Available online. URL: http://www.hinduism-today.com/
archives/1986/08/1986-08-06.shtml. Accessed August
15, 2005; Emily Matulay and Shantibaba, Spontaneous
Meditation (Basalt, Colo.: Anasuya, 1983).
ancestor worship
Worship of the ancestors (pitris) is a tradition in
India dating to Vedic times (c. 1500 B.C.E.) Tradi-
tionally, a man is expected to offer libations of oil
and water to his deceased father, grandfather, and
great-grandfather. The anniversary of the deaths
of one’s mother and father must also be celebrated
with formalities, including the offering of balls of
rice to the ancestors. (Ancestors are presumed to
be in heaven but must be fed by their progeny.)
Funeral rituals always include a worship of ances-
tors with offerings of rice balls. Among five sac-
rificial rites that are enjoined daily for BRAHMINS,
worshippers must “sacrifice to the ancestors” by
ritually pouring out a glass of water to them.
There is an inherent paradox in this practice.
The very ancient Vedic rites assume that the
departed have gone to a heavenly realm. How-
ever, such notions have long been superseded
by the orthodox Hindu understanding that most
departed souls will be reincarnated in a new form
in this realm.
Further reading: Abbe J. A. Dubois, Hindu Manners,
Customs and Ceremonies. Translated by Henry K. Beau-
champ. 3rd ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959); Klaus
K. Klostermaier, A Survey of Hinduism (Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1994); Dakshina Ranjan
Shastri, Origin and Development of Rituals of Ancestor
Worship in India (Calcutta: Bookland, 1963).
Andal (c. ninth century C.E.)
Andal was the only woman among the ALVARS, the
12 Tamil Vaishnavite saints.
There are no reliable historical data on Andal,
only two hagiographies. Tradition says she was
born in Srivilliputtur in the southern state of
Tamil Nadu. Her father, Vishnucitta, who was
also a saint under the name Periyalvar, is said
to have found her as an infant girl while he was
hoeing his sacred basil (basil or TULSI is sacred to
VISHNU). The infant was recognized as an incarna-
tion of Bhudevi, the goddess of the Earth, who is
consort and wife of VISHNU and a form of sri.
Andal’s father raised her as though she were
Sri herself. As a young girl, when her father was
absent, she would dress up as a bride and put on
the garland her father had set aside to be offered
to the Lord Vishnu. Any handling of PUJA flow-
ers ordinarily makes them unfit for offering, and
when her father discovered her doing this, he
was very upset. He put the flowers aside and did
his puja without the garland. That night Vishnu
appeared to Periyalvar in a dream, saying that
Andal’s wearing of the garland had increased its
desirability to him.
After this time Andal became even more focused
on worship of Vishnu. She refused ordinary marriage,
wishing only to be a bride of Vishnu. She composed
Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirmoli, two poetic works
in devotion to Vishnu. Not knowing which form of
Vishnu his daughter was obsessed with, Periyalvar
sang songs to each of the 108 manifestations of
the Lord in various places. Andal responded to the
song to the Lord of SRIRANGAM, the most prominent
South Indian Vaishnavite (see VAISHNAVISM) shrine.
Once again, in a dream, Vishnu appeared to Peri-
yalvar and said that he would accept Andal as his
bride. It is said that Vishnu himself arranged for
Andal to be taken from Srivilliputtur to Srirangam
with a fabulous marriage party. When she arrived
at the shrine she approached the reclining image of
Vishnu there and disappeared into his image, never
to be seen again.
Both of Andal’s short poems, which are
included in the Tamil Vaishnavite sacred text
Nalayira Divya Prabandhan, use Tamil motifs to
praise Vishnu. Her Nacciyar Tirumoli focuses
particularly on Vishnu’s forms as Krishna and
Venkatanatha (see TIRUPATI). The sixth hymn of
Nacciyar Tirumoli, which reenacts all the mar-K 36 ancestor worship