भक्ति ! Aka Devotion

Four posts have gone by and how can I resist my temptation to blog about Goddess Andal and her divine implorations to Lord Krishna in the form of tamil poetry. Goddess Andal is an epitome of "Bhakti". The ancient sage Narada from Hindu mythology defines Bhakti as "intense love" for God.

"My Lord, though endless pains afflict me, I will not cease to look for thy mercy." ~ Nammalvar

Though I am not sure how much justice I can do in attempting to describe one of the most extraordinary personalities in the Hindu culture, I am attempting here to give a very brief history borrowing text from several sources. This post is mainly about Goddess Andal who is the only female out of the 12 Alvar saints . Alvar saints in hindu tradition are known to travel from one holy place to another composing and singing poetry out of immense love/ bhakti for their divine beloved Lord Vishnu. Lord Krishna is one incarnation for Lord Vishnu and Goddess Andal's poetry portrays her immense love and yearning for Lord Krishna's divine union. Her compositions exemplify bridal mysticism and include the Tiruppavai and the Nacciyar-Tirumozhi which form part of the Nalayira‑Divyaprabandham. Here goes her simple romantic story.

A devout brahmin named Vishnucitta lived in Villiputtur. One morning, he discovered a cute baby girl with lovely curly hair lying under a tulasi plant in his flower garden. He named her Kothai which in tamil literally means one who has curly hair and 'Godha' in Sanskrit which means one who is dear to the Lord. Kothai grew up in an atmosphere of love and devotion.The love Vishnucitta had for his beloved Lord intensified further in his daughter, and before long she was passionately in love with Lord Krishna.

Entry Gate to Tulasi Maadam where Andal was found

Andal blossomed into a beautiful young woman as she came of marriageable age. When asked to marry, however, she stubbornly refused, saying that she would only agree to 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 his 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 once again was filled with both joy and sadness; joy that his beloved daughter would attain her goal, but sadness
at losing her at the same time. He made all the wedding preparations and arranged for Andal's journey in a palanquin to Srirangam.

SriRangam Temple Gopuram

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 and disappeared in a blaze of glory, having joined her Lord. She was only fifteen at the time. 


                             Translation of the Thiruvaimozhi Paasuram sung in the below link


                                                Andal's Imploration - Click here to Listen :)

In the desire to have the darSanam of the lotus feet of my Lord who resides in SrI villiputtUr with its abundance of the gentle-walking annam birds playing all over, my two beautiful fish-shaped eyes are fighting with each other and refuse to close for sleep. Oh cuckoo! Please warble sweetly so that the perumAn who measured all the worlds will come here. If you do that for me, I will let you be friends with my beautiful pet parrot who has been brought up by me with great care and affection, by being fed delicious food and sweet milk.










                  My visit to Sri Villiputhur - birthplace of Goddess Andal yet again ( thanks to dad ) this weekend and the occasion of Krishna Jayanthi happening today ie. the birthday of Lord Krishna prompted me to write this post. Below is a picture taken at Sri Villiputtur Koyil Pravaham(temple premises). The painting on the wall is that of Lord Ranganatha. 

Reading and learning the life history of Andal and her pure love for god makes me reverberate on the meaning of love . These lines on genuine love from the book "The Road Less Traveled" by M.Scott Peck come to my mind at this point.

When I genuinely love I am extending myself, and when I am extending myself I am growing. The more I love, the longer I love, the larger I become. Genuine love is self-replenishing. The more I nurture the spiritual growth of others, the more my own spiritual growth is nurtured. I am a totally selfish human being. I never do something for somebody else but that I do it for myself.And as I grow through love, so grows my joy, even more present, even more constant. As John Denver sings:

Love is everywhere, I see it.

You are all that you can be, go on and be it.

Life is perfect, I believe it.

Come and play the game with me. 

Ending this post with a birthday wish to Lord Krishna on his birthday today ..

Happy birthday Krishna ! Hope you had a blast ;)          
                                                - As Always 
                                                 Love Vidya ....