Return to the index of "Other Women's Voices."
Updated 11-22-11
Antal/ Andal/ Kotai /Goda (800s)
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"SUMMON THE LORD WHO MEASURED THE WORLDS TO ME."
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Antal (or Andal; originally named Kotai or, in Sanskrit, Goda) 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.
Kotai lived in the Tamil city of Villiputtur and was raised by another alvar, Periyalvar /Visnucitta, the chief priest of the city. 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; it was then that she came to be called Antal ("she who ruled"). Her images are still honored in Tamil Vaishnava temples.
Kotai /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:
Links to helpful sites online
Excerpts from a translation in print.
Information about secondary sources
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1. Translations of the entire Tiruppavai:
(a) The Wikipedia entry on Tiruppavai provides a general overview of the poem and a prose translation by P. R. Ramachander (you can link to an entry on Antal).
(b) Links to the 30 sections, (pasurams) of the poem (given in groups of three), translated by Chenni Padmanabhan.
3. For individual sections of Tiruppavai:
(a) "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) At the bottom of the page, "Mal, Jewel-coloured Lord" (#26) translated by Norman Cutler (Mal is one of the names of Vishnu).
(d) After the transliterated original, another version of #26, "The Noblest! Carbuncle Hued!" with commentary, (then, at the bottom of the page, links to translations of stanza #s 20-24).
(e) "In morning's small hours we came to adore," (#29), translated by Paula Marvelly.
4. Passages from Nacciyar Tirumoli:
(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.
(d) From stanza #11, "Fair mothers, my sweet ambrosia," translated by Marvelly.
5. Essays, etc.:
(a) "To Love God Body and Soul, Like Antal" (2010), by Francis X. Clooney, describes Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirumoli, and quotes several passages from each, in translations by Archana Venkatesan (for more from Venkatesan, see below, under "In print").
(b) 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.
(c) An illustrated introduction to Antal, by Krishna Priya, with links to sections of Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirumoli, and to other relevant material.
(d) A brief description of a 2000 dance program based on Nacciyar Tirumoli, which includes brief comments on both of Antal's works.
6. Reviews (for information on the other books' treatment of Antal, see "Secondary sources"):
(a) Prema Nandakumar on Dennis Hudson's 2010 essay collection, Krishna's Mandala: Bhagavata Religion and Beyond.
(b) Sandip Roy on Wendy Doniger's 2009 book, The Hindus: An Alternative History; elsewhere, another review, this by Michael Dirda; and yet another, by Georganna Hancock.
(c) Timothy Conway on Vijaya Ramaswamy's 1997 study, Walking Naked: Women, Society, Spirituality in South India.
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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[In addition to a new translation of Antal's two poems, Archana Venkatesan provides a detailed introduction to the works and their use in liturgical worship. The commentary and notes cover the entire history of interpretation, while appendices and a glossary explain images and terminology to a western reader. The bibliography covers studies through 2009. (See the book's table of contents online.):]
The secret garland: Antal's Tiruppavai and Nacciyar tirumoli
/ translated with introduction and commentary by Archana Venkatesan
(AAR religion in translation). New York: Oxford University Press,
2010. (ix, 262 p.)
LC#: PL4758.9.A58 T5339 2010; ISBN: 9780195391749, 9780195391756
Includes bibliographical references and index
Tiruppavai
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"Bless us with your presence."
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[Toward the end of the poem, the group of girls who vow to seek Krishna in order to find a virtuous husband come near to the god and call to him by comparing him to an awakening lion. The final line ends each stanza: "Listen, consider this vow":]
A fierce lion asleep
in a mountain cave
for the season of the rains
comes awake:
He opens his fiery eyes
shakes himself
and his fragrant mane flies in all directions.
He stretches slowly
roars
and sets out.
Just so, O lord
dark as the puvai blossoms
come out from your palace
and bless us with your presence---
Seated upon your splendid lion-throne
consider our prayers
and bestow your grace on us,
el or empavay. [Verse 25; p. 73]
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"His Kotai sang a garland of thirty songs."
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[In the last verse, Kotai /Antal identifies herself and promises grace to those who recite the poem. The parai is a small drum, here used to represent any desired object. Kesava, Madhava, and Tirumal are names for Krishna:]
The priest of beautiful Putavai
who wears a garland of pure, cool lotuses
his Kotai
sang a garland of thirty songs in Cankam Tamil
about cowherd women with faces bright as the moon
who adorned in beautiful jewels
won the parai-drum,
Worshiping
Kesava, that very Madhava
who churned the ocean
with its many waves
and those who flawlessly recite these verses
will instantly earn the reward
of the grace of our beloved Tirumal
whose eyes and face are radiant
whose four shoulders are like four dark mountains.
and having received all this
they will be joyful forever.
el or empavay. [Verse 30; p.80]
Nacciyar Tirumoli
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"Such a vision I dreamed, my friend."
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[From the most popular of the hymns, one often sung at Vaishnava
weddings, when the bride and groom are considered embodiments
of Antal and Vishnu. Indra is the supreme Vedic god, Antari the
mother-goddess; the other names are titles of Vishnu:]
Surrounded by a thousand elephants, Narana
my great lord strode through the festive streets.
Every threshold was decked
with bright banners and auspicious golden pots.
Such a vision I dreamed, my friend.
They decreed, "Tomorrow is the auspicious day of your
wedding!"
The proud young lion Madhava,
that Govinda of bull-like power entered the green canopy
decorated with palm fronds and areca nut.
Such a vision I dreamed, my friend.
Indra and the entire clan of gods arrived,
approved me as his bride and chanted sacred verses.
Antari draped me in the bridal garment
and placed the bridal garland about my neck.
Such a vision I dreamed, my friend....
Beautiful young maidens carrying bright golden pots
danced and greeted the lord of Mathura,
who wore lovely sandals on his feet.
And as he strolled, the earth trembled.
Such a vision I dreamed, my friend....
We were smeared with vermilion and cool sandalwood
then he and I together rode on the elephants
and circled the festive streets
They drenched us in fragrant waters.
Such a vision I dreamed, my friend.
Kotai of the king of Villiputtar
city of Vaisnava fame
wove this garland of pure Tamil
of her dream for the lord of cowherds.
Those who perfect these two times five verses
will find joy in their noble and fine children. [Verses
6.1-3, 6.5, 6.10-11; pp. 163-65]
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"I will have to drive you away."
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[But most of Antal's poems are of separation from the beloved, not union. Here, she pleads with the kuyil (the Indian cuckoo), first trying to bribe it to become her messenger, and then threatening it. The conch shell is a symbol of Vishnu's power:]
My perfect lord
who holds the spotless white conch in his left hand
refuses to reveal himself to me.
Instead he enters me, tortures me all day,
toys with my life,
and leads me on on a merry dance:
O kuyil singing drunkenly
having sipped the honey
of the bursting campaka blossoms
don't evade me.
Murmur a summons to the Lord of Venkatam
and make him come to me....
Because I ache
to gaze upon the golden feet
of the lord of Villiputtar,
where graceful swans flit about and play,
my eyes fight sleep
like two sparring kayal fish.
O kuyil, I will make my pretty parrot
pampered with sweet treats,
your companion,
if only you will sing and summon
the lord who measured the worlds
to me.....
Unable to love and serve the lord
who measured the worlds,
I suffer. The hot southern breeze
and the cool bright moon heighten my anguish
Where is the justice in this?
And you too kuyil linger here.
Do not increase my pain further.
If you don't sing your song of summons
to Narayana, at least today
I will have to drive you away.... [Verses
5.2, 5.5, 5.10; pp. 159-62]
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"Bid me farewell. I will accept even that."
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[Kotai /Antal challenges "the great lord who made her suffer":]
I melt. I fray. But he does not care
if I live or die.
If that stealthy thief, that duplicitous Govardhana
should even glance at me
I shall pluck these useless breasts of mine
from their roots
I will fling them at his chest
and staunch the fire scorching me.
What is the purpose of future penance
if in this life, I cannot serve my Govinda
in small familiar ways and end to anguish
of my swollen and tender breasts?
Let him enfold me to his perfect chest
or let him stand before me,
face me and bid me farewell.
I will accept even that.
Proud Kotai of Visnucittan,
master of Villiputuvai
maiden with dark arching brows
that surpass the curve of his bow,
sang of her intense yearning and love
for the radiant beacon of Ayarpati,
the great lord who made her suffer.
Those who expertly sing these words of praise
will never flail in the ocean of sorrows. [Verse
13.8-10; p.185]
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[Although not as detailed in its supplementary material as Venkatesan's book (above), Vidya Dehejia's 1990 translation of the two poems is accompanied by a useful introduction and notes. (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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[This collection of Dennis Hudson's essays include three on Antal: "Andal Alvar: A Developing Hagiography" (originally published in 1993), "Andal's Desire" (1995-96), and " Bathing in Krishna" (2000); taken together, the three constitute an account of Antal's life and legend, and a clear explanation of Antal's liturgical references and use of symbolism through a close reading of two poems. Hudson gives his prose translation of quoted passages, and the detailed notes provide a summary of critical views on Antal. (See the book's table of contents online.):]
Hudson, D. Dennis. Krishna's mandala: Bhagavata religion and
beyond; edited and introduced by John Stratton Hawley with a
foreword by Romila Thapar. New Delhi: Oxford University Press,
2010. (xxxvi, 298 p.: ill., map)
LC#: BL1284.532.T36 .H83 2010; ISBN: 9780198062769
Includes 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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[One of Wendy Doniger's goals for her "alternative history" is to show "the contributions of women, the lower castes, and other religions" (p.18). One of her chapters, "Bhakti in South India," provides a detailed description of 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.)]
Doniger, Wendy. The Hindus: an alternative history. New York:
Penguin Press, c2009. (779 p.: ill., maps)
LC#: BL1151.3 .D66 2009; ISBN: 9780670020317
Includes bibliographical references (p. [729]-753) and index.
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Updated 11-22-11