As with many female bhakti figures,
Andal had a particularly passionate rela-
tionship with her chosen deity, whom
she considered her betrothed husband.
This deity was Ranganatha, a particular
form of Vishnu resident at the temple of
Shrirangamin the state of Tamil Nadu.
According to legend, Andal was an
earthly manifestation of Vishnu’swife
Bhudevi (“Earth Goddess”) and
appeared as an abandoned baby to her
foster father, Periyalvar, another of the
Alvars. When she came of age, she was
adamant that she would have no human
husband and merged into the image of
Ranganatha at Shrirangam.
Although many of the details about
her life are uncertain, Andal did
compose two collections of poetry,
the Tirruppava i and the Nacciyar
Tirumoli, both of which are dedicated
to Vishnu in his form as Krishna. For
further information see Vidya Dehejia
(trans.), Antal and Her Path of Love, 1990.
Andhaka
(“blind”) In Hindu mythology, a
demonborn from the darkness that
arises when the goddess Parvatiplay-
fully covers her husband Shiva’s
eyes with her hands. Shiva names
him Andhaka because he arises from
darkness. Andhaka lusts after Parvati
and continues to pursue her, despite
repeated remonstrances that
approaching another man’s wife is
improper. Eventually he goes all the
way to Shiva’s home on Mount Kailas,
where the god kills him.Andhra
Brahminsubcommunity that is one of
the five southern brahmin communi-
ties (Pancha Dravida). As their name
would indicate, the core region for the
Andhra brahmins is located in the
modern state of Andhra Pradesh.Andhra Pradesh
Modern southern Indian state. Andhra
Pradesh is one of the so-called linguistic
states formed after independence to
unite people with a common language
and culture (in this case, Telegu) under
one state government.
In the case of Andhra Pradesh, this
was done by combining the princelyAndhaka
Temple of Venkateshvara in the town of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.