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Akka Mahādevī

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

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Synonyms

Mahādeviakka; Mahādeviyakka

Definition

Akka Mahādevi is a woman saint of medieval South India, who uttered vacanas, a spontaneous verbalization of experiences while on the path of enlightenment. Her 300 and odd vacanas are mostly short couplets and dialogic in nature. They are addressed to her favorite deity, Chennamallikārjuna, or to others around her, always ending with an invocation of the deity, a form of Śiva. Akka Mahādevi also composed the Yogānga Trividhi, which refers to a number of spiritual paths, while emphasizing on the significance of her own path and elucidating and recording her experiences. The prefix “Akka” means sister and could be a respectful form of addressing a renunciate.

Life

Hagiographical sources record her birthplace as Udutadi and her parents as Vimala and Sumati. These texts tell us that Akka Mahādevi was a rudrakannike, a heavenly maid or a “pure portion” of Pārvati, Śiva’s spouse, who came down to earth with a mission. The available sources on...

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References

  1. Niranjana T (1992) Siting translation: history, post-structuralism, and the colonial context. University of California Press, Berkeley

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  2. Michael B (1992) The origins of Vīraśaiva sects: a typological analysis of ritual and associational patterns in the Śūnyasaṃpādane. Motilal Banarasidass Publishers, Delhi

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Women’s Studies, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Sushumna Kannan

Authors
  1. Sushumna Kannan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sushumna Kannan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, Texas, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union , Berkeley, California, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

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Kannan, S. (2018). Akka Mahādevī. In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_296-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_296-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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