Bibi Nanchari's adoration and deep love for Lord Vishnu knows no bounds. The Delhi Sultan's daughter had no second thought in her pursuit for the right person to marry.
It all started with the Sultan of Delhi coming across the idol of ‘Chellapillaraya' (Maha Vishnu) in Melkote (now in Karnataka) during a war in South India and ordering his soldiers to bring it to Delhi. Awestruck by the stunning beauty of the deity's gleaming face, the Sultan's daughter however prevailed upon the soldiers and started worshipping it. The veneration transformed into deep love in due course, despite the severe punishments meted out by the Sultan. The hard stance yielded no result, but further reinforced the bonding. Maha Vishnu appeared in Sultan's dream and expressed his willingness to marry his daughter. The Sultan agreed to the marriage. Even today, the ‘Chellapillaraya' temple in Melkote has a sub-shrine for Bibi Nanchari close to the main sanctum sanctorum.
This tale of eternal love was vividly captured in the form of poems by C.V. Subbanna Sathavadhani of Proddatur in his book Bibi Nanchari Prabandhamu . At a function organized by Telugu Bhashodyama Samithi in Tirupati last week, the book was formally released by P.V. Arunachalam, the former Vice-Chancellor of Dravidian University and Bhuman S. Reddy, Director of TTD's Sri Venkateswara Employees Training Academy (SVETA).
“Bibi is revered all over South India as the Lord's Consort, similar to ‘Andal' (Godhadevi), who too loved and married Lord Vishnu,” Sathavadhani said, adding that the Lord Himself stood as personification of secularism and paved the way for inter-faith marriages. Dr. Asavadi Prakasa Rao reviewed the book, while noted litterateur Samudrala Lakshmanaiah gave his comments. Samithi President Nadendla Srimannarayana and general secretary Peruru Balasubramanyam were among the participants.
