Sri Andal
Place: Srivilliputtur
Year: Nala
Month: Adi
Star: Pooram
Paksha: Sukla paksham
Tithi: Chaturti
Amsam (incarnation of): Bhoomi devi
Compilation: Thiruppavai, Nacchiyar Thirumozhi
Also known as: Godha devi, Choodikkodutha Nacchiyar
Thaniyan (Invocatory verse of glorification to an Acharya which is usually composed by a disciple)
Thirunakshatra tanian
karkate: pu:rva phalgunya:m thulasi: ka:nano:dbhava:m |
pa:ndye: visvambhara:m go:da:m vande: sri:rangana:yaki:m ||
Nithya tanian
ni:la: thunga sthana girithati: suptham udbo:dhya krushnam
pa:ra:rtthyam svam sruthi satha siras sidham adhya:payanthi:|
Svo:chchhishta:ya:m sraji nigalitham ya: bala:th kruthya bhunkthe:
go:da: thasyai nama idam idam bhu:ya e:va:sthu bhu:yaha ||
I offer my obeisances to Godha devi again and again. She is the one who woke up KrishNa who was resting on the breasts of Nila devi, the one who announced her parathanthriyam (which is the ultimate principle highlighted in vedham) to Bhagavan himself and the one who fully enjoyed EmperumAn who wore the garlands that were once worn by her.
Azhwar’s history
Andal or Godha Devi is an incarnation of Bhudevi (Mother Earth), one of the consorts of Lord Narayana. Andal manifested as an infant in the flower garden of the saint Periya azhwar (Vishnuchitta) in a place called Srivilliputtur.
Periyalvar took Andal as his daughter. She was immensely devoted to Lord VatapathraSayi and would wear the garlands prepared by her father before offering them to the Lord, to see if she was qualified enough to be the spouse of the Supreme Lord. Periyalvar did not realise that Andal has been wearing the garlands before being offered until one day he found out and got upset. The following day Periyalvar prepared and went to offer the garland to Lord VatapathraSayi but the Supreme Lord refused it by saying that He would only accept the garland if it was worn by Andal first. Through this conversation Periyalvar understood the divinity of Andal and her devotion towards the Lord.
This devotion of Andal led her to observe a penance in the month of margazhi / dhanur masam to obtain Sri Krishna Himself, which is popularly known as Thiruppavai consisting of thirty verses. Nachiyar Thirumozhi is another work consisting of 143 verses
At an age of eight years, when Andal’s father Periyalwar was looking to get her married to a suitable groom, Andal insisted that the Supreme Lord was Her eternal spouse. The Lord came into the dream of the local king Vallabha Deva of Srirangam asking him to make arrangements for bringing Andal. When Andal arrived at Srirangam temple, she went in and merged with Sri Ranganatha. On seeing Periyalwar’s mood of separation from Andal, Sri Ranganatha along with Andal came in a deity form to Srivilliputur and to this day are residing there
Swami Vedanta Desika has paid his tribute of praise to Mother Andal in his unique hymn called Godastuti that comprises of twenty nine verses which is both high philosophy and sublime poetry.
Bhagvad Ramanujacharya was a great devotee of Sri Andal and Thiruppavai which earned for him the titles of Koil Annan (Elder brother) and Thiruppavai Jeeyar