She walked to Kailas on her head!
Extreme bhakti works in its own miraculous ways. The devotee is shown the differences between the real from the unreal, the truth from lies and the reality from illusions. The meaning of life and the supreme love of the Lord are experienced by the devotee and all other meaningless attachments and possessions drop off from the devotee like the flower that falls off when the fruit is ripe. When we read about how the attachments leave the devotee and the devotee has no need for anyone else but the Lord, we are rather frightened at this stage of our lives. We cannot imagine of anything else besides the life we live. We are like the frog in the well that sees a blue patch of sky above and assume that is the entire size of the universe. But when we actually come out of the well and look at the larger size of the skies and world around us and move around a bit, we understand that the world is much bigger and the universe infinitely so. The life of great saints like Karaikal Ammaiyar teaches us that when bhakti is extreme, it is effortless to drop off pretentious attachments and love of the world and be one with the Lord.
When her husband saw the divinity in Punithavathiyar, he no longer wished to live with her as a husband and wife. He quietly went off to another town and got married again and lived with his new wife and child. When this fact came to be known, Punithavathiyar visited her husband. He fell at her feet and called her the family Goddess and Protector. Instant detachment came into her and she invoked Lord Shiva and sought that her beauty be taken away from her and she be given a form dear to Shiva. Instantly she became gaunt and skeleton thin. She shed the desires of flesh and desire for praise and attachment just like a snake sheds its skin. She lived in the jungles of Alankadu focussed wholly on Lord Shiva, worshipping him and singing His praises.
After some time she had an irresistible desire to see the blessed Mount Kailas. So she walked with great speed in the north direction till she arrived at the foot of the peak. She was now on sacred grounds and thought it was disrespectful to walk on it with her feet. So she began to climb it with her feet in air and only her head touching the ground. The power of her devotion and love for Lord Shiva enabled her to do this astounding feat with ease. Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati were watching her climb in this amazing manner. Devi Parvati asked the Lord about the gaunt skeleton like figure who was coming to them in this unusual fashion. She seemed to move with great speed propelled by the power of love. Looking at her, Lord Shiva beamed with divine love. He replied to Devi Parvati: She is Karaikal Ammaiyar and she has attained this Siddhi (power) by her prayers.
When Karaikal Ammaiyar drew nearer to Him, he called out to her with great love: Amma! This became her name ever since that loving call of the Lord. When she heard the Lord call out to her, she fell at His feet and exclaimed: Father! The Lord being very pleased with her, asked her to seek a boon from Him. She replied: O Lord, grant undying love and infinite blessedness to me, Your slave. I would be glad never to be born on earth again, but If I must be so born, grant me at least that I may never, in any form or at any time forget You, my Lord; and when You perform Your sacred mystic dance, may I stand in rapture at Your feet and sing Your praise.
These words are a part of one of her most famous songs of praise and the Lord graciously granted her the boon she sought. Lord Shiva asked her to return to Alankadu temple where she could see his Cosmic Dance and she could sing to Him there. Karaikal Ammaiyar returned to Alankadu covering the distance on her head. She had the utmost bliss of watching Natraja perform His Cosmic Dance and she sang her renowned lyrics in His praise. Her devotional hymns are still sung today in India. She teaches us to utilise the downs in life as blessings of God and live a life of devotion. Saints like her are an example of heights we can reach through bhakti and surrender. Let us practice SitaRam Mantra Japa, meditation and teachings of the Guru and reach such heights.
