Guest guest Report post Posted April 16, 2002 adi_shakthi16 Our own beloved devi_bhakta has once written "lajja gowri's shocking birth posture". This had me thinking? why is "nudity" considered so obscene, vulgar or indecent ? is nudity erotic - no, not at all ! rather, a nude human body is an expression of utmost *purity* - it is the perfection of god's work! Earlier in the old club, many women members like erica, vicky and rose talked about feminism and "burning of the bra" - today, i would like to share with you the heroic story of sree AKKAMAHADEVI. (hindusim's own version of lady godiva) Akkamahadevi (12th century) was a Virashaiva woman saint who lived in the south indian state of Karnataka, India. Once, when a certain king tried to molest her, she suddenly threw away all her clothes and stepped out into the streets nude. This act of purity so stunned the king that he repented of his foolish lust. Akkamahadevi wandered about as a naked ascetic, clad only in her long hair, enduring the taunts of the men and teaching an example of purity and devotion to God Shiva. "Akka" (or "yakka" if attached at the end) means "respected elder sister." LEGEND says that although she wished to remain an unmarried devotee of Shiva, her family insisted she marry the ruler of her land. Asserting that Shiva, whom she called Cenna Mallikarjuna (Lord white as jasmine), was her only lover and husband, she ran away FROM HOME and joined a community of Virasaivas . Akka Mahadevi's poems are called vacanas (literally, "sayings"), free verse lyrics written in the Kannada language. here is a sample... Get back, I hate you! Don't hold my sari, you fool! A she-buffalo is worried of its life, And the butcher, of its killing! The pious think of virtues, And the wicked, of vices; I am worried of my soul, And you, of lust.... Fie on this body! Why do you damn yourself In love of it--this pot of excrement, The vessel of urine, the frame of bones, This stench of purulence! Think of Lord Shiva, You fool! another one... You can confiscate money in hands; Can you confiscate the body's glory? Or peel away every strip you wear, But can you peel the Nothing, the Nakedness that covers and veils? To the shameless girl Wearing the white Jasmine, Lord's light of morning You fool, Where is the need for cover and jewel? well, gloria steinham and other feminists burned their bras in public in the 60s as an expression of rebellion against male-defined norms of female beauty. Mahadevi Akka "challenged social norms and discarded traditional notions of femininity in ways explosive enough to shock both men and women of her time." akka shocked d the entire society of her time with her ideas and with her sensuous poems. Today she is a presiding deity and an icon to many women in india. what does "shedding of clothes" or "burning the bras" mean? - metaphorically and literally speaking ? Mahadevi akka had the courage we do not have., the shedding of clothes and wandering around naked in search of Lord Shiva (Chennamallikarjuna in Kannada) was a mark of protest against the sexual claims made on her body by the lechrous local king ! akkamadevi, meerabai and lallaleshweri- all women saints who had the courage of their convictions and who embraced GOD as their beloved- in a mystical union ! love Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sowmya Santhoshini 0 Report post Posted January 30, 2013 Hello , Am Sowmya here,and am new to this thread. Am excited on reading this article on Akkamahadevi. Am badly looking for a Kannada version of the below quoted vachana. Can anyone kindly help me in tracing out the exact Kannada version of the same vachana as highlighted below. Regards, Sowmya adi_shakthi16 Our own beloved devi_bhakta has once written "lajja gowri's shocking birth posture". This had me thinking? why is "nudity" considered so obscene, vulgar or indecent ? is nudity erotic - no, not at all ! rather, a nude human body is an expression of utmost *purity* - it is the perfection of god's work! Earlier in the old club, many women members like erica, vicky and rose talked about feminism and "burning of the bra" - today, i would like to share with you the heroic story of sree AKKAMAHADEVI. (hindusim's own version of lady godiva) Akkamahadevi (12th century) was a Virashaiva woman saint who lived in the south indian state of Karnataka, India. Once, when a certain king tried to molest her, she suddenly threw away all her clothes and stepped out into the streets nude. This act of purity so stunned the king that he repented of his foolish lust. Akkamahadevi wandered about as a naked ascetic, clad only in her long hair, enduring the taunts of the men and teaching an example of purity and devotion to God Shiva. "Akka" (or "yakka" if attached at the end) means "respected elder sister." LEGEND says that although she wished to remain an unmarried devotee of Shiva, her family insisted she marry the ruler of her land. Asserting that Shiva, whom she called Cenna Mallikarjuna (Lord white as jasmine), was her only lover and husband, she ran away FROM HOME and joined a community of Virasaivas . Akka Mahadevi's poems are called vacanas (literally, "sayings"), free verse lyrics written in the Kannada language. here is a sample... Get back, I hate you! Don't hold my sari, you fool! A she-buffalo is worried of its life, And the butcher, of its killing! The pious think of virtues, And the wicked, of vices; I am worried of my soul, And you, of lust.... Fie on this body! Why do you damn yourself In love of it--this pot of excrement, The vessel of urine, the frame of bones, This stench of purulence! Think of Lord Shiva, You fool! another one... You can confiscate money in hands; Can you confiscate the body's glory? Or peel away every strip you wear, But can you peel the Nothing, the Nakedness that covers and veils? To the shameless girl Wearing the white Jasmine, Lord's light of morning You fool, Where is the need for cover and jewel? well, gloria steinham and other feminists burned their bras in public in the 60s as an expression of rebellion against male-defined norms of female beauty. Mahadevi Akka "challenged social norms and discarded traditional notions of femininity in ways explosive enough to shock both men and women of her time." akka shocked d the entire society of her time with her ideas and with her sensuous poems. Today she is a presiding deity and an icon to many women in india. what does "shedding of clothes" or "burning the bras" mean? - metaphorically and literally speaking ? Mahadevi akka had the courage we do not have., the shedding of clothes and wandering around naked in search of Lord Shiva (Chennamallikarjuna in Kannada) was a mark of protest against the sexual claims made on her body by the lechrous local king ! akkamadevi, meerabai and lallaleshweri- all women saints who had the courage of their convictions and who embraced GOD as their beloved- in a mystical union ! love Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
