The general belief among the devotees of the Lord is that Lord Siva Himself incarnated in this world as Sri Jagadguru Adi Sankaracharya of Kaladi; and that Mother Parvati incarnated Herself as Sri Avadayakkal of Shenkottai, apparently to prove that women, too, could attain Self-realization even in this Kali Yuga.

Avadayakkal was born of a pious Saiva Vadama couple of Shenkottai in South India. Even as a child she showed signs of a high mental state. She would do nothing voluntarily. For everything she had to be prompted. She would eat what was given; she would put on whatever dress was given. She would go where she was asked to go; and do whatever she was told to do. She was married to a Brahmin boy even when she was a girl.

When Adadai came of age, the parents fixed a date for her nuptials. Avadai was dressed nicely for the occasion and led into the bridal chamber by her relatives, who shut the door and came away. Her husband was sitting on the bed and watching her. She would not move from the spot where she was left by her relatives. The boy picked up a garland of flowers that was lying on the bed and smelt it. There was a venomous cobra in the garland and it bit him at once to unconsciousness. Before long, the husband was dead.

The next morning, in accordance with the prevailing custom, the ladies of the house came to the bridal chamber and opened the door. To their astonishment, the girl Avadai stood there rooted to the same spot where she had been left. They asked her why she merely stood there. She replied: "Why! You had asked me to stand here!" They looked at the husband; they grew suspicious. When they went near the bed, they found the husband dead. They attributed this to the girl’s evil stars and took the girl and husband’s corpse out of the

The obsequies were duly performed and the girl’s head was shaven, ornaments removed and white cloth given. But Avadai did not have any feelings at all about the loss of the young husband. The world declared her a widow, an embodiment of inauspiciousness, forbidding her to come out of her room or to attend any festivities. Avadai would get up very early in the morning and go to the river for bath; for she had to return to the house before the other people were up!

One morning Avadai went to the river to take her bath Before bathing, she picked up a mango leaf from the bed of the river to clean her teeth. The moment she applied that mango leaf to the teeth, she had a strange transcendental experience.

It so happened that just that morning the sage Ayyaval (a Gurubhai of the world-renowned sage Sadasiva Brahman) was there, meditating underneath a Peepul tree. He had cleansed his teeth on the banks of the same river and thrown away the mango leaf used by him on the bed of the river. Avadai had used that leaf; and the moment the sage’s Ucchishta or sacred remnant was swallowed by her, the little dirt that covered the Atma Jyoti in her was washed away. She at once realized the atman within. Instinctively she walked to the feet of the sage under the Peepul tree.

Avadai prostrated to Ayyaval. Placing his hand (Hasthadiksha) on her head, the sage pronounced: "Brahma Satyam Avadai’s heart was illumined. She entered into Samadhi or that indescribable super conscious state. A little while later Ayyaval gave her a Linga for worship and went away.

That very moment Sarasvati had taken her abode on Avadai’s tongue; and Avadai’s transcendental experience flowed through her tongue in the shape of divine, inspiring songs. She astounded one and all in the town by her extra-ordinary wisdom. Whatever she said, whatever she sang portrayed her inner illumination. People however considered that Avadai had gone mad and merely confined her to her room!

In the meantime, Avadai’s parents died. This gave Avadai a great independence of movement. She at once opened the door of her room and went out into the wide world-her own home! She went alone from place to place-a young woman, singing wisdom, radiating wisdom, and transmitting wisdom to one and all that came near her.

Avadai reached Tiruvananthapuram. As usual she had her bath in a tank and wanted to do Linga Puja. The king, who had heard of her and of her regular worship of the Linga with Bael leaves, had sent her a basketful of golden Bael leaves for her worship. Avadai bathed in the tank and set about on the bank to perform the worship with the golden Bael leaves. As soon as the Puja was over, Avadai collected the Bael leaves and threw them into the tank as nirmalya (offered flowers), as is the custom. The king was astonished to hear this. He under stood the great renunciation of Avadai and her Para Vairagya. To Avadai, gold and leaf were the same.

From Tiruvanathapuram Avadai went to a conference of the heads of religious sects. She thrilled the audience with her supreme wisdom and established the unity of all sects. They spoke derisively of her at first, referring to her shaven head and calling her, "You Mottai!". Avadai quickly retorted: "Who is Mottai? Is it my body? Is it my mind? Is it my Prana? Is it my Jiva? Or, is it my Atma? Who am I? How can ‘I’ be Mottai?" In the end they all eulogized her greatly for her divine wisdom and prostrated to her.

On another occasion, the king of a State called Avadai to his Durbar and offered to marry her: You, so young and beautiful, should not wander about like this. Become my wife and remain in the palace as my queen with all powers." Avadai feigned to agree to this proposal provided the king answered some questions she would put him. And the questions were so grand and sublime that the king felt ashamed of himself and got initiated into Jnana by her!

Avadai again met her Gurudev, Sri Ayyaval, and joined his group of disciples. She was the only woman member of the group. The other disciples of the sage greatly ill-treated her. She was treated more as a dog to be looked after with the remnants of the Ashram food than as an inmate. Sri Ayyaval wanted to teach them all a lesson.

One day, all the disciples of Sri Ayyaval rowed to a sand-mound in the middle of the river Cauvery. They all meditated there. Ayyaval was on the banks of the river. Suddenly the disciples felt the water-level rising. They quickly perceived the danger and wanted to return. Avadai, however, was deep in Samadhi. They wanted to test her and so left her there and came away. Water was rising at great speed. Soon it looked as though Avadai would be drowned. She had got up from Samadhi and found that the others had gone away. She looked towards her Gurudev. He merely held up his arm to signal to her: "Stand there itself ". Avadai obeyed!! And what a great miracle! Avadai stood there three days and the rising flood left just that much of the sand-mound where her feet rested! She returned when the flood went down after three days.

By this and other similar incidents, every one in the Ashram realized the greatness of this lady-saint. Later, Sri Ayyaval too made no secret of her glory. People began to flock to her for her blessings. She sang and sang; and through her songs runs the current of the divine wisdom of the Upanishads.