SONGS IN PRAISE OF MA ANGALA PARAMESWARI BY SAINT-POET MA GANGAMMA
Angala Parameswari Amman or Angalamman is a form of goddess Parvathi, and her Origin is Melmalayanoor. There are several temples for Mata Angala Parameswari Amman. Among that, one famous and ancient temple is situated in Keerakara Street, Erode-638001. She is a very powerful goddess, and fulfils the wishes of her devotees. Along with the main Amman shrine, shrines of various other gods, goddesses and demi gods are found inside the temple premises.
Ma Gangamma (20th century AD) was a famous woman saint-poet, who lived in a village at Erode, and she was a staunch devotee of Ma Angalamma. Her Kula Deva was Ma Angalamman at Keerakara Veedhi, Erode. She strongly believed that Ma Angalamma was a true Goddess, and she considered the great Goddess as an avatar of Ma Shakti Devi. Due to her staunch devotion, Ma Angalamma has herself appeared before her for a few times, and gave her heartily blessings. Ma Gangamma is also believed to be the re-birth of Akkamaha Devi, who was one of the staunch devotees of Lord Shiva. Due to her great bhakti on Angalamman, she has composed few songs in praise of her in Tamil, and she also sung it beautifully. Some of the wonderful songs composed by Ma Gangamma are as follows:
Oh, my Dear Angalamma, we are like the bee, and we fetch (bhakti) honey from you (Goddess Angalamma) flower.
Oh, my Dear Angalamma, we are like the busy ant, and similar to that, we taste the sweetness (sugar) from you (Goddess Angalamma).
Oh, my Kind Holy Divine Mother, even if you appear in the form of a terrible ghost, I would never get afraid of you, since you have been fully filled up on my entire soul.
Oh, my worshipful Mother, even if you appear in front of me in the form of fire flames, I am ready to embrace it, since I knew very well, that you would never burn me.
Oh, my Dear Devamba, even if you push me in a dark well, I would stay there itself, and in my imagination, I would build a wonderful temple for you in my mind itself.
Oh, my Kula Devi, even if you appear in the form of wild animals like lion and tiger, I would watch you with a smile, since, I clearly know that you are the one who protects even the tiny ants from dangers.
Oh, my Universal Goddess Angalamma, even if you push me into the hell, I would be able to bear the difficulties easily in that place by chanting your Mantras.
Oh, my Universal Goddess Angalamma, I don’t want to live even in the divine places such as Brahma Loka, Shiva Loka or Vishnu Loka, since I want to permanently live only at your lotus feet, at least by taking the form of a small dust particle.
Oh, my Respectful worshipful mother, even if you cut me into pieces, I would bear the pain easily by keeping your thoughts on my mind.
Oh, My Knowledgeable Mother, I am very afraid to live in this difficult world. Please help me to cross the ocean of life, and give salvation to me.
Oh, my beautiful mother, I am getting more and more cheerfulness and pleasantness by reciting your holy names, and I consider your Namavali as equivalent to the great Lalitha Sahasranamam.
Oh, my wonderful mother, even if you turn into my enemy, I would always consider you as my friend, and even if you kill me, I would happily leave my soul on your lotus feet only.
Oh, my precious mother, I consider you as everything in my life, as my father and mother, friend and Guru, Guide and God.
Oh, my marvellous Mother, I would never get any sort of fear, since I have been always protected by you, and even during the time of my sleep, I wants to remember you, you and you only.
Oh, my Idhaya Deva Rani, you are the true consort of Lord Veerabhadra, and apart from caste, creed and religion, you are lending your helping hands on everybody in this earth. You are like a full moon amongst the stars, and you contain brightness equivalent to thousands and thousands of suns.
Oh, My Pretty Mother, you shower great mercy on those, who seek protection under your lotus feet, and you fulfils all the reasonable needs and wishes of your devotees, since you have been described as the Holy Cow Kamadhenu and the divine wish fulfilling tree Kalpavruksha.
Oh, my Lovely Mother, my mind must think only about you, and nothing else. Even during the time of sleep, I want to dream only about you, and even in my imagination, I should think only about you.
Oh, my Noble Mother, similar to you, I also want to do non-stop meditation. Similar to you, I want to think about Lord Shiva continuously, similar to you, I want to be pure and pious.
Oh, my pretty Divine Mother, you look very nice, you are the great Kali, the great Prityangira, and the great Durga Devi.
Oh, my Divine Mother, you are the divine holy mother Ma Parvati Devi. Those who worship you sincerely would get good knowledge in all the subjects, and their life would become bright.
Oh, my Sweet Mother, you are situated in Keerakara Veedhi, Erode and you have been praised even by the Sapta Rishis and by Lord Indra, Chandra and Surya. Your name and fame would never diminish, and you would be alive even during the time of deluge.
Oh, my goddess, Ma Angalamma, I also want to worship your foot wear, similar to the holy Bharata who has once performed puja to the foot wear of Lord Rama for about 14 years.
Oh, my life, I want to do some service at your holy place, and for that I need your recommendation. Even by the way of offering flowers to your daily puja, I would be greatly satisfied.
Oh, my saviour Angalamma, I feel jealous with your things like ornaments, flowers, flower garlands and wonderful sari, since it has got the golden opportunity to decorate your body permanently.
“OM MA ANGALAMMANE NAMO NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R. HARISHANKAR