0090.Abhirami Andhadhi Slogan 88 Poem by rajagopal. h..

To Get The Grace Of Abhirami Ever

(Dear Readers
I start this stanza with a special foreword; as I do not have a mother to say something about her I borrow the words of bhisma from Mahabharatha to explain the greatness of Mother)

Foreword
-----
Mother
From the Mahabharata
Santi Parva: Mokshadharma Parva
Section CCLXVI

Bhishma said:

The mother is the panacea for all kinds of calamities. The existence of the mother invests one with protection; the reverse deprives one of all protection. The man who, though divested of prosperity enters his house, uttering the words, 'O mother! '- has not to indulge in grief. Nor does decrepitude ever assails him. A person whose mother exists, even if he happens to be possessed of sons and grandsons and even he himself is hundred years old, but in the eyes of his mother he looks like a child of two years of age. Whether the mother is able or disabled, lean or robust, the mother always protects the son. None else, according to the ordinance, is the son’s protector. Then does the son become old, then does he become stricken with grief, then does the world look empty in his eyes, when he becomes deprived of his mother. There is no shelter like the mother. There is no refuge like the mother. There is no defense like the mother. There is no one so dear as the mother. For having borne him in her womb the mother is the son’s dhatri. For having been the chief cause of his birth, she is his janani. For having nursed his young limbs, she is called amva (Amma) . For nursing and looking after the son she is called sura. The mother is one’s own body.

Tamil Transliteration

Paramendru unaiadaindaen thamiyaenum unn paththarukkul
Tharamandru Evan endru thallath thagaadhu thariyalartham
Puram andru eriyap poruppuvill vaanghiya paodhil ayan
Siram ondru settragai yaan idapp paagam sirandh dhavalae

Translation

Occupying well the left of my Lord,
Glorifying thus, the destroyer of
The menacing cities wielding mount Meru
As the mighty bow, and Snatcher of
The head ego of the creator; Hey Abhirami!
Devoid of companions, I surrender unto
Thee for protection, its disgrace to Thy grace,
Neglecting me on the ground disqualification!


Simple Meaning

Hey Abhirami who has occupied the left side of my Lord Siva the destroyer of the three cities “ Thripuram” by wielding mount Meru as His bow and also plucking out the egoistic head of the the creator Brahma, I do not have any companion; I surrender unto you for protection; do not neglect me telling I do not deserve your protection which will not suit your graceful stature.


Commentary

Juxtaposition of destruction and protection is the beauty of Abhiramai Bhattar

To understand Abhirami lets go through the following facts

In the various stages of development the final stage of development is the worshipping of Kali as the Great Mother, devoid of her usual violence. This practice is a break from the more traditional depictions. The pioneers of this tradition are the 18th century Shakta poets such as Ramprasad Sen, who show an awareness of Kali's ambivalent nature. Ramakrishna, the 19th century Bengali saint, was also a great devotee of Kali; the western popularity of whom may have contributed to the more modern, equivocal interpretations of this Goddess. Rachel McDermott's work, however, suggests that for the common, modern worshipper, Kali is not seen as fearful, and only those educated in old traditions see her as having a wrathful component. Some credit to the development of Devi must also be given to Samkhya. Commonly referred to as the Devi of delusion, Mahamaya, acting in the confines of (but not being bound by) the nature of the three gunas, takes three forms: Maha-Kali, Maha-Lakshmi and Maha-Saraswati, being her tamas-ika, rajas-ika and sattva-ika forms. In this sense, Kali is simply part of a larger whole.
Like Sir John Woodroffe and Georg Feuerstein, many Tantric scholars (as well as sincere practitioners) agree that, no matter how propitious or appalling you describe them, Shiva and Devi are simply recognizable symbols for everyday, abstract (yet tangible) concepts such as perception, knowledge, space-time, causation and the process of liberating oneself from the confines of such things.
Shiva, symbolizing pure, absolute consciousness, and Devi, symbolizing the entire content of that consciousness, are ultimately one and the same — totality incarnate, a micro-macro-cosmic amalgamation of all subjects, all objects and all phenomenal relations between the 'two.' Like man and woman who both share many common, human traits yet at the same time they are still different and, therefore, may also be seen as complementary.
Worshippers prescribe various benign and horrific qualities to Devi simply out of practicality. They do this so they may have a variety of symbols to choose from, symbols which they can identify and relate with from the perspective of their own, ever-changing time, place and personal level of unfolding
In comparison to other religions, Hinduism allows the devotee the liberty to choose from a vast array of complementary symbols and rhetoric that which suits one’s evolving needs and tastes. From an aesthetic standpoint, nothing is interdict and nothing is orthodox. In this sense, the projection of some of Devi’s more gentle qualities onto Kali is not sacrilege and the development of Kali really lies in the practitioner, not the murthi.
Ramprasad who was a Bengali devotee comments in many of his songs that Kali is indifferent to his wellbeing, causes him to suffer, brings his worldly desires to nothing and his worldly goods to ruin. He also states that she does not behave like a mother should and that she ignores his pleas:
Can mercy be found in the heart of her who was born of the stone? [a reference to Kali as the daughter of Himalaya]
Were she not merciless, would she kick the breast of her lord?
Men call you merciful, but there is no trace of mercy in you. Mother.
You have cut off the headset the children of others, and these you wear as a garland around your neck.
It matters not how much I call you 'Mother, Mother.' You hear me, but you will not listen.
To be a child of Kali, Ramprasad asserts, is to be denied of earthly delights and pleasures. Kali is said to not give what is expected. To the devotee, it is perhaps her very refusal to do so that enables her devotees to reflect on dimensions of themselves and of reality that go beyond the material world.

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