According to

Akilattirattu Ammanai Akilathirattu Ammanai (; ''akilam'' ("world"), ''thirattu'' ("collection"), ''ammanai'' ("ballad")), also called Thiru Edu ("venerable book"), is the main religious text of the Tamil belief system Ayyavazhi. The title is often abbreviated to Ak ...

, the scripture of the

Ayyavazhi Ayyavazhi (, ''Ayyāvaḻi'' , ) is a Hinduism, Hindu denomination that originated in South India during the 19th century.Tha. Krishna Nathan, ''Ayyaa vaikuNdarin vaazvum sinthanaiyum'', p. 62: "" (The day at which Vaikundar is given rebirth co ...

religion,

Ayya Vaikundar Ayya Vaikundar, also known as Siva Narayana or Vaikunda Swami, was the founder of the Ayyavazhi faith. The Ayyavazhis believe him to be the first and foremost Purna avatar of Eka-Paran and the god Vishnu (Narayana). As per Ayyavazhi mytholo ...

, the Incarnation of

Lord Narayana Narayana (, ) is one of the forms and epithets of Vishnu. In this form, the deity is depicted in yogic slumber under the Kshira Sagara, celestial waters, symbolising the masculine principle and associated with his role of creation. He is als ...

Kali Yukam ''Kali Yuga'' (Devanagari: कलियुग), in Hinduism, is the fourth, shortest, and worst of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga cycle'', preceded by ''Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It ...

, has five Seedar (disciples). They were in the previous Dwapara Yukam as

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

who were transmigrated as disciples of Vaikundar in this

Yuga A ''yuga'', in Hinduism, is generally used to indicate an age of time. In the ''Rigveda'', a ''yuga'' refers to generations, a period of time (whether long or short), or a yoke (joining of two things). In the ''Mahabharata'', the words ''yuga' ...

The Five Seedar

Dharma Seedar

The native place of Dharma Seedar is Mayiladi, a town in Kanyakumari district of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. He was Dharmar, the elder of the

in the previous Dwapara Yukam. In history he was known as Sivanandi.

Bhiman Seedar

The native place of Bhiman Citar is Karumbattoor, a village in the district of

Kanyakumari Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...

. He was Bhima, the most courageous of the Pandavas in the previous Dwapara Yukam. In history he was known as

Pantaram A mendicant (from , "begging") is one who practices mendicancy, relying chiefly or exclusively on alms to survive. In principle, mendicant religious orders own little property, either individually or collectively, and in many instances members ...

(his name).

Arjunan Seedar

The native place of Arjunan Seedar is Pillayar Kudiyiruppu, a village in the district of

. He was

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

, one among Pandavas in the previous Dwapara Yukam. In history he was known as Arjunan.

Nakulan Seedar

The native place of Nakulan Seedar is

Colachel Colachel (Malayalam: Kulachal, ) is a coastal town in the far south of India, located in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. It is a natural harbor on the Malabar Coast, located 20 km northwest of Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin), the southe ...

, a town in the district of

. Among the Pandavas in the previous Dwapara Yukam he was

Nakula Nakula () is a major character in the ancient Indian epic, the ''Mahabharata.'' He is the elder twin brother of Sahadeva and the fourth of the five Pandava brothers. He is the son of Divine twins, twin physician gods, Ashvins, and Madri, the ...

. In history he was known as Subaiah.

Sakatevan Seedar

Hari Gopalan Citar, also known as Sakatevan Citar, is considered to be the most important among the Seedars because he was the man to write

(Akilam), the holy scripture of Ayyavazhi. In the Adiyeduttharulal part in

Akilam One The Akilam one is the first among the seventeen parts of Akilathirattu Ammanai, the religious book of Ayyavazhi. This section includes the Kappu, the first part; it tells of the Detchanam, and describes the political and sociological situat ...

of Akilattirattu he claims that it was not he, but

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

who wrote the contents of

Akilam Akilathirattu Ammanai (; ''akilam'' ("world"), ''thirattu'' ("collection"), ''ammanai'' ("ballad")), also called Thiru Edu ("venerable book"), is the main religious text of the Tamil belief system Ayyavazhi. The title is often abbreviated to Ak ...

. Akilam says that he was Sakadeva, one among the Panchapandavas and he was made to be born in Kali Yukam in a village south to Swamithoppe. He was known as Sakadevan in human history. There are also some reports claiming that Hari Gopalan Citar was

illiterate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

and he did not know even the

alphabet An alphabet is a standard set of letter (alphabet), letters written to represent particular sounds in a spoken language. Specifically, letters largely correspond to phonemes as the smallest sound segments that can distinguish one word from a ...

s of

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

before he wrote Akilam.

References

* N. Elango and Vijaya Shanthi Elango (1997), ''Ayya Vaikuntar the light of the world'' (published by the authors), Jeya Press, Theni. * G. Patrick (2003), ''Religion and Subaltern Agency'', University of Madras. * C. Paulose (2002), Advaita Philosophy of Brahmasri Chattampi Swamikal, Ayyavaikunta Nather Sidhasramam. {{Ayyavazhi large History of Ayyavazhi