Talk:The Nāyaṉmār Saints:Akkā Mahādevī
By Vishal Agarwal
Akkā Mahādevī was a beautiful daughter born around 1130 CE to a couple who were great devotees of Shiva and lived in the Indian state of Karnataka. From her childhood, she enjoyed worshipping Shiva and even wanted to become a Sannyāsinī, renouncing the regular life of the world to devote herself fully to worship and meditation upon Shiva.
Mahādevī grew to become a beautiful woman. Kaushika, the ruler of her town, became attracted by her beauty and proposed to her. She refused, saying that she had already married Shiva in her heart. But Kaushika would not give up. Her parents were very worried that Kaushika, being their king, would make their lives miserable. To console them, she said, “Please dress me like a bride, and send me to his palace. I will marry him if he agrees to become a bhakta of Shiva.”
They agreed. Upon reaching the palace, Akkā Mahādevī put forth her condition, but he refused, saying, “What do you think of yourself? You are my citizen and I can marry you by force if you refuse.” He walked to her and began pulling her clothes. Akkā Mahādevī prayed to Shiva to protect her. Miraculously, a ball of fire appeared between her and King Kaushika, burning him. Frightened, he left her immediately. Akkā Mahādevī said to him, “I forgive you. But it is sad that you only saw my physical beauty but were blind to the power of a bhakta’s soul, which appeared as the ball of fire.” Kaushika repented and fell at her feet to ask for forgiveness.
Akkā decided to live the rest of her life as a Sannyāsinī. But the society around her did not agree to her decision, because in those days women were not allowed to wander as ascetics and were expected to marry. She had heard that in the city of Kalyani in Karnataka lived another great bhakta and saint of Shiva named Bāsava and his famous student Allāmā Mahāprabhu, who were fair towards women and poor and low-caste people. She appeared before them in their academy, where several scholars had gathered to discuss spiritual matters.
They questioned her on her knowledge and experiences related to Shiva, and announced that Mahādevī was a great saint. She became a disciple of Saint Bāsava herself, and started living in a cave a few miles from the famous Shiva temple of Mallikārjuna.
Akkā Mahādevī composed beautiful hymns in praise of and for worshipping Shiva. These hymns, known as Akkā Mahādevī Vachanas, are very popular even today. She also wrote a few books on yoga and bhakti. Her writings show that she was a great scholar of Sanskrit scriptures, and had advanced spiritually in her life.
Her life teaches that one does not have to be a man to devote life to Bhagavān. Women are equally eligible because the ātmā inside is neither male nor female.