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 GODHA(ANDAL)

 Vedas and Upanishads have been our life-breath fashioning of our lives for millenniums. However their accessibility to common people and all varnas have always been questioned. Learning of Vedas calls for a guru-shishya relationship extending over a long period. As though to provide an easier option a parallel stream of religious literature based on spontaneous God-experience came into being and it is not much older than 4000 BC, although the estimates bring them much too nearer. This literature going under the name of Naalaayira Divya Prabhandham is a collection of outpourings of a dozen mystics known as azwars who by definition delved deep into divinity. Of them eleven were men and only one was woman-saint by name Andal also known as Godha. Godha composed two works. Thiruppavai and Nacchiyar Thirumozhi. These two works are included in the first thousand of 4000 Divya Prabhandham after her foster-father's Thirumozhi, known as Periazwar Thirumozhi. Periazwar being Her father (capital "H" like in Her here will be used for Godha since she was none other than Bhoodevi Herself). The father and daughter together have contributed more than 600 pasurams or more than fifteen percent of the total Divya Prabhandham. 

GODHA'S UNIQUE LIFE

Before delving into one of the most important sharanāgathi works namely Thiruppavai, it is pertinent to look at the life of its author, Godhā. She was not born into this world like any of us, that is, spending nine months in the womb - even Thretha and Dwapara yuga avatarapurushas had to stay in mother's womb - the only exception possibly being Sri Narasimha. Her birth was very much like Seetha Piratti's. Periazwar signifying that he was a great scholar also known as Pattar Piran (a doyen amongst scholars) had been doing self-allotted Kainkaryam/service of providing Tulasi garlands made by himself and with the Tulasi grown by himself, picked from his own garden. One morning when he went to pick Tulasi, He found a miracle of an attractive baby girl in a Tulasi pit. The day was Nala year, Karkataka Lagna, Shukla Chathurdashi, Tuesday Poorva Phalguni star. Karkate poorvapalgunуam tulasi kananodhbavam. pandyē vishwambarām gбdham vande sriranganayakeem. A bachelor that he was. He could not have expected such a  gift from the Lord, rewarding him as it were for his selfless-service and for (sometime back) doing involuntary ashirvadham to Him through his Thirupallandu (long live the Lord !) which also brought him the title Periazwar.

PERIAZWĀR NAMES THE GIRL GODHA

The Azwar gave an appropriate name to the little girl by calling Her Godha. "Go means speech (vaak) dha - the one who gives it. Also Gava dheeyathé - Godha (She was) given by Bhoodevi. She is also called "Andal" meaning the one who ruled the Lord Himself. In Tamil she is known as "Ködhai’ (the one with beautiful hair). Her ‘paamaalai', the present subject which the Lord accepted, signifies resemblance of Ubhaya Vedhanthas (Sanskrit and Tamil Vedas). In Sanskrit, She is known as Godha and in Tamil Kodhai and for both He is the goal.

UNIQUENESS OF THE PLACE OF HER BIRTH

The place where She was born, Sri Villiputthoor is also known as ‘Sri Varāha Kshethra’ - Sri Varāha and Bhoodevi have had an important connection for upliftment of chethanas(jivAs). Bhoodevi prevailed on Varaha Perumal to assure that He will accept sinning chethanas after sharanagathi. Further this - the eighth holy place in the list of the eighteen in the then wealthy and dharmic Pandya Kingdom.The other name for this holy city is "Pudhuvai'. The deity here is Sri Vatapathrashayee, who became Sri Krishna for Godha and He became the centre for worship for southern gopis, which we will examine later. The place also had Achārya anugraha(grace) in the form of Periazwar, who looked after that place. And the deity Bhoodevi Herself, who chose to be born as Godha, selected Sri Villiputthoor! A combination of gold, pearls  and gemstone.  

GIRL IMBIBES VEDANTA

Periazwār started teaching Rāmāyana, Bhagavatha etc to his daughter when she was very young, the age when ordinary children start playing. Godha imbibes all shastric imports, and Lord's Kalyana gunas which her father used to explain to Her. This learning led to Her deep ‘bhakthi’ in the Lord. Bhakthi according to a suthra is pure love and is ambrosial in nature.

SELF-WORN GARLAND SENT TO THE LORD: "SHOODIKODUTTHA NĀCCHIYAR"

The first revelation about Godha's avatara was somewhat of a shock to Her father ! The young girl hadobserved Her father making garlands and offering them to Vatapathrashayee (translated as the Lord lying supine on a fig leaf). Curious enough, she started wearing Herself the garlands to see as to how the Lord would appear with them and She would put them back into the basket as though nothing was amiss. One day the truth broke out and the azwār realized that he was offering the same garlands already worn once by his daughter. Naturally angry, he felt deeply for the apachaaram that was going on for some period, and he stopped supplying garlands. And believe it, the Lord Himself instructs through His archakar in his dream that He wanted only those garlands worn by Godha. Amazed at the divine order, Periazwar follows the instruction. More importantly he reasons out who Godha could be and is now face to face with divinity. In the process Godha earns the title 'Shoodikodutha Nācchiyār'.