Akilathirattu Ammanai facts for kids
Akilathirattu Ammanai is the main holy book of the Ayyavazhi faith, which is a belief system from Tamil Nadu, India. Its name means "collection of the world" or "ballad of the world." People often call it Akilam or Thiru Edu (meaning "venerable book").
This book is very long, with over 15,000 poems or verses. It's one of the biggest collections of Ammanai (a type of Tamil poem) written by just one person.
Contents
History of Akilam
The author, Hari Gopalan Citar, wrote in the book that he finished it on a Friday in December 1839. He said that God spoke to him in his sleep and told him what to write. For a long time, Akilathirattu was written on palm leaves. It was first printed as a book in 1939.
The author says the book tells the story of God coming to Earth in our current age, called the Kali Yuga (or Iron Age). God's goal is to change the world into a good age called the Dharma Yukam. The story mixes real events about Ayya Vaikundar with old Hindu stories and myths. It's told as if the god Vishnu is explaining everything to his wife, Lakshmi.
Hari Gopalan Citar said he didn't know what he had written each day until he read it. Some stories say he wrote it over several days, starting on a Friday in 1839.
After Ayya Vaikundar's time on Earth ended, God went to a place called Vaikundam. The Akilam book contains rules and teachings for the Ayyavazhi faith. These teachings were then shared widely by followers called Citars.
How Akilam is Written
Akilam is a long poem written in the Tamil language. It has two main parts. The first part tells about the ages before our current age, the Kali Yukam. The second part describes the life and actions of Ayya Vaikundar.
The book uses special poetic styles like viruttam and natai. These styles use wordplay and special sentence structures. The text has seventeen sections and more than 15,000 verses. To fully understand Akilam, it helps to know about Hindu gods, scriptures, and beliefs.
Different Versions of Akilam
The original writings by Hari Gopalan Citar on palm leaves are old and hard to read. His family still keeps them. Over time, people made copies of the original.
There are three main copies made from the first version:
- Panchalagkuricchi Version
- Swamithoppe Version
- Kottangadu Version
The Panchalankuricchi Version is thought to be the closest copy to the original. Other early palm-leaf versions include the Nariyan vilai Version, Varampetran-pantaram Version, and Saravanantheri Version.
Later, other versions were printed, like the Palaramachandran version and the VTV. The Palaramachandran version is the most widely used today. Some versions have been criticized for adding or removing parts, but the Ayya Vaikundar Thirukkudumbam version claims these additions came from older palm-leaf copies.
Most printed versions divide the book into seventeen sections, just like it's read in religious studies.
What Akilam is About
The book mainly focuses on showing respect and love for Vaikundar. He is seen as a part of the god Vishnu. It's a poetic story in Tamil that brings together many ideas from Indian myths and beliefs about God.
The first eight chapters tell the story from the creation of the universe up to the time just before Vaikundar was born. The ninth chapter describes Vaikundar's birth and what happened then. The last eight chapters focus on the amazing and historical parts of Vaikundar's life.
Ages of the World (Yugas)
The book begins with Vishnu explaining to his wife, Lakshmi, how the universe and humans came to be. It says there are eight long periods of time, called yugas. We are currently in the seventh yuga, called Kali Yuga, which is seen as an age of decline.
In each yuga, a demon is born that Vishnu will defeat. In the first yuga, a demon named Kroni was born. Vishnu broke him into six pieces. Each piece would become a demon in a different yuga. The first four yugas mentioned are Neetiya Yuga, Chatura Yuga, Nedu Yuga, and Kretha Yuga. These are different from the main Hindu beliefs about yugas.
The fifth yuga is the Treta Yuga, where the god Rama was born as a human. The sixth yuga is the Dvapara Yuga. This part briefly describes the life of Krishna and a big war called the Bharatha war. It also mentions the birth of the Santror, or noble people, at the end of the Dvapara Yuga.
The Kali Yuga
The Kali Yuga, our current age, starts when an evil spirit named Kali (not the goddess Kali) was born. This Kali is thought to be connected to modern humans. Then, Neesan, the demon for the Kali Yuga, was born. It's said that Neesan became a king in many places and made life hard for the Santror.
To stop Neesan's rule and end the Kali Yuga, Vishnu planned for Vaikundar to be born as a human.
Vaikundar's Birth
Vaikundar is believed to be the son of Vishnu and Lakshmi. He was born in the sea and then came to land as a human. From the moment Vaikundar was born, he was seen as the most powerful of all gods. He would destroy Neesan and end the evil Kali Yuga. It is also said that he will take all good people with him to Vaikundam in the eighth yuga, called Dharma Yukam. The book doesn't say what happens after the Dharma Yukam, suggesting that time moves forward in a straight line, not in a circle like some other Hindu beliefs.
Sections of Akilam
The Akilam is divided into seventeen parts:
- Akilam one
- Akilam two
- Akilam three: This section describes the end of the Dwapara Yukam and the birth and lives of the Santror and Makkal.
- Akilam four
- Akilam five
- Akilam six
- Akilam seven: This part is important because it describes the plans and events that happened before Vaikundar was born. It includes events like the imprisonment of Kali and the agreement of the Seven Virgins to be born into the world.
- Akilam eight: This part describes the birth of gods on Earth and Vaikundar's birth into the sea. It also includes parts of the holy songs called Thiruvasakam - 1 and Thiru Nadana Ula.
- Akilam nine: This section talks about what happened just before and during Vaikundar's arrival in the world.
- Akilam ten: This part describes Vaikundar appearing at the seashore after his birth. It also contains Thiruvasakam-2.
- Akilam eleven: This section contains rules and instructions given by Vaikundar to other gods, Thiruvasakam-3, and Vaikundar's spiritual practice (Tavam of Vaikundar).
- Akilam twelve: This part includes Thiruvasakam-4, the defeat of evil spirits, and the arrival of Kaliyan's forces to arrest Vaikundar.
- Akilam thirteen: This part describes Vaikundar's arrest, his trial (Katuvai Sothanai), and his release. It also includes Muttappathi Vinchai - 1 and the first part of a spiritual practice called Thuvayal Thavasu.
- Akilam fourteen: This part describes another divine instruction (Third Vinchai), the arrest of some gods (Devas), and discussions between Vaikundar and the Seven Virgins.
- Akilam fifteen: This part is called 'Kalyana Vasippu'. It describes the marriage of Vaikundar with the Seven Virgins in a grand poetic way.
- Akilam sixteen: This part describes Vaikundar's symbolic marriages with Seven deities.
- Akilam seventeen: This final part describes Vaikundar's last judgment of Kroni (the first demon), sending him to hell, and the beginning of the Dharma Yukam.
Teachings of Akilam
Akilam teaches important lessons about God, society, and life. It includes ideas from Hindu scriptures but also introduces new, revolutionary teachings. The teachings about God focus on Vaikundar's supreme power. The social teachings mainly aim to end unfairness in society. The philosophical ideas focus on the idea that all of nature and living things are connected as 'one'.
About God and Beliefs
The book mentions many major Hindu gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Sarasvati, Lakshmi, Parvati, Skanda, and Ganesha. It also mentions the Bible, Allah, and the Quran indirectly. There's a more direct mention of Jesus. The book suggests that all holy texts and scriptures contain some truth about the Divine. It's interesting that Akilam doesn't use the word "religion" and instead focuses on gods, ideas, and scriptures.
About Society
Akilam teaches that social inequality and the breakdown of fair social rules are problems of the Kali Yuga. So, the whole book focuses on social equality and is strongly against the Jati or Indian caste system. However, it also says that the old 'Varnashrama Dharma' system was good until the end of the Dvapara Yuga. The book also encourages living a pure life and eating a vegetarian diet. It strongly criticizes extreme religious views, especially from Abrahamic traditions.
About Life's Meaning
A key idea in the book is that humans are separated from God because of the influence of Kali. Vaikundar has come to help them find their way back to God.
See Also
- Ayya Vaikundar
- Hari Gopalan Citar
- List of Ayyavazhi-related articles
