Andal

The remarkable girl who would marry none but the Lord

Andal is one of the most extraordinary personalities in religious history. She is known in her native tongue of Tamil as an Alvar, one who is immersed in the depths of enjoyment of God, the omnipresent mysterious One. Tradition reckons ten Alvars, of which Andal is the only female. Between the fifth and the ninth centuries, in the Tamil-speaking region of south India, these saints revitalized the Indian religious milieu, sparking a renewal of devotional worship through the subcontinent. Traveling from place to place, they composed exceedingly beautiful poetry to their Divine Beloved, Vishnu, as an expression of their love for Him. Anyone can see why their poetry was so attractive; at once both impassioned and philosophical, their words cut across all barriers of caste and class, attracting all to their faith. In doing so they sculpted a new religious heritage of intensely emotional bhakti, or love of the Divine, whose impact is still felt today in the religious life of India. Among the brides of God, Andal is pre-eminent because she gave herself to God totally and unconditionally, right from childhood, the age of innocence.  Andal, whose life and poetry are celebrated every December and January, is the most visible contributor to this heritage.

Life of Andal

A devout Brahmin named Vishnucitta lived in Villiputtur, a town near Madurai. His daily duties included procuring flowers for worship of the Lord at a local temple. One morning, as he went about his business, he discovered a baby girl lying under a tulasi (basil) plant in his flower garden. Having no family of his own, Vishnucitta felt it was God’s grace that gave him this child. He named her Godai, “gift of Mother Earth.”

Godai grew up in an atmosphere of love and devotion. Vishnucitta doted on her in every respect, singing songs to her about his beloved Krishna, teaching her all the stories and philosophy he knew, and sharing with her his love of Tamil poetry. The love that Vishnucitta had for his beloved Lord intensified in his daughter. Before long she was passionately in love with Lord Krishna. As a child, Godai made up her mind to marry none but the Lord of Brindavana. She imagined what it would be like to be His bride, playing the role of His beloved, enjoying His presence. Unknown to her father, she adorned herself daily with the flower garland he prepared for the Lord of the temple. After admiring her reflection and thinking of herself as His ideal bride, she would put the garland back for her father to take to the temple.

One day, Vishnucitta noticed a strand of  Godai’s hair on one of the garlands. Shocked and saddened by this desecration of that which was meant only for the Lord, he scolded Godai for her misuse of the garland and discarded it. He carefully prepared a new one and offered it to the Lord instead, begging his pardon all the while.

That night, the Lord appeared to Vishnucitta in a dream and asked him why he discarded Godai’s garland instead of offering it to Him. He told Vishnucitta that He missed Godai’s scent in the flowers. He preferred them that way. He asked that he continue to receive garlands worn first by Godai. Overcome with emotion, Vishnucitta awoke and cried tears of both joy and remorse. It dawned on him that his daughter was someone whose love of God was so intense and pure that even he had not comprehended its extent. Her spiritual greatness was such that the Lord Himself wished to share her presence. From that day forward, she became known as Andal, “she who dives deep into the ocean of Divine love.”

Andal blossomed into a beautiful young woman. When offers of marriage came, however, she stubbornly refused, saying she would only marry Sri Ranganatha, the Lord at the great temple town of Srirangam. Vishnucitta despaired, wondering what was to become of his daughter. One night, Lord Ranganatha appeared in a dream and asked that Andal be sent to Him in all her wedding finery. Simultaneously, the Lord appeared before the priests at Srirangam and asked them to prepare for the coming of Andal. Vishnucitta was once again filled with a combination of joy and sadness – joy that his beloved daughter would attain her goal, sadness at losing her. He made all the wedding preparations and arranged for Andal’s journey in a palanquin to Srirangam.

Andal waited with excited anticipation as the wedding party approached Lord Ranganatha’s shrine. As they entered the temple, she jumped out of the palanquin, unable to restrain herself any longer. Running into the temple sanctum, she embraced Lord Ranganatha. Then she disappeared in a blaze of glory. She had joined her Lord. She was only fifteen years old.

Today, Andal is one of the best loved of the poet-saints. Tradition reckons her to be the veritable descent of Bhumi Devi (Mother Earth) in bodily form to show humanity the way to His lotus feet.

Tiruppavai  and Nacciyar-tirumoli are the prabandhans composed  by Andal. In the Tiruppavai, Andal gives expression to the devotion of the Gopis for Sri Krishna. She identified herself as one of them. She offers herself in this lyric as a self-gift to the Lord, resolving to be His slave and do His bidding. She asks for nothing more than to be accepted. In the thirty verses of the poem, corresponding to the thirty days of the month, the sports of Krishna – His boyhood pranks and his deeds of valor – are extolled. The burden of every verse is that He should receive the love of the devotee’s soul.

God-love is the theme of the Tirumoli also.  Every word of this lyric bespeaks the boundless love of Andal for the Lord whom she longs to wed.

Her surrender to her chosen bridegroom was so complete that it contained absolutely no trace of self-seeking or jealousy, not a shade of human weakness or impurity. She was a “burning  Sappho,” endowed with the pure passion of Krishna-prem  (love of Krishna). Her whole life was a poem of the growth and fulfillment of that divine bridal longing.

O saintess, basil born, God-married  nun,
Bodied Piety, Devotion incarnate!

Source: “Ten  Saints of India.” Women Saints – East and West
Vedanta Press, Hollywood, CA