Reflections on Abirami Andadi in the holy city of Death

Mortality has fascinated the human imagination more than anything else. The lack of knowledge about what happens during and after death has not only kindled people’s imagination, but it has also led to creation of numerous works of painting, sculpture, stories, fables, and poetry. Our recent visit to the ancient living city of Varanasi helped us witness the grand imagination and imagery associated with mortality that is embedded in the culture and ethos of the city. 

In Hindu religion, death in the sacred city of Varanasi and cremation along the ghats of the Ganges river is believed to lead to liberation. The body of the dead is washed in the Ganges river, wrapped in a white shroud, adorned with marigold flowers and cremated on one of the several ghats of the river. After cremation, the ashes are scattered into the river. Many Hindus also believe that the soul of our ancestors stay in the city till appropriate Shrardha (memorial) rituals are done to liberate their wandering souls and send them to heaven. The memorial rituals that are performed in the city of Varanasi are said to be the most rigorous and sure to liberate their souls. So hordes of Hindus gather in Varanasi along the river Ganges to perform these Shrardha rituals. In Hindu belief Shiva is the God who brings life to a close and allows the cycle of life and death to perpetuate. Varanasi is the place where Shiva liberates souls from the mortal body and allows them to re-enter the birth-death cycle. There is an imagery of Shiva chanting verses in the ears of the dead, this liberating them and soothing their passage to the birth-death cycle. 

 

Last week when we were in Varanasi, we had the chance to visit a small shrine in the shore of the Ganges known as the Sankara Mutt, the monastery established by Shankaracharya of Kaladi. There is a beautiful idol of Kamakshi, the Goddess of Kancheepuram in the Mutt. As we sat there and chanted one of Tamil’s greatest invocations of the Goddess, Abirami Andadi, we noticed that the verses that mentioned mortality stood out during our chanting. It was probably because we were in Kashi, the holy city of liberation from the cycle of birth and death. As soon as I got back home, I sat down to write this piece on the various mentions of death in Abirami Andadi and how Abhirami Battar, the author of the verse, has conceptualized death and sought Abhirami’s divine grace to help ease the liberation process. 

 

In verse 18, Battar talks about the fear of death. In Hindu belief Yama or Kaalan in Tamil is the God who comes to take the soul away from the body at the time of death. When Yama or Kaalan arrives to take the soul away, it is not a pleasant feeling. There is absolute fear of what is going to happen next. This fear of death is not just the fear of the process of dying, but also the fear of what will happen next, and what the permanence of death means to the person who is dying. Battar seeks the divine grace of Abhirami to overcome this fear associated with dying. He says when it is time for me to go, I want to see the scene of you and your husband, Shiva who are indivisible parts of each other, in your wedding form, in my mind, so that this fear of death is removed from my mind. Even as he says this, a calmness pervades the mind of the reader with a reassurance that whatever may be the situation after death, it is all under the kingdom of Shiva and Abhirami and it cannot be bad. 

 

“வவ்விய பாகத்து இறைவரும், நீயும் மகிழ்ந்திருக்கும்
செவ்வியும், உங்கள் திருமணக்கோலமும் சிந்தையுள்ளே
அவ்வியம் தீர்த்தென்னை ஆண்டபொற்பாதமும் ஆகிவந்து
வெவ்விய காலன் என்மேல்வரும் போது வெளிநிற்கவே.”

 

In verse 22, Abhhirami Battar writes about the perpetual cycle of birth and death. Every life that is born has to die. And in the Hindu belief, after death the soul takes another body and is reborn. This cycle of life and death is perpetual. The soul which undergoes this cycle of life and death is caught perpetually in the whirlpool of worldly life or Sansara. Battar seeks the grace of Abhirami to liberate the reader from this cycle. Abhirami’s grace can free the soul from this perpetual cycle and take the soul to a higher plane, the plane at the feet of God. He called Abhirami, slender waisted beauty. She is the fragrance of the Vedas. She is the graceful and majestic elephant that wanders the Himalayas. She is the mother of all the devas including Brahma. Battar invokes this Abhirami and asks her to liberate his soul from the cycle of birth and death. 

 

கொடியே! இளவஞ்சிக் கொம்பே எனக்கு வம்பே பழுத்த
படியே! மறையின் பரிமளமே! பனிமால் இமயப்
பிடியே! பிரமன் முதலாய தேவரைப் பெற்ற அம்மே!
அடியேன் இறந்து இங்கு இனிப்பிறவாமல் வந்தாண்டு கொள்ளே.

 

In verse 49, Battar says, this body has a finite life. When that life comes to an end, I have to leave this body. This fact is not easy for me to accept and embrace. I will struggle and I will be scared and afraid when it is time for me to die. At that time, I want you to come and support my transition. I want you to show your bangle adorned beautiful hand. Lest, I forget to see your face in all the fear and apprehension, it is sufficient if you just show me your bangle adorned hands. When I see that hand, I can immediately know that you are there and that will calm my mind and allow me to pass without fear. In a string instrument, the music remains hidden. It is always there, but only when the musician plays the strings the music comes out. Like that, in my mind you and your thoughts are constantly present. But I want you to show me your hand, give me a signal, and that will bring out the Abirami in my mind and I will pass in peace. 

 

குரம்பை அடுத்துக் குடிபுக்க ஆவி வெங்கூற்றுக்கிட்ட
வரம்பை அடுத்து மறுகும் அப்போது வளைக்கை அமைத்து
அரம்பை அடுத்த அரிவையர் சூழவந்து அஞ்சல்என்பாய்;
நரம்பை அடுத்த இசைவடிவாய் நின்ற நாயகியே.

 

Battar sings Abhirami’s praises in verse 51. He says even Shiva and Vishnu are worshipping Abirami. She is the source of infinite energy even for those Gods. When we pray to her and seek her blessings, she will definitely liberate us from the perpetual cycle of birth and death. 

 

 

அரணம் பொருள் என்றருள் ஒன்றிலாத அசுரர் தங்கள்
முரண்அன்றழிய முனிந்த பெம்மானும், முகுந்தனுமே
சரணம் சரணம் எனநின்ற நாயகி தன் அடியார்
மரணம், பிறவி இரண்டும் எய்தார் இந்த வையகத்தே.

 

The soothing calmness that Abhirami gives to the departing soul cannot be captured better than in verse 86. Battar says, Abhirami, you are this infinite energy and grace that is sought by Brahma, Vishnu and all the Devas. When Kaalan or the God of Death comes to take my soul away, I will be filled with fear and apprehension. At that time your mere presence by my side will soothe the situation like the sweet mixture of milk, honey and sugar syrup. 

 

மாலயன் தேட, மறைதேட, வானவர் தேட, நின்ற
காலையும், சூடகக் கையையும், கொண்டு, கதித்தகப்பு
வேலை வெங்காலன் என்மேல் விடும்போது வெளிநில்கண்டாய்;
பாலையும் தேனையும், பாகையும் போலும் பணிமொழியே.

 

In my reading and understanding, verse 89 speaks of a high form of consciousness that meditation on the form of Abhirami gives to the devotee. Meditation on the lotus feet of Abhirami and the half-shiva-half-sakthi form of the Goddess, will lead to a supra-conscious state called Thuriyatheetham. Those practitioners of Abhirami devotion, who have achieved this supra-conscious state will constantly be in the Abhirami consciousness. So when the time for death comes, and when the mind, body and thoughts start dissociating and disintegrating, it is not possible for mere humans to think of Her. But for those who are in the supra-conscious state of Abhirami consciousness, She will constantly be in the thoughts and remove the fear of death. 

 

சிறக்கும் கமலத் திருவே! நின்சேவடி சென்னிவைக்கத்
துறக்கம் தரும், நின் துணைவரும் நீயும் துரியம் அற்ற
உறக்கம் தரவந்து உடம்போடு உயிர் உறவற்ற, அறிவு
மறக்கும் பொழுது, என்முன்னே வரல்வேண்டும் வருந்தியுமே.

 

This is Abhirami Battar’s imagination of the process of death. He declares that he does not know what happens. From his observations he says that people are not in their right frame of mind when they die. So even as we live with our senses and our mental abilities, we meditate on Abhirami and internalize her. So when it is time for us to leave, she is the only thought that pervades the mind and soothes the passage. After reflecting on all these verses, I was amazed at the rich tradition and culture that I am rooted in, which gives me mechanisms to cope and handle uncertainty that is associated with death.