cAkrika and cakkiliyar

[N. Ganesan]

Mr. Raveen wrote:
>>Is Arundathiyar of Tamil Nadu same as Cakkilliar ?

Interestingly, Indic tradition record arundhatI
as outcaste. arundhatIyar = cakkiliyar.

"A myth preserved in the Skanda-PurANa (7.1.129.5-33)
makes Arundhati the daughter of a lowcaste CANDAla, whom
the Vedic sages asked for food during a drought.
Food was given after the chief sage VasiSTha
had married the girl called AkSamAlA ('garland of
dice/eyes'). She practised austerity and became so
brilliant that her lustre obstructed the sun (arkabimbam
arundhata), whence her new name ArundhatI. This legend
is referred to in Manu-SmRti 9.23:

   AkSamAlA, a woman of the lowest birth, being united
   to VasiSTha, ... became worthy of honor
   (transl. Buhler 1886:331)"

(p. 256, Parpola, Saavitrii and Resurrection: The ideal
of Devoted wife, Her forehead mark, SatI, and Human
Sacrifice in Epic-PurANic, Vedic, Harappan-Dravidian
and Near Eastern perspectives, Helsinki, 1998)

  akSamAlA, ('many eyed girl')  signifies several
yonis (Cf. Indra having 1000 eyes(=yonis) after Gotama cursed)
and points to her devadasi relations. In Tamil, Mariyamman
is always called "aayiram kaNNuLLa tAy" (= 1000 eyed lady).
For Mari/Ellamma legends, see my postings on
viRaliyar dancers, and Goddess Ellamma's devadasi connections.
Interestingly, el- in Tamil means 'light' and she
loves "fire-pot" offerings and devadasi duty is
lustration by waving 'pot-lamp' (kuTaviLakku).
No wonder akshamAlA/arundhatI in Sanskrit literature
is lustrous obstructing the sun.

Earlier I wrote:
<<<
Consider the Online Tamil Lexicon entries:

    cAlin2i 01 1. woman employed in pronouncing oracles under
    the influence of a spirit; 2. wife of VasiSTha

    cAlin2i 03 woman who deals in toddy

    aruntati * 1. name of the wife of vasis2t2ha, considered
    a paragon of chastity; 2. the scarcely visible star alcor
    of the great bear, supposed to be arundhati transformed

    aruntatIyar cobblers (TLS)

The caste of Cakkiliyars calling themselves as aruntatiyar
is probably related with their function as drummers and
shamans in festivals of ancient Andhra Pradesh. The buffalo
sacrifice to goddesses (like Durga) are conducted by their members.

Shaman priestesses in Classical Tamil sangam literature are called
cAlin2i(=arundhati).

Regards,
N. Ganesan
>>>

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com