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Akilathirattu Ammanai (Tamil:அகிலத்திரட்டு அம்மானை;akilam ("world"),thirattu ("collection"),ammanai ("ballad")), also calledThiru Edu ("venerable book"), is the mainreligious text of the Tamilbelief systemAyyavazhi. The title is often abbreviated toAkilam or Akilathirattu.
Akilam includes more than 15,000 verses and is the largest collection ofAmmanai literature in Tamil[1] as well as one of the largest works in Tamil constructed by a single author.
AuthorHari Gopalan Citar states in the text that he wrote this book on a Friday, the twenty-seventh day of the Tamil month of Karthikai (13 December) in the year 1839 CE.[2] The author claims that God woke him up during his sleep and commissioned him to record his dictation.Akilathirattu was recorded on palm leaves until 1939, when it was printed.[3]
According to the author, the book is the story ofGod coming in this age, theKali Yukam or Iron Age, to rule the world by transforming it into theDharma Yukam. This story of faith weaves together the historical facts aboutAyya Vaikundar and his activities with reinterpretations of episodes from theHinduPuranas (mythologies) andItihasas (epics).[3] It is presented as ifVishnu is narrating the whole story to his consortLakshmi.
Though the Citar Hari Gopalan wrote the book Akilam, he claimed that he did not know anything about the contents of the book. He woke up in the morning as usual and he didn't know what he had written the day before. Another legend says that he began it that night and continued through the following days. Others say that it was written beginning on Friday, 27thKarthikai (Tamil Calendar) 1016 M.E, and completed on the seventeenth day on the second Sunday ofMargazhi (Tamil Calendar) 1016 M.E.
When Ayya Vaikundar avatar was completed, God reached Vaikundam. It contained the regulations of the Ayyavazhi sect. As per the instructions found there in Akilam, Ayyavazhi was preached by theCitars far and wide.
Akilam is in two parts: the first is an account of the ages preceding that of the present age, theKali Yukam; and the second is an account of the activities of Ayya Vaikundar leading up to his attainingVaikundam.
Akilathirattu is written as a poem in theTamil language. The narration alternates between two subgenres calledviruttam andnatai. Both subgenres employ poetic devices likealliteration andhyperbatons.[4] The text contains seventeen sections, and more than 15,000 verses. In a typicalAmmanai style, Akilam maintains more than one context for its verses throughout the text. While the floating ideas of the lines could be comparatively easily communicated, the underlying theme couldn't be understood unless the background and culture are understood, specifically a foundational knowledge of theHindu pantheon of gods, the Hindu scriptures,Dharmic concepts and philosophy, and other rudiments of the religion.
The texts written byHari Gopalan Citar are damaged and thus it is difficult to read the contents. The texts are still preserved as relics by his descendants. There are three versions, which were copied from the first version:
Of these three, thePanchalankuricchi Version is believed to have copied by from the main version byHari Gopalan Citar. The other two versions were copied later. Apart from these theNariyan vilai Version,Varampetran-pantaram Version, andSaravanantheri Version are the other early palm-leaf versions of Akilam.
Other versions include thePalaramachandran version, theVTV, published twice, theKalai Ilakkiya-peravai Version and theVivekanandan Version. But of these, theAyya Vaikundar Thirukkudumbam version is often criticized for adding and removing additionalverses from various versions. Some argue that over 300 pages were adulterated.Thirukkudumbam claims that these additional lines were added from the early palm-leaf versions (Panchalankuricchi Version andKottangadu Version), which are believed to have been missing fromAkilam. This version is not widely accepted.
All the release versions except the Palaramachandran version organize the contents into seventeen sections as per theThiru Eadu-vasippu partition. The Sentrathisai Ventraperumal version which was released in 1965 includes more than two-thousand verses not found in other versions. ThePalaramachandran version is the widely accepted and the largest circulated version.
The book focuses on the devotion toVaikundar, considered to be an aspect of the GodVishnu. It is a poetic narrative inTamil intended to be an excellent compilation of the various aspects ofIndian mythology and beliefs about God.
The first eight chapters of the book narrate the events starting from the creation of the Universe to the time exactly before the incarnation of Vaikundar. The ninth chapter describes in detail the events taking place in the divine plan during the incarnation of Vaikundar. The last eight chapters focus on the legendary, empirical, historical and mythical aspects pertaining to the life of Vaikundar.
The book starts with the explanation given by Vishnu to his consortLakshmi about the evolution of Universe and of human beings. It is said that there is a total of eight aeons, or yugas, and we are currently in the seventh yuga calledKali Yuga, the age of deterioration. It is believed that for each yuga there is a demon that will be destroyed by Vishnu. In the first yuga, Kroni was born. Vishnu fragmented him into six pieces and each fragment will incarnate as demon in each Yuga. The first four yugas are said to be the Neetiya Yuga, Chatura Yuga, Nedu Yuga and Kretha Yuga. These four yugas do not have parallels in the mainstreamHinduism.
The fifth yuga is said to be theTreta Yuga in which the LordRama incarnated as human. The sixth yuga is theDvapara Yuga, and there is a short but striking description of the life ofKrishna and the Bharatha war. Additionally, there is said to be another event called the birth ofSantror or noble people at the closure of Dvapara Yuga.
Kali Yuga, the seventh Yuga begins when the evil spirit called Kali (not to be confused with the mother goddessKali) was born. Kali is believed to be cognate with the modernhuman beings. Then was born the Neesan, the demon for the Kali Yuga. It is said that this demon became the king of the earth in various places and tortured the lives of the Santror. Because of this Lord Vishnu advisedNeesan to stop torturing the Santror. But he won't agree to Vishnu and would prefer to die rather than giving up. In order to stop the rule of Neesan and to bring an end to Kali-yuga, Vishnu made a plan to make Vaikundar incarnate as human.
Vaikundar is believed to be the Son of Vishnu and Lakshmi. He was beget inside the sea and sent as a human into the land. From the point of incarnation ofVaikundar, it is said that he was made the supreme of all godhead, and will destroy Neesan and also the evil Kali Yuga. It is also said that he will take all righteous people with him into theVaikundam in the eighth yuga called asDharma Yukam. Also, nothing is said about the period which followsDharma yuga, which means that timeline is linear, and not circular as believed inside mainstreamHinduism.
TheAkilam is divided into seventeen parts:
Akilam teaches a set of values that are theological, sociological and philosophical. Of these, the ideas promoted by Akilam spans throughout the various teachings found inHindu scriptures and presentHinduism in the first half and at the second, a set of revolutionary teachings, in all aspects were focussed. The theological teachings revolves around the supremacy ofVaikundar while the sociological teachings mainly focus on breaking up the inequalities prevalent in the society. The Philosophical ideas mainly focus the 'Ultimateoneness' of nature and all living beings.
All the major Hindu deities namelyBrahma,Vishnu,Shiva,Sarasvati,Lakshmi,Parvati,Skanda, andGanesha are mentioned directly in themythology throughout the book. Also there is an indirect mention aboutBible,Allah andQuran inside the book. A reference found in Akilam aboutJesus is more direct than indirect. Also the book seems to stress that all texts and scriptures are true and have a share about the truth of the Divine. It is notable that Akilam is heavily against creating religions as it does not mention the term 'religion' at least once anywhere in the text and do refers only to God-heads, concepts and scriptures.
It is said that social inequality and destruction of caste ethics are the main aspects of theKali Yuga. So the entire book focuses on social equality and strictly againstJati or the Indian caste system. But it also says that the 'Varnashrama Dharma' system was perfect until the end ofDvapara Yuga. Also, there are traces of references to leading a chaste life andvegetarian diet. There is a strict condemnation about thereligious fundamentalism especially of the Abrahamic traditions.
The key philosophy in the book is that human beings are by themselves separated from God by the influence ofKali, andVaikundar has come for their redemption.
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| Ayyavazhi rituals | ||
| Main teachings | ||
| Mythology | ||
| Mythical events | ||
| Mythical figures | ||
| Yukams | ||
| Festivals and celebrations | ||
| Scripture | ||
| Akilathirattu | ||
| Arul Nool | ||
