Today is women's day .The woman who at once comes to my mind is Andal,the 16 year old girl who composed verses seeped with devotion to Narayana and that which is also unrivalled in its poetic beauty and stringing of words that never loses its unique charm even if it is read over and over again.
The very fact that her compositions written in 9 th cent AD have not disappeared into the dust of history with passage of time but is still recited in all Sri vaishnavaite temples in all major festivals and in all households during the entire month of Margazhi--DEC to Jan by all vaishnavaites irrespective of age and gender [though it was composed by a young girl for young girls seeking boons from Krishna/ narayana] testifies the great respect and honour bestowed by our ancients on a woman which has been upheld all down through the ages.till today.
Every Sri Vaishnava temple in tamilnadu and elsewhere have in its percinits a mandatory sannidhi that houses the idol of Andal and is regularly worshipped .This is an extraordinary honour conferred upon a woman ,though an mortal as she enjoys a permanent abode nearly at par with that of Lakshmi the goddess of wealth and the consort of Vishnu, the immortal, main deities of sri vaishnava temple.
Andal is not only a shining example of deep devotion and the ability to scale high intellectual and poetic levels that clearly over shadows many a men scholastic, devotional and poetic achievements but it is also the fact that her devotion and skills have been ungrudginly recognised and a very high position has been conferred upon her by succeeding saints and acharyas and devotees by immortalising her works and person.
The very fact that her compositions written in 9 th cent AD have not disappeared into the dust of history with passage of time but is still recited in all Sri vaishnavaite temples in all major festivals and in all households during the entire month of Margazhi--DEC to Jan by all vaishnavaites irrespective of age and gender [though it was composed by a young girl for young girls seeking boons from Krishna/ narayana] testifies the great respect and honour bestowed by our ancients on a woman which has been upheld all down through the ages.till today.
Every Sri Vaishnava temple in tamilnadu and elsewhere have in its percinits a mandatory sannidhi that houses the idol of Andal and is regularly worshipped .This is an extraordinary honour conferred upon a woman ,though an mortal as she enjoys a permanent abode nearly at par with that of Lakshmi the goddess of wealth and the consort of Vishnu, the immortal, main deities of sri vaishnava temple.
Andal is not only a shining example of deep devotion and the ability to scale high intellectual and poetic levels that clearly over shadows many a men scholastic, devotional and poetic achievements but it is also the fact that her devotion and skills have been ungrudginly recognised and a very high position has been conferred upon her by succeeding saints and acharyas and devotees by immortalising her works and person.
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