true ascetic, Mahadevi is said to have refused to wear any clothing—a common practice among male ascetics, but shocking for a woman. Legend has it that due to her true love and devotion with God her whole body was protected by hair. All the sharnas of Anubhavamantapa, especially Basavanna, Chenna Basavanna, Kinnari Bommayya, Siddharama, Allamaprabhu and Dasimayya greet her with a word "Akka". In fact it is here onwards that she becomes Akka, an elderly sister. Allama shows her the further way of attaining the transcendent bliss of ultimate union with Lord Chenna Mallikarjuna. Akka leaves Kalyana with this following vachana: "Having vanquished the six passions and become The trinity of body, thought and speech; Having ended the trinity and become twain – I and the Absolute Having ended the duality and become a unity Is because of the grace of you all. I salute Basavanna and all assembled here Blessed was I by Allama my Master- Bless me all that I may join my Chenna Mallikarjuna Good-bye! Good-bye!" In the first phase of her life she renounced worldly objects and attractions; in the second, she discarded all object-based rules and regulations. In the third phase she began her journey towards Srishila, location of the temple to Chenna Mallikarjuna and a holy place for devotees of Shiva since before the 12th century. Akka's spiritual journey ended at Kadali, the thick forest area of Shrisaila (Srisailam) where she is supposed to have experienced union (aikya) with Chennamallikarjuna. One of her famous vachana translates as: People, male and female, blush when a cloth covering their shame comes loose When the lord of lives lives drowned without a face in the world, how can you be modest? When all the world is the eye of the lord, onlooking everywhere, what can you cover and conceal? Her poetry exhibits her love for Chenna Mallikarjuna, and harmony with nature and simple living. She sang: For hunger, there is the village rice in the begging bowl, For thirst, there are tanks and streams and wells For sleep temple ruins do well For the company of the soul I have you, Chenna Mallikarjuna Works Akka Mahadevi's works, like many other Bhakti movement poets, can be traced through the use of her ankita, or the signature name by which she addressed the figure of her devotion. In Akka Mahadevi's case, she uses the name Chennamallikarjuna to refer to