Auvaiyar - any references

[Guest guest]

My sambandhi is interested in the following information. I have seen a movie on

her when

I was a child -dubbed in Telugu. There ends my knowledge.

 

If any one knows these works and if they are available in Chennai, I appreciate

letting

me know. I am posting copy of his pertinent mail.

Thanks

Hari Om!

Sadananda

 

 

Dear Sada

PraNAms to everybody.

 

Recently, I came across a very brief info about " Auvaiyar " , a women saant

(saint)

of Tamil Nadu (approx. 200 BCE)

 

She wrote exquisite ethical works. Some in aphoristic style and some in

four-line verse.

Among the most famous are Atti Chudi, Konrai Ventam, Ulaka Niti, Muturai, and

Navali.

 

I like to have these poems (transliteration) with translation in English.

 

I am sure you know about her and her work.

 

Apparently, a second saant (saint) Auvaiyar may have lived in the ninth century.

 

Also, is it possible to find women saant (saints) in Tamil Nadu,

Andhra Pradesh, Karnatak, ..?

[Guest guest]

Namaste:

 

Auvaiyar is a female icon of Tamil Literature and the name Auvaiyar

represents `mother like respectable woman' and she is one among 32

great Tamil poets during the Sangam period. She is considered a saint

and she has composed both devotional and most importantly

inspirational moral works beneficial to children. Sanskrit (Aryan)

and Tamil (Dravidian) are ancient languages with vast amount of

literature both prose and poetry with a focus on religious

philosophy. Books on Auvaiyar's works are available in Chennai at

Higginbotham and Lifco book publishers. Here are a list of Websites

describing Auvaiyar and her works. Wikipedia also contains details of

Auvaiyar and her works (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki)

 

http://www.experiencefestival.com/auvaiyar/articleindex

 

http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/lg/lg_ch-17.html

 

http://www.tamilnation.org/literature/auvaiyar/index.htm

 

http://www.geocities.com/athens/5180/auvai.html

 

http://tamilelibrary.org/

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/5180/index.html

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6166/index.html

 

Once Auvaiyar was sleeping in front of a temple and her feet were in

the direction of the temple deity. A very religious person while

passing by asked her to reverse her sleeping position to keep the

head facing towards God. Auvaiyar replied the passer saying that God

is everywhere and her head, feet, entire body is always facing the

God! Her compositions to her Ishtadevata (personal god) Ganesha are

quite popular with deep philosophical meaning. Her works on

Aathichoodi is a collection of single-line quotes and organized in

alphabetical order. There are 108 of these sacred lines which include:

" A turtle is a turtle, never a tortoise "

" Look out of the window, see your life reflected in the bushes and

the trees and the glossy meadows and live " "

" You are worth more than what you do, but less than what you think "

" What you know is where you'll go "

" Life is for giving, not for living "

" A life is never wasted, even the smallest deeds make every life

worthwhile. "

 

We the advaitins greatly benefit by reading her works and her words

are sacred with deep philosophical meaning.

 

With my warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

 

advaitin , kuntimaddi sadananda

<kuntimaddisada wrote:

>

> My sambandhi is interested in the following information. I have

seen a movie on her when

> I was a child -dubbed in Telugu. There ends my knowledge.

>