Giriyamma
Helavanakatte Giriyamma
Amid the luminaries of Daasa Sahitya, a lone woman who shone her own light was Giriyamma. Popularly known as Helavanakatte Giriyamma, owing to the proximity of her marital home to the Ranganatha temple at Helavanakatte, a reservoir, her ankitha is Helavanakatte Rangayya/Ranga.
Helavanakatte is a combination of two words, “helava” (literally, a person without legs) and “katte” (reservoir/ platform).
According to legend, Aruna, Garuda’s brother and Surya’s charioteer, was born prematurely and did not possess lower limbs. Aruna is supposed to have meditated at this very place where he ultimately had a vision of Lord Vishnu.
This legend has a more recent variation in the form of a folklore which speaks of a disabled man who used to spend time watching over the cattle of the villagers. The villagers built a little hut for him. He is then, said to have been inspired to bring out a buried idol and establish a small temple, which today stands as the Ranganatha temple at Helavanakatte.
Either way, the reservoir and the temple owe their fame to Giriyamma.
Renouncement and Ranganatha
Giriyamma was born in 1752 in Ranebennur, in Haveri district of Karnataka. As per tradition she was married off at a young age. But when the time came for the couple to live together as husband and wife, Giriyamma requested that she be allowed to lead the life of an ascetic. She entreated her parents-in-law to get her husband married again. Her husband, was the epitome of unconditional support and stood by her throughout her spiritual journey.
Giriyamma is said to have had the unique ability to quieten and soothe crying children. Believing that every child she held in her arms grew up to be healthy and strong, many people requested her to hold their children for a while. Unmoved by all of this, Giriyamma spent her time in drawing beautiful “rangoli” at the temple and singing songs in praise of the Lord, in addition to her share of household tasks.
One day, when she had completed the drawing of a rangoli, Gopala Daasaru, en route to Udupi came by. He carried out his ceremonial worship with Giriyamma’s rangoli as a base. Gopala Daasaru was moved by the sweetness of Giriyamma’s soul, and her singing of the Dwadasha stotra during naivedya. He then drew a figure of Venugopala and gifted it to Giriyamma for her worship.
As her popularity grew, envious women of the family began to question her status and her behaviour. Her abstinence, being child-free, singing and dancing, and addressing large gatherings for spiritual discussions were held against her. The temple authorities were slowly drawn into this and began to believe that these were “sins”.
At such a time, the pontiff of Mantralaya, Sumatheendra Tirtha who was visiting the Ranganatha temple, asked for Giriyamma, to give her “teertha”. When Giriyamma hesitatingly came forward and stretched out her hand to receive the teertha, amidst the buzz of disapproving people, the pontiff exclaimed, “These hands! They bear the holy markings of the divine mothers Devaki and Kaushalya!” thus pooh-poohing people’s objections.
When Giriyamma resumed her daily activity of cleaning the temple, drawing rangoli and singing, the pontiff heard the jingle of a child’s anklets. Giriyamma then hoisted the divine baby which danced to her songs, on her waist and brought it to the pontiff’s presence. An overwhelmed Sumatheendra Tirtha thanked Giriyamma thus, “Like Kanaka Daasa showed God to Vyaasa Tirtha, like Vaikunta Daasa showed God to Vaadiraja Tirtha, you have shown me Venugopala today!” Giriyamma told him that the child was the pontiff’s “Moola Raama!” Sumatheendra Tirtha refused to place the tapta mudre (hot seals) of shanka and chakra on Giriyamma’s arms during the ceremony of “Tapta Mudradhaarane” declaring that the Lord himself had made these marks on Giriyamma’s body.
Spiritual motherhood
While Meerabai, Aandal, Bibi Nachiar, Akka Mahadevi, and a host of other female devotees have considered the Lord as their friend, husband, lover; Giriyamma stands apart with her love for the Lord as her child, and is considered to be an amsha of Yashoda. Many of her songs contain chastisement to the divine child, in addition to imploring him to eat etc. And yet, Giriyamma, the mother of the Lord, was stigmatised as a childless woman.
Sumatheendra Tirtha through divine insight addressed Giriyamma as Yashodamma!
Music and Poetry
Some of Giriyamma’s famous works are Chitrapata Ramayana (a folksy retelling of the epic), devotional verses Chandrahasana Kathe and Udhalikana Kathe, and songs like Maleya daya maado during a period of famine, and the popular Honnu taa gubbi…