Margazhi, Margashish, Krishna & Meera : Aandaal, the Tiruppavai and the Quiet Power of Bhakti
"Meera kahe prabhu", is a well-known line found in many bhajans composed by the 16th century mystic poet Meera. However much before her in the 8th century a Saint poet , Aandaal was born at Srivilliputtur in Tamil Nadu. She composed the "Tiruppavai" 30 verses, one for each day in the Tamil calendar of 'Margazhi'.
Come December, we welcome this sacred month of Margashish, or Margazhi, in the Hindu calendar. This month is extremely special for Hindus as Bhagawan Krishnaji himself states in the Bhagavad Gita: “Among the months, I am Margashish.” So traditionally this is a time of great devotion and spiritual discipline as Margazhi invites bhaktas to look inwards and reconnect with the divine.
It is during this month of great devotion we remember Saint Poetess Aandaal, one of the most luminous yet relatively lesser-known figures of the bhakti tradition. While most people are familiar with Meera, the celebrated poet-saint of North India, fewer know of Aandaal, the poet-devotee of Krishna from the South. Yet Aandaal’s devotion, wisdom, and spiritual authority are no less profound.
She was the only woman among the twelve Aalwaars, the great Sri Vaishnava saint-poets of Tamil Nadu. The thirty verses in her Tiruppavai, are not merely hymns of devotion but are layered with philosophical depth, ethical guidance, and social consciousness, reflecting Aandaal’s extraordinary spiritual insight and scriptural understanding.
Despite differences in time and geography there is striking similarity between Meera and Aandaal. Their devotion to Krishna was exclusive and absolute. Meera looked up to Bhagawan Krishnaji as her eternal husband and rejected worldly ties. Similarly for Aandaal, Krishna was her beloved she is therefore believed to have refused an earthly marriage.
Both saints symbolised a divine union, Meera through her legendary merging with Krishna at Dwarka, and Aandaal through her merging with the deity Sri Rangamannar at Srirangam.
Both of them challenged social norms through devotion.
Meera sang and danced in public, defying royal expectations and patriarchal boundaries. Aandaal, in her own quiet yet powerful way, challenged conventions by composing sacred verses traditionally authored by men and by placing women at the centre of spiritual practice, urging young girls to become seekers of divine grace and liberation.
Krishna is intensely personal in their compositions because Meera seeks refuge in him as her beloved especially in moments of suffering. Aandaal addresses Krishna more intimately and with confidence praising, teasing , even questioning to invoke his compassion.
Krishna is not distant or abstract in the verses of Tiruppavai but very accessible, responsive and deeply involved in the lives of his devotees. And Aandaal’s vision expands beyond personal devotion. Meera’s bhakti is a reflection of the self in love and surrender to Him. Andal’s devotion is extraordinary as it embraces the welfare of the entire world. Her verses repeatedly entail spiritual discipline with social good, timely rains, abundant crops, prosperity, harmony, and the removal of suffering.
For Aandaal, true devotion naturally leads to collective well-being.
The Tiruppavai opens with “Margazhi Thingal,” where Andal introduces the sacred vow of the month, inviting young girls to rise early, bathe in holy waters, and seek Krishna’s grace as He is the only saviour who will lead them to salvation.
Her second paasuram or verse , “Vaiyathu Vaazhveergaal,” is like a gentle moral code, singing Krishna's glory, asking us to practise austerity, renounce excess, speak kindly, respect teachers, give generously to the learned and the needy not as rigid commands but compassionate guidance toward a purposeful life.
The third paasuram, “Ongi Ulagalandha Uttaman Perpaadi,” beautifully expresses Aandaal’s belief that devotion benefits not only the individual but society at large. She assures that sincere devotion to Sriman Narayana or Krishna who measured the universe in three strides, will lead to timely rains, flourishing nature with birds, bees and cattle thriving , leading to abundant milk ,food, and universal prosperity. Her vision portrays the fact that sincere spiritualism will give strength to achieve the cosmic balance.
In the fourth paasuram, “Aazhi Mazhai Kanna,” Aandaal invokes Lord Varuna, the deity of rain, describing clouds dark like Krishna, lightning like the Sudarshana Chakra, and thunder like the divine conch. She prays to Him for abundant and impartial rains not for personal pleasure, but for the welfare of all beings. The joy of the devotees lies in the joy of the world.
The remaining twenty-six verses continue this journey from awakening and collective prayer to surrender and ultimate grace culminating in the thirtieth verse on Sankranti / Pongal where Aandaal describes the spiritual merit of reciting the Tiruppavai and observing the Margazhi vow.
If Meera represents the soul crying out in love for God, Aandaal represents the soul leading society toward God. Together, they remind us that bhakti transcends region, language, and era.
As Margazhi unfolds, this blog is both a personal reflection and an invitation, to rediscover Aandaal, to understand the wisdom embedded in her verses, and to walk, verse by verse, toward that final crescendo of grace.
R.Vimala, IAS,
Resident Commissioner & Secretary
Government of Maharashtra, &
PhD Scholar at IIT Bombay
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