Saints of Arunachala · The woman saint
Karaikkal Ammaiyar: the saint who became a ghoul
The greatest of the women Nayanmars ~ a beautiful, devout wife who prayed away her beauty and her humanity itself to become a fearsome ghoul, free to love Shiva without the world's distraction and sing forever at the feet of his cosmic dance.
The short version
- Who
- Karaikkal Ammaiyar ~ born Punithavathi; the greatest of the women Nayanmars, and among the earliest.
- Her prayer
- She asked Shiva to take away her beauty and give her a ghoul's (pey) form, to love him freely.
- To Kailash
- She climbed the holy mountain on her head; Shiva greeted her as 'Ammai' ~ Mother.
- Her gift
- A great poet ~ among the first to sing Shiva as Nataraja, the cosmic dancer.
← Part of Saints of Arunachala
Among the sixty-three Nayanmars are a few women, and the greatest of them ~ one of the very greatest of all the saints ~ is Karaikkal Ammaiyar, “the mother of Karaikkal.” Her story is one of the strangest and most powerful in the whole tradition: a beautiful, devout wife who, by her own choice, prayed away her beauty and her humanity itself, becoming a fearsome, skeletal ghoul ~ a pey ~ so that she might love Shiva without the distraction of the world, and sing at the feet of his cosmic dance. She is proof that the bhakti of the Nayanmars was no gentle piety but a fire that could consume everything, even the self.
Punithavathi, the devoted wife
She was born Punithavathi, a beautiful and pious woman of a merchant family in the town of Karaikkal, married to a wealthy merchant named Paramadattan. She was, from girlhood, a fervent devotee of Shiva, given to feeding his devotees and serving the Lord. A famous episode set her story in motion: given two mangoes by her husband, she gave one to a hungry Shiva-devotee (a wandering ascetic); when her husband asked for the second, she prayed to Shiva in her distress and a second, miraculous mango appeared in her hand ~ but it was so surpassingly sweet, so plainly not of this world, that her husband, awed and frightened, realised his wife was no ordinary woman but a great soul touched by God.
The prayer to lose her beauty
Her husband, unable to live as an ordinary man with one so holy, quietly left, remarried elsewhere, and had a daughter whom ~ in reverence ~ he named Punithavathi, after the wife he now regarded as a goddess. When at last the family came before her and bowed to her as a divine being, Punithavathi understood that her worldly life was over, and she made an extraordinary prayer. She asked Shiva to strip away the beautiful body she no longer needed ~ the body meant for worldly life ~ and to give her instead the form of one of his own ghoulish attendants (pey), so that she might be free of all worldly ties and love him without hindrance. Her prayer was granted. The beautiful Punithavathi became a gaunt, skeletal, wild-haired ghoul ~ and was utterly, ecstatically free.
She prayed away her beauty and her humanity itself ~ to love Shiva without the distraction of the world. The bhakti of the Nayanmars was no gentle piety but a fire.
On her head to Kailash
In this fearsome, liberated form she made her way to the holy mountain Kailash, the abode of Shiva ~ and, holding it too sacred to tread upon with her feet, she climbed it on her head. Shiva, seeing her come, greeted her with the word that became her name forever: “Ammai” ~ Mother. And she asked of him three boons: undying love for him; freedom from the bondage of birth; and, if she must ever be reborn, to be born always at his feet, singing his praise, as he danced his cosmic dance. He granted all three, and told her to go to Tiruvalangadu and sing there at the foot of his dance. There she sang her great hymns ~ and there, the tradition holds, she remains still, a ghoulish figure of pure love at the foot of the dancing Shiva, singing forever.
The poet-saint
Karaikkal Ammaiyar was also a great poet ~ among the earliest of all the Tamil Shaiva saints, predating even the Nalvar, and one of the first to sing of Shiva as Nataraja, the cosmic dancer. Her hymns, preserved in the Tirumurai, are works of startling power and devotion, sung from her fearsome form with a heart of pure love. She stands as one of the supreme examples of the tradition’s deepest teaching: that the love of God can burn away everything ~ beauty, comfort, the body, the very self ~ and that what remains, stripped of all, is the purest joy. In the devotional world of which Arunachala is a heart, she is honoured as one of the fiercest and freest of all who ever loved Shiva.
Karaikkal Ammaiyar’s story is told in the Periya Puranam and her hymns are in the Tirumurai; it is related here as the tradition tells it. She is among the earliest and greatest of the Tamil Shaiva saints, and one of its great women. See the 63 Nayanmars and Kannappa Nayanar.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Karaikkal Ammaiyar?
Karaikkal Ammaiyar ('the mother of Karaikkal') was one of the greatest of the 63 Nayanmars and one of the earliest ~ a woman saint, born Punithavathi, a beautiful and devout merchant's wife who became a fervent devotee of Shiva. She prayed to lose her beauty and take the form of a ghoul (pey) so she could love Shiva without worldly distraction, and became a great poet-saint who sang at the feet of his cosmic dance.
Why did Karaikkal Ammaiyar become a ghoul?
When her husband, awed by her holiness, left and later revered her as a goddess, Punithavathi understood her worldly life was over. She prayed to Shiva to strip away the beautiful body she no longer needed and give her instead the form of one of his ghoulish attendants (pey), so she might be free of all worldly ties and love him without hindrance. Her prayer was granted.
What are the boons Karaikkal Ammaiyar asked of Shiva?
When she reached Kailash (climbing it on her head, holding it too sacred to tread with her feet), Shiva greeted her as 'Ammai' (Mother). She asked three boons: undying love for him; freedom from the bondage of rebirth; and, if she must be reborn, to be born always at his feet singing his praise as he danced. He granted all three and sent her to Tiruvalangadu to sing at his dance.
Why is Karaikkal Ammaiyar important?
She is one of the earliest and greatest of the Tamil Shaiva saints ~ predating even the Nalvar ~ one of the great women saints, and among the first to sing of Shiva as Nataraja, the cosmic dancer. Her hymns, preserved in the Tirumurai, are works of startling devotional power, and she embodies the tradition's teaching that love of God can burn away everything, even the self.
Last updated 17 February 2026. Following the documented record preserved by Sri Ramanasramam and his devotees; where an account is traditional, it is told as such.