Gyaan Adab
Hosted
Between the Lines
ABOUT THE EVENT
In this month’s edition of Between the Lines, we had Chitra Sreedharan demystify the works of the only female Alvar of the twelve Alvar saints, Andal. Sreedharan demystified the works of the saint, Thiruppavai and Nachiyar Thirumozhi, which are recited by devotees during the season of Marghazhi.
The alvars, also spelt as alwars or azhwars ‘those immersed in god’ were Tamil poet-saints of South India who espoused devotion to the Hindu god Vishnu or his avatar Krishna in their songs of longing, ecstasy and service
The Thiruppavai is a Tamil devotional poem attributed to the female poet-saint Andal (also known as Nachiyar, Kodhai or Goda Devi). It consists of thirty stanzas (paasurams) in praise of Thirumal (a manifestation of Lord Vishnu). It is a part of Divya Prabandha, a collection of the works of the twelve Alvars, that is considered an important part of the devotional genre of Tamil literature. In Thiruppavai, Andal gives a universal call to all people to recite the name and glories of Lord Vishnu.
Nachiar Tirumozhi is a set of 143 verses composed by Andal, one of the twelve Azhwars in Vaishanvaite tradition. In her restlessness and eagerness to attain the Kannan, Anadal attempts various methods by which she can attain union with Kannan which forms the major part of work. Among the Thirumozhis, Vaaranam aiyiram is very well known and has a special significance.
Further, Sreedharan highlighted various other aspects of the young saint’s work who was a great contributor to the Bhakti Movement, and is said to have completed both works by the age of 16.
Date: Wednesday, 9th January
Time: 5.30 PM
Entry free
