The
Atmaarpana Stuthi is a hymn in Sanskrit language composed by Appayya
Dikshitar, one of the great saints and proponent of Advaita Philosophy after
Adi Sankara. It is a hymn in praise of Lord Shiva and is also known as
‘Unmattha Panchaa Shath’.
Once
Dikshitar felt that he has to put himself to a test as to whether his devotion
to Lord Shiva was indeed true. He thought, ‘Suppose I become insane, will my
mouth utter the name of Lord Shiva. If that be so, then it must be real.’ So,
he embarked on an experiment. He made a paste of Datura seeds. These seeds are
poisonous and if taken in, will make a person insane. He also prepared an
antidote to this poison.
He called
his disciples. He gave them the poisonous paste and the antidote. He told them
to give him the first potion for a week and write down whatever he said in that
state of mind. After recording this, they have to give after a week, the
antidote that would bring him back to normalcy. Indeed, it was a remarkable
experiment to find out how serious he was about Shiva.
The
experiment started. The disciples recorded what he said during that time. It
was this hymn on Lord Shiva consisting of fifty verses. ‘Panchaa Shath’ means
50 and ‘Unmattha’ means “one who has lost his mind”. So, it is 50 verses
composed during the period when he lost his mind.
Link for
the Book and the audio book
Book
https://play.google.com/books/publish/a/6906812638078302264#book/GGKEY:Z2LZCKQP5GH/review
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9STYXTK
Audio Book
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/appayya-dikshitar-s-atmaarpana-stuthi-or-unmattha-panchaa-shath
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