Akka Mahadevi
Place: Udutadi in Shivamogga District , Karnataka
Period: 12th Century
At 16, Mahadevi was the epitome of beauty. While other girls of her age dreamt of prospective bridegrooms, she decided to wed Shiva, more precisely, Chenna Mallikarjuna (the beautiful Lord, pure as Jasmine).
The daughter of devoted parents, she was initiated into bhakthi at the age of seven; by 16, she was almost a saint. But, when King Koushika’s eyes fell on her, she was forced to marry him. Koushika challenged Mahadevi’s stand that she only belonged to Shiva. When he pointed out that everything she had belonged to him, she discarded everything, including her clothes, and left the palace. The very next minute, long tresses covered her nakedness.
She went to Kalyan, a haven for devotees of Shiva, and joined a group called ‘Veera Saiva’. There, in the ‘Anubhava Mandapa’, a platform for open debate on various issues including philosophy and social reform, Mahadevi spoke fearlessly. Her conviction earned her the honorific title, ‘Akka’, meaning ‘elder sister’. In the company of Basavanna, Chenna Basavanna, Prabhudeva and Madi
It is said that Mahadevi was married by arrangement to Kausika, a local king. There were immediate tensions, however, as Kausika was a Jain, a group that tended to be wealthy and was, as a result, much resented by the rest of the population. Much of Akka's poetry explores the themes of rejecting mortal love in favor of the everlasting, "illicit" love of God, and this seems to be the path she chose as well.
She ran away from her life of luxury to live as a wandering poet-saint, traveling throughout the region and singing praises to her Lord Shiva. A true ascetic, Mahadevi is said to have refused to even wear clothing -- a common practice among male ascetics, but shocking for a woman.
In Kalyana, she met the famous Shaivite saints Basavaand Allama Prabhu.
Akka spent the last of her days in the Srisailam area. Tradition says she left th
Om Sri Guru Basavalingaya Namah
Akka Mahadevi was a prominent saint of the Lingayat/Veerashaiva faith during the 12th century. She composed around Vachanas (a form of spontaneous mystical poems). The term Akka ("elder Sister") is an honorific given to her by great Lingayat saints such as Basavanna, Siddharama and Allamaprabhu as an indication of her contribution to the spiritual discussions held at the "Anubhava Mantapa". She is seen as an inspirational woman for Kannada literature and the history of Karnataka. She considered Lord Shiva ('Chenna Mallikarjuna') as her husband, ('madhura bhava' form of devotion).
Born in the in the small hamlet of Uduthadi, Karnataka, Mahadevi was initiated into the worship of the Shivalinga at the age of ten and considered herself betrothed to Lord Shiva. She spent her adolescence in His worship and composed Vachanas that spilled over with fervent longings for her Beloved, whom she called, &#;Chenna Mallikarjuna&#; or &#;Lord, White as Jasmine,&#; the name of Shiva in her hometown temple.
King Kaushika, the ruler of the land, fell passionately in love with her the moment he saw her. But she spurned his request for marrage, &#;But for my
The Bhakti movement that flourished across various literary cultures, gave rise to a distinct genre of expression in Kannada. This was the vachana, loosely understood as free verse poems or sayings, which arose within the Kannada literary tradition during the 12th century sharana movement. Although it did not develop with the exclusive intention of turning into a literary form, the language used by the sharanas, the content of their vachanas and the people they addressed through these vachanas, broke with the existing literary canon in Kannada and consequently, brought about a defining turn in Kannada language and literature. While the vachanas reflect various aspects of Bhakti, the vachana poets lay great emphasis on the unity of speech and action. This unity, they stressed, is central to the worship of Shiva. Thus, vachanas—these passionate dialogues in pursuit of union with the ishtadevta (sharana’s chosen form of Shiva for worship)—not only break with the existing literary tradition, but also reject social divisions, hierarchies, formal structures of learning and worship, and pursuit of worldly pleasures. H
Sairam dave biodata format Sairam is the one of the youngest artist who honored like this type of puraskar. In year All India Rajkot Center approved him as "B High Grade" Folk Literature Artist. Since he . J-lo performance celia cruz biography A Cuban-American singer, Celia Cruz had gone on to become one of the most recognized and influential Latin artists of her time when it came to music. Several years after Missing: j-lo performance. Countess castiglione biography for kids Virginia Oldoini Verasis, countess di Castiglione (born March 22, , Florence, duchy of Tuscany [Italy]—died Nov. 28, , Paris, France) was a Tuscan noblewoman who occupied . Srila sridhar maharaj biography channel Srila Sridhar Maharaj is the composer of numerous classical prayers and commentaries in Sanskrit and Bengali. His works are hailed as gems of pure Vaishnavism by . Louisiana paul whiteman biography Dubbed the "King of Jazz" in the s, Paul Whiteman was credited with bringing jazz music into the mainstream during the decade after World War I. He was the first to arrange music for jazz Missing: louisiana. Susan g. komen austin address Address: Noel Road, Suite , Dallas, TX General Inquiry: Contact us. 1. Partner with us. 2. Find a local Komen event. 3. Career opportunities. 4. Email us with any . Kelvin moon loh king and i The actor, Kelvin Moon Loh, said the woman he presumed to be the mother was doing her best after the child interrupted a performance of “The King and I.”. Bellydance evolution fantasm review Fantasm - Odyssey of Dreams - An enchanting ‘magic carpet ride’ of Scheherazade’s ancient tales of the adventures of Sinbad told through Middle Eastern and contemporary folkloric .
The Vachanas of Akkamahadevi
Biographies you may also like