Madal Urdal - and Women in the Vaishnava / Saiva paths

[Guest guest]

Thanks to all contributors for enlightening me on "madal urdal"..

 

I am not sure if a similar 'ritual' exists in classical sanskrit culture

as has been suggested by some posters ( again, enlighten me please =) ).

However there is the type of nayaki or heroine known as "abhisaarika" who

is mentioned in Kalidasa ( eg. in the description of Himavan and Mena's city in

the Umapradanosarga of Kumarasambhava ) and other sources. The abhisaarika is

a woman of passion who cannot wait for her lover to come to her but must go

meet him herself.

 

And moving on to slightly more spiritual things, I recently came across an

article by Sanjukta Gupta in a book "Roles and Rituals for Hindu Women"

( Julia Lesie, ed.. ) that raises interesting contrasts in renunciatory

behavior in women. Two 'classes' are compared, Saiva women saints - Kaaraikkaal

Ammaiyaar, Mahaadeviakka, and Lalla Ded of Kashmir. On the Vaishnava side,

Aandaal, Mirabai and Bahina Bai of Maharashtra.

 

Let us take it as a given that all six of these women rebelled against their

roles as society saw them. It was in subverting these roles and accepting

their spiritual calling that they gained fame and adoration.

 

To sum up their lives very briefly, Kaaraikkaal Ammaiyaar is described in

Sekkizhaar's Periya Puraanam. She was completely devoted filially to Shiva.

Her husband abandoned her in fear, and left home to practice devotion in the

forest, where she describes Siva's dance at Tiruvaalankaadu. She lived as

a kaapalika.

 

Mahadeviakka is a Virashaiva saint(ess?=)). Married to a Jain king, who

reneged on his promise to convert to Saivism, she too left home, abandoning

all ties to the material world, accepting Allama Prabhu as her guru,

devoting herself to Mallikarjuna of Srisailam. She chose him as her husband

and like Andal merged into him one day. It is related that she was a

digambara ascetic.

 

Lalla Ded of Kashmir was turned out of her marital home for not bearing

children. She turned into a Tantrik Dakini. Rejecting traditional temple

worship, she preferred to find Shiva in herself.

 

Okay, any brownie points for guessing the commonalities ?

 

Let us return to more familiar ground.

 

Andal of Srivilliputtur, in love with Rangamannaar, composed the

Naaciyaar Tirumozhi. It is clear that ther love for Ranga was real, and

manifested itself in many levels - the spiritual as well as the

erotic. It is part of legend that her love, deep as it was, did worry

Periyaazhvaar and wuite possibly her community. She too merged into

Sri Ranga Raja.

 

Mirabai's life was recently summed up in a posting here. Widowed, she

rejected the sedateness of convention to her love for "Mira ke prabhu

Giridhar". It is clear she never made it to Brindavana, where her beloved

was. She did live the latter part of her life in Dvaraka, with her family.

 

Bahina Bai was a devotee of Sant Ramdas and Tukaram. She was married,

and her husband, worried by her interest in unconventional bhakti, her

trances and devotion, forbade her from doing such things "unbecoming of a

brahmin's wife". After all, he was her only god =). While accepting his

diktat, Bahina internalized her devotion, and sang it as abhangas to her

son.

 

What occurs from these three summaries is reminiscent of the old saying

in the Kularnavatantra - "antah shaakta bahih shaivo janmadhye tu

vaishnava".. Be a secret shaakta, behave like a shaiva, but in society,

(conform) like a Vaishnava.

 

The "belles ideales" of SriVaishn the more 'independen' and sometimes

wildt Shakti. There have not been as many 'breakaway' women ascetics in

Vaishnavism who flaunt their ideals so radically as Shakta or Shaiva

women renunciates.

 

As a socially conformative rather than 'revolutionary' system, the Viashnava

way does not seem to encourage radicality. I daresay this persists to

today.

 

I would invite comments on this topic, and of course, discussion =) Which

I am sure would be forthcoming.

 

Regards,

 

Sundar ( who is beginning to feel like Jaabaali =) )