Virat Purusha or the Cosmic form is said to have the sun and the moon as his eyes! In the same way Sri Maha Vishnu is described as” Ravi sasi nayana”--having the two luminaries as His eyes! Sri Lalitha Sahasra Nama Stotra extols Sri Mata as one with “ Thatanka yugalibhuta thapanodupa mandala”--one with the sun and moon as her ear studs or rings! While Sri Mata is the embodiment of Iccha Sakthi, Kriya Sakthi and Jnana Sakthi as well as the Supreme Brahman, the angas or parts of Her body and the adornments she is decked with have a special power and significance! They become Divine with Sri Mata’s association and discharge the mandates of Sri Lalita Maha Tripurasundari to protect Her devotees! In the Bhagavata Purana when Ambarisha, the great Vishnu bhakta was threatened by the spirit invoked by sage Durvasa, Sudarsana Chakra destroyed the Spirit and chased the sage! It did not leave the sage till he fell at the feet of Ambarisha and begged his pardon! The Trimurtis were unable to save the sage who had evil intentions on the great devotee of Vishnu! Sri Mata is also described as the core force of the region of the Sun. “Bhanu mandala madhyastha Bhairavi Bhaga Malini.”
In the twenty ninth sloka of Soundarya Lahari, Sri Sankara describes the efficacy of Sri Mata's thatankas or earrings. Says Sankara, “ O Mother! Brahma, Indra and all the other Devas in Swarga loka, despite drinking Amruta, the Divine nectar that annuls terrible old age and death, are not exempt from Death! How is it that in spite of swallowing the dreadful Halahala poison your spouse survives? It is mainly because of the the effect of your thatankas or earstuds! While all the Devas are swallowed up by Time, Siva alone is exempted!” Why is it so? Your thatankas are the origin, status and end of Time! The inexorable effect of Time is ineffective in the presence of Sri Mata’s thatankas! Otherwise even Iswara would be in danger!
We are under the impression that the Devas are Immortal because of drinking Amruta! They have attained relative immortality! They are not exempt from death in times of the Mahapralaya or the great Deluge! They cannot remain in heaven forever! Life there is transitory. As enjoyment in heaven is over and their punya is experienced in toto, they have to come down to earth! “ Kshine punye marthya loke visanthi” Thatankas are the prerogative of a Sumangali. She is “ Sumangali sukhakari suveshadya suvasini, suvasin yarchina prita sobhana suddha Manasa" She bestows happiness, is of pleasing personality,, is fond of worship by suvasinis, is radiant, and of pure heart!” She can never lose her thatankas until her spouse Sadasiva perishes! He is the Supreme Immortal being who is “Kalatita” - one who transcends Time! It is because of Her “Soumangalya” that Siva survived after swallowing the virulent poison Halahala!
Devi's thatankas are wonderful and powerful! They have a marvellous influence on the longevity of her husband. There is an interesting story about the miraculous effect of Devi’s thatanka in the life of one Subramanya Iyer of Thrukadayur in Tamilnadu during the eighteenth century. He was a staunch devotee of Sri Amrutha Ghateswara, and was mad after Lord Siva. People mistook him for a real madcap but a few realized the intensity of his devotion.The ruling king Serfoji visited the temple on a day and heard about the ardent devotion of Subramanya Iyer. Though many informed the king of the man’s insanity, he wanted to test the bhakti of the Brahmin. It was Amvasya on that day and the king questioned Subramanya Iyer what day it was. Iyer, who was lost in the dazzling radiance of Devi’s face, replied that it was a full moon day! The king was as much stunned as he was angry. He felt wronged at this answer and ordered that Subramanya Iyer would be beheaded if the moon didn't arise at six pm on that day!
Soon after the king left, Subramanya Iyer came to himself from hi trance and vision of Devi! He felt sorry for the grave mistake he had done in insulting the king by his answer! He surrendered himself to Goddess Abhirami and prayed her to save him! He prepared a platform under which fire was lit! He tied the platform with hundred ropes and started singing on the glory of the Goddess by composing beautiful stanzas in Tamil language. After every stanza he cut on rope to which the platform was connected! When he completed the seventy ninth stanza the Goddess could not contain Herself! She immediately threw one of Her dazzling and brilliant thatankas in to the sky! The whole sky was lit by the coruscating brilliance of the thatanka and the whole temple was flooded with light! The king who saw this incredible miracle was wonder struck at the true devotion the bhakta and fell at his feet! He called him henceforth “Abhirami Bhattar” by which name he was known later! The Tamil stanzas he composed are called “Abhirami Andadi” where one stanza begins with the end word of the previous stanza! Each stanza is pregnant with intense devotion, spirituality and sincere prayer. It is also a literary masterpiece, the pride of the Tamils!
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