me forget earthly matters,” and decided to end his life, leaving it to Abhirami to save his life and his name.
A huge trench was dug and a fire lit. Suspended over it was a chair, tied with a hundred ropes. Sitting on the chair, Bhattar composed the Abhirami Andhadhi, a collection of 100 verses, with each verse using the last letter of the earlier verse. With the completion of each, he cut off one rope at a time. By the time he chopped the 75th rope, Abhirami gave a darshan in all her dazzling glory, and threw one of her earrings into the air. It rose, glistening in the sky, hanging like a luminescent full moon.
Bhattar was ecstatic and others, realising the efficacy of Abhirami Andhadhi, began to recite it, a tradition that continues to this day.
Published - January 29, 2025 05:16 am IST
