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Updated 07-22-08
Antal/ Andal/ Goda /Kotai (mid-800s?)
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"I YEARN FOR HIM WHO ONCE MEASURED THE WORLDS"
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Antal (or Andal, sometimes also called Goda or Kotai) probably lived in the mid-800s in south India; she is one of 12 alvars (saints) --- and the only woman --- in the sacred canon of the Vaishnavas, the followers of Vishnu. By this period, Vishnu and Shiva had become the chief gods of India, and their followers formed the two main branches of Hindu belief.
Antal lived in the Tamil city of Villiputtur and was raised by another alvar, Periyalvar /Visnucitta, one of the city's leaders. She apparently received a thorough education in classical Tamil literature and Sanskrit. Some Vaishnava tradition says she was a foundling who later rejected marriage with a mortal, insisting that she would be the bride only of Vishnu, in his incarnation as Krishna. Krishna accepted her, and she was taken to the god's sanctuary dressed as a bride, where she disappeared. Her images are still honored in Tamil Vaishnava temples.
Antal wrote two works: Tiruppavai /Tirupavai /Thiruppavai (composed of 30 stanzas) is very popular in Tamil-speaking India, still used in temple ritual and sung by girls in hope of a happy marriage; Nacciyar Tirumoli /Nachiar Tirumozhi (14 hymns in 143 stanzas), although highly praised, is, except for one hymn, somewhat less widely sung in a religious setting, perhaps because in it the emphasis is on the individual rather than on the community.
On this page you'll find:
Linls to helpful sites online
Excerpts from translations in print:
Nacciyar Tirumoli
Tiruppavai
Information about secondary sources
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1. Translations of the entire Tiruppavai:
(a) First, an introduction to the poem: the Wikipedia entry on Tiruppavai provides a general overview of poem and a brief summary of each of its 30 stanzas.
(b) Then, links to the 30 sections, (pasurams) of the poem (given in groups of three), translated by Chenni Padmanabhan.
(c) Elsewhere, links to each of the 30 sections, with a commentary on each; the original is given in transliteration.
(d) A literal prose translation by K. Srinivasan, with the tranliterated original.
3. For individual sections of Tiruppavai:
(a) After an introduction, "On the auspicious day full of the moon" (stanza #1), and (at the same site) "As the lamps are lit" (#19); both are translated by Ramani Naidu.
(b) "The eastern sky is brightening" (#8), translated by Mani Varadarajan.
(c) Three later stanzas (#25, 28, 29), translated by S.L.N. Simha.
(d) Another version of stanza #29, "In morning's small hours we came to adore," translated by Paula Marvelly.
4. Links to each of the 14 hymns of Nacciyar Tirumoli, with the transliterated original, a translation by Kalyani Krishnamachari, and views of various commentators.
5. Passages from Nacciyar Tirumoli by other translators:
(a) Use your browser's search function to go to the second use of "Andal" for parts of three hymns: #5's "Desire for the Lord consumes me"; #8's "O cool clouds"; and #10's "O deep great ocean."
(b) Click on "poetry full of longing for Vishnu" for an alternative version of the lines from the tenth hymn that are given above, here translated by Vidya Dehejia, "O great deep ocean, the lord entered into you."
(c) The opening of the most popular song of Nacciyar Tirumoli, #6, "A thousand elephants followed," translated by Dehejia (for more of the poem, see below, under "In print").
(d) From stanza #11, "Fair mothers, my sweet ambrosia," translated by Marvelly.
(e) In an essay on Antal, P.S. Sundaram's translation of a stanza from #13, "If I should meet that Govardhan" (Govardhan refers to Krishna).
6. Essays, etc.:
(a) A 2005 essay by Marvelly, which after a description of the female Indian deities, discusses Antal and both of her poems; several passages are given in Marvelly's translation.
(b) An illustrated introduction to Antal, by Krishna Priya, with links to sections of Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirumoli, and to other relevant material.
(c) "Transmutations of Desire and Power in Bhakti Expressions" (2005), by H.S. Shivaprakash, which uses Tiruppavai as the first of three poems that illustrate the change in the treatment of heroes and lovers from earlier South Indian poetry.
(d) A brief description of a 2000 dance program based on Nacciyar Tirumoli, which includes brief comments on both of Antal's works.
7. Although Antal is mentioned only once (see "Andal"), this 2001 essay by Madhu Kishwar, "Traditional Female Moral Exemplars in India," is a useful introduction for western readers to the roles of women---both deities and devotees.
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[Vidya Dehejia has translated both Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirumoli; her introduction is thorough and the notes detailed. (See the book's table of contents online.):]
Antal and her path of love: poems of a woman saint from South
India / [translated by] Vidya Dehejia (SUNY series in Hindu studies).
Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, c1990.
LC#: PL4758.9.A58 T5313 1990; ISBN: 0791403955, 0791403963
Includes bibliographical references.
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"I dreamt this dream, my friend."
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[The Dehejia excerpts given here are from Nacciyar Tirumoli.
First, from the most popular of the hymns, one often sung
at Vaishnava weddings. Villiputtur was Antal's (Kotai's) home;
her adoptive father was the town leader. Indra is the supreme
Vedic god and Durga the mother-goddess; the other names are titles
of Krishna:]
A thousand elephants followed
as Narana Nampi walked in state.
The town was adorned
with flags and banners,
at every threshold
stood a blessed golden urn---
I dreamt this dream, my friend.
Tomorrow, auspicious day,
the wedding will take place.
A great green awning stood
adorned with shoots of palm and areca.
Entered Madhava of leonine power
the ox-like youth, Govinda---
I dreamt this dream, my friend.
Indra and hosts of gods arrived,
they blest me,
chose me as bride.
The wedding garb
Durga draped upon me,
she decked me
with bridal garland---
I dreamt this dream, my friend....
Young maidens came
to welcome him,
holding golden urns,
lamps glowing like the morning sun.
The lord of Maturai entered
sandal clad,
the earth trembled
to his footsteps---
I dreamt this dream, my friend....
Came my handsome brothers
eyebrows arched like bows,
they drew me forward,
before the fire
they placed my hand
upon the hand of Acutan
of leonine grandeur.
Handfuls of flattened rice
they heaped into the flames---
I dreamt this dream, my friend.
They smeared us
with cool saffron
and sandal paste.
We rode upon the elephant,
circling water-sprinkled streets.
They showered upon us
streams of saffron-fragrant water---
I dreamt this dream, my friend.
Kotai of the king of Villiputtur
town of famed Vaishnavas,
dreamt this dream of the cowherd lord
that she became his.
Those who recite
this pure garland of ten Tamil verses
will live in joy
and bear fine and noble children. [#6:
verses 1-3, 5, 9-11; pp.95-97]
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"Go bring Narayana to me, else I shall drive you away."
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[But most of Antal's poems are of separation from the beloved, not union. Here, the koelbird is the Indian cuckoo; Rama (who defeated Ravana) is an incarnation of Vishnu, and Narayana is one of Vishnu's titles:]
....Koelbird, who lives in flowery groves
of laurel, pear, wild poppy and natal,
fly to my lord of the coral lips,
stay with him,
call his name repeatedly,
ask him
to hasten to my side....
With Matali as charioteer
he fought demonic Ravana,
with a stream of arrows
felled his many heads---
nowhere do I see his form.
O koelbird living with your beloved mate
in groves laden with the fragrance
of fresh-blown flowers,
where humming bees sing,
call my dark gem to me....
I yearn for him
who once measured the worlds.
He has me in his thrall,
I cannot resist his power.
I know not how
the moon and the southern breeze
add to my heartache.
O koel,
do not linger in this grove
and add to my anguish,
go bring Narayana to me
else I shall drive you away. [#5:
verses 1, 3, 10; pp.91-94]
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"Can you gather me into that region of light where dwell
his saints?"
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[The glowing discus held by Vishnu is the sun, so the mundane answer to Antal's last question would appear to be "No."]
O dark mangrove flowers,
where is my lord
dark as the ocean
who sent you in battle array
to battle with me?
To whom indeed shall I complain?
My mind runs
hither and thither
seeking his beautiful garland
of sacred basil;
alas! I cannot control it.
O flowers growing upwards,
go above to the celestial worlds,
to that white radiance,
the source of the Vedas,
from whose right hand
arises the glowing discus---
Without its fiery flame
hurting me,
can you gather me
into that region of light
where dwell his saints? [#10:
verses 1-2; p.111]
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"He should give me leave to go---that also I would accept."
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[Antal/ Kotai challenges "the lord who brought her pain":]
To soothe the grief
of my rounded breasts,
is it not better
in this very birth
to serve Govinda
in little intimate ways,
that wait for a life beyond?
If one day
he would fold me
into his radiant chest,
that would fulfill me.
Else, looking straight at me,
uttering the truth,
he should give me
leave to go---
that also I would accept.
Kotai of Visnucittan
master of the town of Villiputuvai,
she of excellence
whose eyebrows arch like a bow,
poured out her intense longing for
the radiant light of Ayarpati
the lord who brought her pain.
Those who chant
these verses of praise
will never flounder
in the sea of sorrow. [#13:
verses 9-10; p.126]
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[This article by Mohan Ramanan gives a translation of Tiruppavai, along with a useful introduction:]
Ramanan, Mohan. Andal's Tirupavai. Journal of South Asian
Literature, 24:2 (Summer/Fall, 1989), 51-64.
LC#: PK1501 .M34; ISSN: 00250503.
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"...a garland of Tamil songs."
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[The last verse of the poem:]
The Lord,
who is Madhava,
who is Kesava,
who is the boat in the ocean,
the ocean he himself has churned,
begged by the girls
with excellent ornaments
and moon-like faces,
fulfilled their desire.
Kodai,
daughter of the devout Brahmin,
who offers cool, fragrant, green lotus-garlands
to the Lord,
who lives in beautiful Puduvai,
Kodai is the composer of these verses.
These verses,
thirty in number,
a garland of Tamil songs
if sung in this world without fail
will secure the grace of
the Lord of four shoulders,
the red-eyed, red-faced Lord,
who is wealth-incarnate,
the husband of Lakshmi. [pp.63-64]
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[This collection includes an essay by Dennis Hudson, "Antal's Desire," which offers a clear explanation of Antal's liturgical references and use of symbolism through a close reading of the poetry, especially of Nacciyar Tirumoli. Hudson gives his prose translation of many passages from the poems, and the detailed notes provide a summary of critical views on Antal. (See the book's table of contents online.):]
Vaisnavi: women and the worship of Krishna / edited by Steven
J. Rosen. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1996. (301 p.)
LC#: BL1175.A49 V35 1996; ISBN: 8120814371, 812081438X
Includes bibliographical references (p. 288-294) and index
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[Vijaya Ramaswamy's study includes a useful section on Antal (pp. 121-127). (See the book's table of contents online.):]
Ramaswamy, Vijaya. Walking naked: women, society, spirituality
in South India. Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 1997.
(x, 257 p.)
LC#: HQ1393 .V55 1997; ISBN: 8185952396
Includes bibliographical references and index
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[A. J. Ramanujan's essay in this collection, "On Women
Saints," provides a valuable analysis of the similarities
and differences in the lives of the women saints in India, including
Antal:]
The Divine consort: Radha and the goddesses of India / edited
by John Stratton Hawley and Donna Marie Wulff ( Beacon paperback;
734). Boston: Beacon Press, 1986, c1982. (xviii, 414 p., [16]
p. of plates: ill.]
LC#: BL1225.R24 D58 1986; ISBN: 080701303X
Papers presented at a conference held June 1978 at Harvard University,
sponsored by the Center for the Study of World Religions. Includes
index. Bibliography: p. 383-403.
[Originally published: Berkeley, Calif.: Berkeley Religious Studies
Series, c1982. ISBN: 0895811022]
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[Romila Thapar's history of India to 1300 provides useful background information on religious and other aspects of Indian history. Note especially pages 348-57 on the rise of bhakti, the devotional movement of which Antal was one the first major figures. The book has a helpful chronology and glossary. (See the book's table of contents online.):]
Thapar, Romila. Early India: from the origins to A.D. 1300.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. (555 p.)
LC#: DS436.A3 T43 2004; ISBN: 0520238990
Includes bibliographical references and index
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Updated 07-22-08