Andal – Goda Devi
Mar-24-2012 (Saturday)
Early life
Andal is believed to have been discovered under a Tulsi(Basil) plant in
the temple garden of Srivilliputtur, by a person named Vishnuchitta
who later became one of the most revered saints in Hinduism, Periyalvar.
The child was named Kodhai. This is popularly thought to mean "a beautiful
garland" in Tamil[2]
. The name Kodhai is often Sanskritized
as Goda. Kodhai was raised by Vishnuchitta. Kodhai grew up in an atmosphere of
love and devotion. Vishnuchitta doted on her in every respect, singing songs to
her about Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu; teaching her all the stories and philosophy
he knew; and sharing with her his love for Tamil poetry. As Kodhai grew into a
beautiful maiden, her love and devotion for the Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu grew
to the extent that she decided to marry none but the Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu
Himself only. As days progressed, her resolve strengthened and she started to
live in a dream world with her beloved Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu and was
constantly fantasizing about marrying Him. [3]
Vishnuchitta had the responsibility of delivering flower
garlands to the Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu's temple, everyday. Kodhai made these
garlands and sent it to her beloved Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu through her
father. Eventually she started acting unusual by wearing the flower garland
which was meant to be offered to the Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu. This is
generally considered sacrilege in Hinduism because the scriptures teach the
devotees not to offer to the Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu, a thing that has already
been used by a human being. However, Kodhai felt she should test to see how the
garland suited her and only if it did, she should offer it to the Bhagavan Sri
Maha Vishnu. One day, she was caught red-handed by her father in this strange
act, and as an orthodox devotee he was extremely upset. He rebuked her and told
her not to repeat the sacrilegious act in the future. Frightened and
apologetic, Kodhai made a new garland for the offering that day. Legend says
that that very night the Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu appeared to Vishnuchitta in
his dream and asked him why he had discarded Kodhai's garland instead of
offering it to Him. The Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu is believed to have told Vishnuchitta
that He had whole-heartedly accepted Kodhai's offering all this time. This
moved Vishnuchitta so much even as he started to realize the Divine Love that
existed between the Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu and his daughter. From this day
on, Kodhai is believed to have been respected by the devotees and came to be
known as "Andal", the girl who "ruled" over the Bhagavan
Sri Maha Vishnu. She is also known by a phrase Soodi kodutha Sudarkodi
which means "The bright creeper-like woman who gave her garlands after
wearing them".
Marrying the Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu
As Andal blossomed into a fifteen-year-old beautiful young
woman of marriageable age (girls were married at a much younger age in those
days), her father prepared to get her married to a suitable groom. Andal,
however, was stubborn and insisted that she would marry only the Bhagavan Sri
Maha Vishnu at Srirangam. This perplexed and worried her father. Legend
has it that he had a vision give by the Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu, once again,
and was instructed to send Andal to Srirangam; the Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu
simultaneously commanded the priests at Srirangam, in their dreams, to prepare
for the wedding. Andal who was anxious to reach Srirangam was unable to control
herself in her urgency to meet her beloved Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu. She ran
into the sanctum sanctorum of the Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu
and is believed to have merged with Him completely at that point.[4]
Literary works
Andal composed two works in her short life of fifteen years.
Both these works are in Tamil verse form and are exceptional in their literary,
philosophical, religious, and aesthetic content. Her contribution is even more
remarkable considering that she was a girl of fifteen when she composed these
verses and her prodigiousness amazes readers till date.
Her first work is the Thiruppavai,
a collection of thirty verses in which Andal imagines herself to be a Gopi or cowherd girl
during the incarnation of Bhagavan Sri Maha Vishnu Krishna. She yearns to serve
Him and achieve happiness not just in this birth, but for all eternity, and
describes the religious vows (pavai) that she and her fellow cowherd girls will
observe for this purpose. [5]
The second is the Nachiar
Tirumozhi, a poem of 143 verses. Tirumozhi, literally meaning "Sacred
Sayings", is a Tamil poetic style. "Nachiar" means Goddess, so
the title means "Sacred Sayings of the Goddess." This poem fully
reveals Andal's intense longing for Vishnu, the Divine Beloved. Utilizing
classical Tamil poetic conventions and interspersing stories from the Sanskrit
Vedas and Puranas, Andal creates imagery that is possibly unparalleled in the
whole gamut of Indian religious literature. However, conservative Vaishnavite
institutions do not encourage the propagation of Nachiar Tirumozhi as much as
they encourage Tiruppavai. This is because Nachiar Tirumozhi is belongs to an
erotic genre of spirituality that is similar to Jayadeva's Gita
Govinda.
The impact of these works on the daily religious life of the
South Indian has been tremendous. Just like the Ramayana and
the Mahabharata,
the Thiruppavai
is recited with great religious fervor by women, men, and children of all ages,
particularly in Tamil Nadu. The daily services in most Vaishnava temples and
households include this recitation. Both of these works, particularly the
Thiruppavai, has been studied extensively by innumerable scholars. It has also
been translated into a number of languages over the centuries.
Status in the Society
Andal is now one of the best-loved poet-saints of the
Tamils. Pious 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. She
is present in all Sri Vaishnava temples, in India and elsewhere, next to her Bhagavan
Sri Maha Vishnu, as she always desired. During the month of Margazhi,
discourses on the Tiruppavai in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and English take
place all over India. [7]
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