Andal was the lone Female poet-saint among the Alvars from the 9th century.
- The Alvars, a group of twelve poet-saints who lived in southern India during the seventh and tenth centuries, had just one female member.
- The Alvars were all Vishnu worshippers (bhakta), and their emphasis on intense devotion (bhakti) to a personal deity, expressed via hymns sung in Tamil, revolutionized and rejuvenated Hindu religious life.
- Andal had a very intense connection with her chosen god, whom she considered her betrothed spouse, as do many female bhakti figures.
- Ranganatha, a specific form of Vishnu who resides at the Shrirangam temple in Tamil Nadu, was the god in question.
- Andal was an earthly incarnation of Vishnu's bride Bhudevi ("Earth Goddess"), who came to her foster father, Periyalvar, another of the Alvars, as an abandoned infant.
- She was determined that she would not marry a human when she reached adulthood, and she blended into the image of Ranganatha at Shrirangam.
- Andal wrote two volumes of poetry, the Tirruppava I and the Nacciyar Tirumoli, both of which are devoted to Vishnu in his incarnation as Krishna.
- Vidya Dehejia (trans. ), Antal and Her Path of Love, 1990, is a good source of knowledge.
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