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10th century
Alvar saint, Tamil devotional poet, daughter of Periyalvar
A few hagiographies survive of Andal, a poet in Tamil Nadu who wrote devotional poetry to Krishna in which her own personality comes alive at times. Two devotional poems by Andal are known and are still used in worship.
Adopted by her father (Perilyalwar or Periyālwār) who finds her as a baby, Andal avoids earthly marriage, the normal and expected path for women of her culture, to "marry" Vishnu, both spiritually and physically. She is sometimes known by a phrase which means "she who gave garlands that had been worn."
Her name translates as "savior" or "saint," and she is also known as Saint Goda. An annual holy day honors Andal.
The Vaishnava tradition honors Shrivilliputtur as the birthplace of Andal. The Nacciyar Tirumoli, which is about the love of Andal for Vishnu and Andal as beloved, is a Vaishnava marriage classic.
Her exact dates are unknown, but are likely to have been the ninth or tenth centuries.
Sources include:
- Phillip B. Wagoner. Tidings of the King. 1993.
- Joseph T. Shipley. Encyclopedia of Literature. 1946.
Andal on the Net
- Life of Andal
- Andal
- Celebrating Andal
- Celebration of Andal
- Her works:
- Tiruppavai
- Nacciyar Tirumoli
- Prapatti Online - in various languages (including Tamil, Roman script, Sanskrit, Bengali) in PDF format and some recorded in MP3 Voice format
Also on this site
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About Andal
- Categories:
- Places: India
- Period: 10th century
Text copyright 1999-2006 © Jone Johnson Lewis.
