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The Story of Aandal
From December 15 to January 15 is the Tamil month of Dhanus or Margazhi and reciting Thiruppavai in the month of Margazhi is considered to be auspious. Aandal is the composer of these 30 verses. Aandal (Tamil: ஆண்டாள்) is an 8th century (or earlier) Tamil saint and one of the twelve Alwars (saints) and the only woman Alwar of Vaishnavism.Alwars are saints having lived between the fifth and ninth centuries, in the Tamil speaking regions of India and these saints revitalized the Indian religious milieu, sparking a renewal of devotional worship throughout the subcontinent.
Aadi Pooram, also known as Aandal Jayanthi, celebrates the birth of Aandal - dedicated to her as she is believed to be an avatar (incarnation) of goddess Lakshmi. Aandal is very popular in Tamil Nadu especially among the Vaishnavaites (those who worship lord Vishnu).
Aadi Pooram derives its name from Aadi (Ashata) the month (mid July to mid August) and Pooram (Poorva, Phalguni) the star, the day on which Aandal was born - a Tuesday coinciding with shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period).
According to the Sri Vaishnava belief Aandal was found in a flower garden in Srivilliputhur( we will be talking about her birth in detail a little later) during the Pandya dynasty.The exact date of her birth is not known but from studies it is found that she must have lived in 7th / 8th Century A.D. (Divya Suri Charita - hagiography of the Alwars -records that she appeared as a child in the 97 th year after the onset of Kali Yuga termed the Nala year, in the Tamil month of Adi in the Purva Phalguni asterism.) More identified with Aandal is the month Margazhi (Dhanur masa in Hindi) spanning from mid-December to mid-January, and during this month Thiruppavai a composition of 30 verses composed by Aandal is recited in homes and temples of Tamil Nadu.
It is said that she sang this on each day of the month and on the 30th day due to her supreme devotion to the lord she got married to Sri Ranganatha at Srirangam.The life of Aandal is remarkable in its romantic simplicity.
Aandal was the adopted daughter of Vishnu Chittar who later came to be known as Peria Alwar. Periya Alwar, is believed to be an incarnation of Garuda (the vehicle of lord Vishnu).
The Birth of Aandal: The story of Andal really begins with Varahavatharam [Varaha (Sanskrit: वराह) is the third avatar of Vishnu, in the form of a boar,in order to defeat Hiranyaksha].Legend has it that the demon Hiranyaksha had pushed Mother Earth(Bhoomi Piratti/Bhooma Devi) down into oceans and lord Vishnu appeared as Varaha, the boar incarnation, to rescue her. As the story goes Hiranyaksha started troubling saints, humans and the devas.
Finally, he decided to drag and throw the earth into the ocean. When he did it Mother Earth gave a huge cry and Vishnu appeared in the form of Varaha and fought and killed Hiranyaksha and restored Mother Earth. Bhoomi Piratti asks her lord Srimannarayana what was the reason for his decision to take the avathar of a boar and that her friends were sure to make fun. of her.
Lord Varahaswamy then makes a promise to his goddess that he would take the avathar of the lord in Srivilliputhur and marry her as Aandal on Panguni Uttiram day. It is this promise of lord Varaha that results in the avathar of Andal and her thirukalyanam (marriage) with the lord Sir Ranganatha Perumal at Srirangam.
Just as Sita the wife of lord Rama was found in the royal gardens of Mithila by Janaka Maharaj, Aandal too was born as the incarnation of Bhudevi/Bhooma Devi in the garden of Vishnu Chittar under a tulasi plant in his tulasi nandanam (garden).
Vishnu Chittar, having found this beautiful girl child nestled among the tulasi plants and being childless, considered the child, a gift from Bhooma Devi. He and his wife Vrajai raised Andal with great love, affectionately calling her as “Godai” or “Kodai”.The word Godai or Kodai has several meanings: one who bestows the power of speech and expression, one who is bestowed by the Earth, one who has sweet curls, one who is like a flower garland and one who has control over the senses.
Vishnu Chittar, being an ardent devotee of lord Krishna imparted to Godai, his own love for lord Krishna, enchanting her with stories of Krishna.Vishnu Chittar sang songs to Godai on his treasured lord Krishna, told her all the stories and taught her the philosophy he knew, and she grew up sharing his love of Tamil poetry.Each day, as Vishnu Chittar went to his garden and collected flowers to adorn the lord, Godai would go along along with him hoping that she would meet the lord. Each day, as Vishnu Chittar sang in praise of lord Krishna, he told her stories of the Krishna and her fascination for the lord grew. A child prodigy and fostered lovingly she grew into a beautiful maiden and became an embodiment of love for lord Krishna. Steadily her love for the lord deepened in her. Even as a child, Godai made up her mind to marry none but the lord . Toying with this idea deeprooted in her, she fantasized what it would be like to be the lord’s bride. She often played the role of the lord’s beloved.
As a daily routine Vishnu chithar would weave a garland of tulasi leaves and flowers that he had collected from the garden and keep it sacredly rolled in a flower basket so that he may, after attending to his household duties, take the garland to the temple for offering to the lord. The child Andal in her profound innocence would take out the garland daily without her father's knowledge, adorn herself and look into the mirror to satisfy herself on whether the garland was suitable enough for the lord. Lord Krishna will wear this very same garland... she would think to herself.Also thinking herself to be the bride of the lord she thought it appropriate to deck herself daily with the garland of flowers that was prepared for the diety at the temple. She would then put the garland back, for her father to take to the temple and offer to the lord. On one occasion
Vishnu Chittar noticed a strand of hair on the garland. Finding that it was Godai’s hair he discarded it after scolding her for her misdemeanour. He was shocked for it was a great defilement. He fasted that day as a penance and did not offer that garland to the lord, and took a fresh one. But the fresh garland fell off from the lord's neck and it continued so in spite of several attempts by Vishnu Chittar.
That night Vishnu Chittar saw the lord in his dream and the lord told him that he would be more than pleased to be adorned in the garland once worn by Godai and said that he will in fact only wear the garland first worn by her. To his wonder Vishnu Chithar found that the tulasi mala worn on the previous day by Andal, which was hanging from a nail in the wall in his room had not faded, but was fresher than a freshly made garland. Thereafter, he always offered the garland to the deity after being first worn by Godai. He became conscious of her spiritual greatness and the strength of Godai’s love for the lord. This is how she got the name Aandal- the girl who “ruled” over the lord.Aandal is also respectfully remembered as Soodi Kodutha Nachiar...."the bright creeper-like woman who gave her garlands after wearing them".
Aandal's Marriage: When Aandal was of marriageable age Vishnu Chittar was trying to find a suitable match for her but she thwarted his efforts with the assertion that she was destined to be the bride of none other than lord Vishnu and that she had spent her youth in purposeful pursuit of her aim to realize oneness with the lord. She urged him to describe to her the attributes of Vishnu enshrined in several of the shrines that he knew of.
Therefore, Vishnu chithar narrated all the kalyana gunas (auspicious qualities )of all the aracha-murthis (forms of the lord which can be easily appreciated by the common man) of the one hundred and eight Sri Vaishnava kshetras. When she heard of the soundarya (beauty) of lord Srirangam-Lord Ranganatha-tears of joy came over her and her heart prayed to HIM to come and accept her in wedlock.Periya Alwar wondered how Aandal could get married to the lord.But one day lord Ranganathar, appeared in Periya Alwaar's dream asking him to bring Aandal to the temple at Srirangam, where he would marry her.He also came in the dream of the temple priest and instructed him to go to Srivilliputhur with all the things needed to welcome a bride and accompany the bridal party.
The lord also came in the dream of the Pandya king Vallabadevan and instructed him to arrange for a pearl palanquin to bring the bride to Srirangam. Following the divine ordinance, Periya Alwaar led Aandal in a bridal procession to the grand temple at Srirangam, where Aandal walked in with a sense of purpose. She was drawn to him like a magnet, she went near the lord, climbed on the serpent bed and became one with Him.She had embraced lord Ranganatha and disappeared in a blaze of glory, having joined her Lord.
She attained a state of bliss by the total surrender of body, mind and soul Atma samarpanam.She was only fifteen years old at the time.
Indian Festivals and Hindu Mythology
From December 15 to January 15 is the Tamil month of Dhanus or Margazhi and reciting Thiruppavai in the month of Margazhi is considered to be auspious. Aandal is the composer of these 30 verses. Aandal (Tamil: ஆண்டாள்) is an 8th century (or earlier) Tamil saint and one of the twelve Alwars (saints) and the only woman Alwar of Vaishnavism.Alwars are saints having lived between the fifth and ninth centuries, in the Tamil speaking regions of India and these saints revitalized the Indian religious milieu, sparking a renewal of devotional worship throughout the subcontinent.
Aadi Pooram, also known as Aandal Jayanthi, celebrates the birth of Aandal - dedicated to her as she is believed to be an avatar (incarnation) of goddess Lakshmi. Aandal is very popular in Tamil Nadu especially among the Vaishnavaites (those who worship lord Vishnu).
Aadi Pooram derives its name from Aadi (Ashata) the month (mid July to mid August) and Pooram (Poorva, Phalguni) the star, the day on which Aandal was born - a Tuesday coinciding with shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period).
According to the Sri Vaishnava belief Aandal was found in a flower garden in Srivilliputhur( we will be talking about her birth in detail a little later) during the Pandya dynasty.The exact date of her birth is not known but from studies it is found that she must have lived in 7th / 8th Century A.D. (Divya Suri Charita - hagiography of the Alwars -records that she appeared as a child in the 97 th year after the onset of Kali Yuga termed the Nala year, in the Tamil month of Adi in the Purva Phalguni asterism.) More identified with Aandal is the month Margazhi (Dhanur masa in Hindi) spanning from mid-December to mid-January, and during this month Thiruppavai a composition of 30 verses composed by Aandal is recited in homes and temples of Tamil Nadu.
It is said that she sang this on each day of the month and on the 30th day due to her supreme devotion to the lord she got married to Sri Ranganatha at Srirangam.The life of Aandal is remarkable in its romantic simplicity.
Aandal was the adopted daughter of Vishnu Chittar who later came to be known as Peria Alwar. Periya Alwar, is believed to be an incarnation of Garuda (the vehicle of lord Vishnu).
The Birth of Aandal: The story of Andal really begins with Varahavatharam [Varaha (Sanskrit: वराह) is the third avatar of Vishnu, in the form of a boar,in order to defeat Hiranyaksha].Legend has it that the demon Hiranyaksha had pushed Mother Earth(Bhoomi Piratti/Bhooma Devi) down into oceans and lord Vishnu appeared as Varaha, the boar incarnation, to rescue her. As the story goes Hiranyaksha started troubling saints, humans and the devas.
Finally, he decided to drag and throw the earth into the ocean. When he did it Mother Earth gave a huge cry and Vishnu appeared in the form of Varaha and fought and killed Hiranyaksha and restored Mother Earth. Bhoomi Piratti asks her lord Srimannarayana what was the reason for his decision to take the avathar of a boar and that her friends were sure to make fun. of her.
Lord Varahaswamy then makes a promise to his goddess that he would take the avathar of the lord in Srivilliputhur and marry her as Aandal on Panguni Uttiram day. It is this promise of lord Varaha that results in the avathar of Andal and her thirukalyanam (marriage) with the lord Sir Ranganatha Perumal at Srirangam.
Just as Sita the wife of lord Rama was found in the royal gardens of Mithila by Janaka Maharaj, Aandal too was born as the incarnation of Bhudevi/Bhooma Devi in the garden of Vishnu Chittar under a tulasi plant in his tulasi nandanam (garden).
Vishnu Chittar, having found this beautiful girl child nestled among the tulasi plants and being childless, considered the child, a gift from Bhooma Devi. He and his wife Vrajai raised Andal with great love, affectionately calling her as “Godai” or “Kodai”.The word Godai or Kodai has several meanings: one who bestows the power of speech and expression, one who is bestowed by the Earth, one who has sweet curls, one who is like a flower garland and one who has control over the senses.
Vishnu Chittar, being an ardent devotee of lord Krishna imparted to Godai, his own love for lord Krishna, enchanting her with stories of Krishna.Vishnu Chittar sang songs to Godai on his treasured lord Krishna, told her all the stories and taught her the philosophy he knew, and she grew up sharing his love of Tamil poetry.Each day, as Vishnu Chittar went to his garden and collected flowers to adorn the lord, Godai would go along along with him hoping that she would meet the lord. Each day, as Vishnu Chittar sang in praise of lord Krishna, he told her stories of the Krishna and her fascination for the lord grew. A child prodigy and fostered lovingly she grew into a beautiful maiden and became an embodiment of love for lord Krishna. Steadily her love for the lord deepened in her. Even as a child, Godai made up her mind to marry none but the lord . Toying with this idea deeprooted in her, she fantasized what it would be like to be the lord’s bride. She often played the role of the lord’s beloved.
As a daily routine Vishnu chithar would weave a garland of tulasi leaves and flowers that he had collected from the garden and keep it sacredly rolled in a flower basket so that he may, after attending to his household duties, take the garland to the temple for offering to the lord. The child Andal in her profound innocence would take out the garland daily without her father's knowledge, adorn herself and look into the mirror to satisfy herself on whether the garland was suitable enough for the lord. Lord Krishna will wear this very same garland... she would think to herself.Also thinking herself to be the bride of the lord she thought it appropriate to deck herself daily with the garland of flowers that was prepared for the diety at the temple. She would then put the garland back, for her father to take to the temple and offer to the lord. On one occasion
Vishnu Chittar noticed a strand of hair on the garland. Finding that it was Godai’s hair he discarded it after scolding her for her misdemeanour. He was shocked for it was a great defilement. He fasted that day as a penance and did not offer that garland to the lord, and took a fresh one. But the fresh garland fell off from the lord's neck and it continued so in spite of several attempts by Vishnu Chittar.
That night Vishnu Chittar saw the lord in his dream and the lord told him that he would be more than pleased to be adorned in the garland once worn by Godai and said that he will in fact only wear the garland first worn by her. To his wonder Vishnu Chithar found that the tulasi mala worn on the previous day by Andal, which was hanging from a nail in the wall in his room had not faded, but was fresher than a freshly made garland. Thereafter, he always offered the garland to the deity after being first worn by Godai. He became conscious of her spiritual greatness and the strength of Godai’s love for the lord. This is how she got the name Aandal- the girl who “ruled” over the lord.Aandal is also respectfully remembered as Soodi Kodutha Nachiar...."the bright creeper-like woman who gave her garlands after wearing them".
Aandal's Marriage: When Aandal was of marriageable age Vishnu Chittar was trying to find a suitable match for her but she thwarted his efforts with the assertion that she was destined to be the bride of none other than lord Vishnu and that she had spent her youth in purposeful pursuit of her aim to realize oneness with the lord. She urged him to describe to her the attributes of Vishnu enshrined in several of the shrines that he knew of.
Therefore, Vishnu chithar narrated all the kalyana gunas (auspicious qualities )of all the aracha-murthis (forms of the lord which can be easily appreciated by the common man) of the one hundred and eight Sri Vaishnava kshetras. When she heard of the soundarya (beauty) of lord Srirangam-Lord Ranganatha-tears of joy came over her and her heart prayed to HIM to come and accept her in wedlock.Periya Alwar wondered how Aandal could get married to the lord.But one day lord Ranganathar, appeared in Periya Alwaar's dream asking him to bring Aandal to the temple at Srirangam, where he would marry her.He also came in the dream of the temple priest and instructed him to go to Srivilliputhur with all the things needed to welcome a bride and accompany the bridal party.
The lord also came in the dream of the Pandya king Vallabadevan and instructed him to arrange for a pearl palanquin to bring the bride to Srirangam. Following the divine ordinance, Periya Alwaar led Aandal in a bridal procession to the grand temple at Srirangam, where Aandal walked in with a sense of purpose. She was drawn to him like a magnet, she went near the lord, climbed on the serpent bed and became one with Him.She had embraced lord Ranganatha and disappeared in a blaze of glory, having joined her Lord.
She attained a state of bliss by the total surrender of body, mind and soul Atma samarpanam.She was only fifteen years old at the time.
Indian Festivals and Hindu Mythology
