Abirami Pattar
Abhirami Pattar (born Subramaniya Iyer) (late 18th century - early 19th century) 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.
Etymology
Abhirami (Tamil: அபிராமி, Lit. She who is attractive at every moment of time) refers to the Goddess Abirami. Pattar (Tamil: பட்டர்) is the Tamil word for 'One who worships or The Priest of.'
Early life
Subramaniya Iyer was born to Amirthalinga Iyer in the village of Thirukadaiyur. Thirukkadaiyur has one of elegant Brahmin quarters near the temple called as 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 Shiva temple, callled Amritaghateswarar-Abirami Temple, Thirukkadaiyur. Right from his childhood, Subramaniya Iyer was drawn to the temple and the Goddess.
Devotion to Goddess Abhirami
As he grew, Iyer developed a fanatical devotion to the 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.
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 Shiva. On noticing the peculiar behavior of 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 categorisation explaining to the king that Iyer was only an ardent devotee of the 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. Iyer answered mistakenly that it was a Pournami (full-moon day) who could see nothing else but the shining luminant form of the Goddess. While in reality, the night was an Amavasya (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 6 pm.
Immediately realizing his mistake, 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 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 verge of completing the 79th hymn, the goddess manifested herself before him and threw her thadanga (diamond earring ornament), over the sky such that it shined with bright light upon the horizon. Overcome with ecstasy, Subramaniya Iyer composed 22 more verses in praise of her.
The king repented his mistake and immediately cancelled the punishment he had set for Iyer. He also bestowed upon the latter the title of "Abirami Pattar" or "One who worships Goddess Abhirami or The Priest of Goddess Abhirami" and supposedly awarded his successors the privilege of using the title "Bharathi".