Abirami Pattar

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Abhirami Pattar (original name Subramaniya Iyer) (late 1700s - early 1800s) was a semi-legendary Hindu saint from the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is famed as the author of a collection of hymns called Abhirami Anthadhi which is widely regarded as one of the foremost works of modern Tamil literature.

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[edit] Early Life

Subramaniya Iyer was born to one Amirthalinga Iyer in the village of Tirukkadaiyur. Tirukkadaiyur was one of the agraharams established by the Maratha ruler Serfoji I, a great admirer of Brahmin poets and bards, in the early part of the 18th century. The village was famous for its temple to Lord Shiva. Right from his childhood, Subramaniya Iyer was drawn to the temple and the Goddess.

[edit] Devotion to Goddess Abhirami

As he grew Subramaniya Iyer developed a fanatical devotion to Goddess Abhirami. He would sit in a corner of the temple meditating upon the Goddess and singing her praises. As time passed, he was forever immersed in meditation upon the Goddess that he began to observe the supposed likeliness of the Goddess in the persona of the women around him and often showered them with flowers. According to sources, soon, a particular section of the populace began to regard him as a madman.

[edit] The Wager with Raja Serfoji

One day, Raja Serfoji, the Maratha Raja of Thanjavur who ruled over the land, visited the temple to pay homage to Lord Shiva. On noticing the peculiar behavior of Subramaniya Iyer who was a temple priest, he inquired the other priests about the individual. One of them remarked that he was a madman while another rejected this categorization explaining to the king that Subramaniya Iyer was only an ardent devotee of Goddess Abhirami. Seeking to know the truth himself, Serfoji approached the priest and asked him what day of the month it was i.e. whether it was a full-moon day or a new-moon day. Subramaniya Iyer who could see nothing else but the shinning luminant form of the Goddess before him wrongly answered that it was a full-moon day while it was in fact a new-moon day. The king rode off informing the former that he would have his head cut off if the moon did not appear on the sky by six in the night.

Immediately realizing his mistake, Subramaniya Iyer supposedly lit a huge fire and erected a platform over it supported by a hundred ropes. He sat upon the platform and prayed to the Goddess Abhirami to save him. He cut off one rope after another in succession on completion of each verse of his prayer. These hymns form the Abhirami Anthadhi. On completion of the 79th hymn,the Goddess Abhirami manifested herself before him and threw her earring over the sky such that it shone with bright light upon the horizon. Overcome with ecstasy, Subramaniya Iyer composed 22 more verses in praise of the Goddess.

The king repented his mistake and immediately cancelled the punishment he had awarded Subramaniya Iyer. He also bestowed upon the latter the title of "Abirami Pattar" or "priest of Goddess Abhirami" and supposedly awarded his successors the privilege of using the title "Bharathi".

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