According to tradition, Andal is Bhudevi herself. Periyalwar found her as a baby under a Tulasi plant in his garden at Srivilliputhur, named her Kodhai, and raised her as his daughter. She grew up on her father's stories of Krishna, and from childhood she would accept no one but the Lord as her husband.
Every day she secretly wore the garland her father had made for the Lord, looked at herself to see whether she was fit to be His bride, and put it back. One day Periyalwar found a hair in the garland and, troubled, made a fresh one. That night Perumal told him in a dream that He wanted only the garlands she had worn. So she is called Sudikkodutha Nachiyar, the lady who gave what she had first worn, and Andal, the one who ruled over the Lord.
Her Tiruppavai (30 verses) is sung in every Sri Vaishnava home in the month of Margazhi. In it she becomes a cowherd girl of Ayarpadi, waking her friends before dawn for a vow, going with them to Krishna's door, and asking for one thing only: to serve Him always. Her Nachiyar Tirumozhi (143 verses) pours out her longing for the Lord; in its sixth decad she dreams of her wedding to Him.
At Perumal's word, Periyalwar brought her as a bride to Srirangam, where she merged into Sri Ranganatha. She is the only woman among the Alwars. Sri Ramanuja loved Tiruppavai so much that he is called Tiruppavai Jeeyar. He fulfilled a vow she had made to the Lord of Thirumaliruncholai (Nachiyar Tirumozhi 9.6), and she greeted him as her elder brother, Koil Annan.
A pasuram to begin with
Tiruppavai 1 · verse 474 of the four thousand
Andal imagines the girls of Ayarpadi beginning their Margazhi vow. The first verse gathers them together and names the One who will give them what they seek.
Meaning
It is the month of Margazhi, and the moon is full: a blessed day! Come, you who wish to bathe, come, girls adorned with fine jewels, rich young girls of Ayarpadi, full of good things. The son of Nandagopa, who wields a sharp spear, the young lion of Yashoda with her lovely eyes, He of the dark body, the red eyes, and a face like the sun and the moon: Narayana Himself will give us the parai. Bathe, so that the world may praise us. This is our vow.
Word by word
- mārkaḻit tiṅkaḷ
- the month of Margazhi
- mati niṟainta naṉṉāḷāl
- the blessed day when the moon is full
- nīrāṭap pōtuvīr
- you who wish to go and bathe
- nēriḻaiyīr
- girls adorned with fine jewels
- nantakōpaṉ kumaraṉ
- the son of Nandagopa
- yacōtai iḷañciṅkam
- the young lion of Yashoda
- nārāyaṇaṉē
- Narayana Himself, and no other
- paṟai
- the drum the girls ask for; the elders read it as the goal they seek, service to Him
- ēlōr empāvāy
- the refrain of the vow: "this is our vow"
The verse is from the e-text of the Nalayira Divya Prabandham by Project Madurai. The meaning is a simple rendering in the light of the acharyas' commentaries, and is awaiting a scholar's review.
Ask Sri Paduka about this pasuram →All the pasurams
Andal sang 173 pasurams. Each one is here in English letters, with a simple meaning and the meanings of its key words.