(I have added additional information which reached me courtesy the readers of this post when it was first published, for which I am deeply grateful as these inputs have expanded the scope of this post)
Mirabhai stands as one of the greatest saints and songwriters of Rajasthan. Although there is a myriad of controversial debates questioning her factual existence and actual poems written, one cannot deny the brilliance in her simple poetical verses and songs describing her yearnings to unite with her Lord and adoration of the 'leelas' or divine dramas played by her bosom Lord Krishna (these are used to verbally garland the Divine Lord Shri Krishna in most parts of northern India to this day)
Shri Andal incarnated a few centuries before the advent of Mirabhai in Srivilliputhur in present day Tamil Nadu as a lone child, found by Shri Periazhwaar in his garden, who raised her as his own. Andal too has penned a variety of poems and verses not only describing in detail her yearning to become one with her dear Lord Sri Ranganathar (the reposing version of Lord Vishnu) but also lucidly stating the morals of virtue, piety, devotion and total surrender to the Lord.
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| Mirabhai and Shri Andal |
Hoping to have given the reader a satisfying overview of these devotees of the Supreme Being, I continue with what drew me to both of them simultaneously.
While in the first few paragraphs, I had stated what I felt to be the similarities in their journeys (unconditional love and intense devotion to the Lord leading to a waterfall of verses in His adoration), I now venture to state the startling differences in their paths which ultimately lead them to their one goal.
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In the narrative of the life of Shri Andal that I have read in this book , she was brought up in a very simple, rustic manner by a man who was a great saint himself, Sri Periazhwar (also known as Vishnuchithar), in an atmosphere of constant love, devotion and surrender to Lord Ranganathar (Lord Vishnu).
In the story, Andal is found as a little baby girl in Vishnuchithar's garden, who, after ensuring that she was not an accidentally lost baby, took her up as his own child and fondly named her Godhai (also known as Godhaa). Vishnuchithar lovingly inculcated a strong devotion and love for Lord Vishnu in his daughter; the very food partaken by the father-daughter duo was the 'prasadam' or the sanctified food given at temples (and other places of devotional worship); such was their devotion to their Lord.
As per the commentary of Sri Velukkudi Swami, when Godhai was a little baby at the stage where babies usually begin to utter their first words by mimicking those syllabus constantly uttered by people in their immediate vicinity, she could not utter any basic words but could very clearly and distinctly call out "Perumaal.." !!
(Perumaal is a synonym of Lord Ranganathar or Lord Vishnu)
Her father had a habit of spinning beautiful fragrant flower garlands to adorn the Lord's physical manifestation as an Idol of the local Ranganathar temple and such was his determination that only the Lord should enjoy the fragrance of the flowers that he would cover his nose while plucking those flowers to avoid inhaling their fragrance! (By modern contrast, this 'nose masking' is the practice we follow nowadays but to avoid the virus and air pollution!) and soon Godhai followed suit, progressing to make beautiful garlands for her Lord.
One day when the garland or "maalai" made for adorning the Lord fell under Godhai's gaze, she doubted if she would ever be a pretty enough bride for her Lord and so she wore the garland, imagined herself as the Lord's bride and inspected her reflection in the mirror. Being satisfied with what she saw, she removed the garland and replaced it in its basket.
Her father Vishnuchithar, unknown to whom this leela had occurred, gave the garland to the temple priest, who adorned the diety with it. Only after placing the garland on the diety did he notice a long strand of black hair on the maalai! Aghast, he immediately returned it to Vishnuchithar and admonished him for sending a garland previously worn by someone else to adorn the Lord, a heinous crime and sin! Vishnuchithar put two and two together and sternly asked his Godhai whether she had done this offence, to which she meekly replied "Yes Father". His boundless love for his Godhai didn't allow him to scold her, but he managed to sternly warn her against repeating the offence. He then made a fresh new garland and gave it to the priest, who adorned the Lord with it.
That night, Vishnuchithar recieved a divine message in his dreams that the Lord was unhappy with that day's garland. Vishnuchithar stated the reasons and begged pardon from the Lord for the offense, to which he recieved a surprising reply that He (the Lord) loved the first garland because it contained the scent of Godhai's pure love for Him and was unhappy to have had that removed!
Vishnuchithar woke up startled and ran to his daughter, bowed down before her out of admiration for her unparalleled bhakthi or devotion to the Lord and renamed her as Andal (the one who rules - or in this case, the one who rules the Lord's heart with love)
As Andal grew up into a young teen of age, she had wisdom and clarity beyond her years and had fixed in a steadfast manner in every atom of her being that she would marry none other than the Lord Himself, for which she took up the 'Paavai Nombu' (a ritual or viradam taken up by girls who seek a fulfilling alliance for their marriage and also by women for ensuring the general well being of their families) at the tender age of around 15, whence she wrote the Thiruppavai - a devotionally inclined set of verses that speak in detail about the practices to be followed during the Paavai Nombu.
And at the age of 16 (as per the story), by divine will, Andalamma was taken as a bride in procession from her home in Srivilliputhur to the home of her lord, Sri Ranganathar Swamy in Srirangam, where she merges with her Lord in divine union.
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A few centuries later manifested Mirabhai, as a princess born in the royal family of Rajasthan. From a very young age, curiosity got the better of Mira and she would constantly inquire about her surroundings and of events new to her view. On one such occasion, she questioned her mother about a celebratory procession taking place outside on the road, to which her mother informed her that it was a marriage procession, where the bride was coming with her groom to live at his home.
The innocent Mira then asks "Who is my groom ma?" (A question which would have startled any mother). Feeling at a loss for words, her mother thankfully finds an idol of Lord Krishna and gives it to Mira, saying that this (Lord Krishna) is her own groom. An ecstatic and overjoyed Mira begins to eat, sleep, play and enjoy with her Lord Krishna, unconsciously planting in her heart, the seeds of unquestionable devotion and unconditional love for her Lord.
As per the traditions of her community, she was married off to Bhoj Raj - the Crown Prince of Mewar, and although she considered Lord Krishna to be her forever Love and Life Partner, she was a loyal wife. But she faced many hurdles to her worship of Shri Krishna not only from her husband's family but also by the constricting societal norms of her times.
Every time she felt content and at a stable place of physical worship, some disruption would occur (the least being rumors spread of her perceived mental madness and the most being attempts to kill her by her family) from each of which Mira would rise miraculously unscathed and with a redoubled vigor in her devotion.
Having felt disturbed from all directions, she flees from her home and travels in pilgrimage to all places relevant to Lord Krishna (Brindavan, Dwaraka etc) where she earns recognition and fame for her devotional style and songs. At last when she feels safe and secure physically to express her love for her Lord limitlessly, a contingent of monks come from Mewar, pleading Mira to return and threatening to abstain from food or water till she obliges.
Feeling helpless once again, Mirabhai beseeches her Lord to take her away from her miseries permanently and she is found the next day apparently merged with the idol of her Lord she had had with her from her childhood.
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I have described their lives in general and now I go ahead to point out the differences I perceived:
Shri Andal | Mirabhai |
Lifetime 16 years | Lifetime 45 years |
Nurtured by Saint Vishnuchithar in his village | Nurtured by Royal Family of Rajasthan |
| Background Rustic she grew up with a few companions in a simplistic, devotional lifestyle hardly exposed to materialism | Background Royal she grew up with all the comforts money could buy along with servants to do her slightest bidding |
| Initiation to Devotion From the time of her miraculous appearance in the garden | Initiation to Devotion At the age of 5, when she received her dear Gopala idol |
| Significant Events The garland wearing incident (one) | Significant Events Repeated attempts to kill her and disrupt her worship after her marriage to Bhoj Raj (many) |
| Penance taken up Paavai Nonmbu | Penance taken up Pilgrimage (on bare feet) to places relevant to Lord Gopala |
Ultimate Union with the Divine Bridal Procession to Srirangam out of joyful surrender | Ultimate Union with the Divine Anguished prayer to Gopala to take her away out of hopeless surrender |
If my reader is interested to deeply view the images I have used as a humble reference to Shri Andal and Mirabhai, one can notice how, in the end,
Shri Andal seems to shine in a brilliant royal lustre
of a young bride excited to unite with her Lord
while Mirabhai seems to shine in a simple humble wise glow
of an aged saint who has given up material life
and yet patiently waits tirelessly to unite with her Lord,
in contrast to their opposite beginnings of a rustic miracle baby and a royal baby respectively!
The startling differences I perceive, as a humble reader of these stories, in the lifetime of these saints, help strengthen my belief that these saints incarnated to show us the different paths that ultimately lead to the divine.
No matter if we are young or old, partnered or single, intellectual or illiterate, matured or naive, we all can experience the bliss of Oneness if we only have unconditional love and devotion to the divinity within us.
Of course, none of our journeys will be the same; some may have a relatively quicker path than others, but the intensity of our devotion helps them quickly clear away unnecessary karma, simplify their life and ultimately experience Divinity within.
I am grateful to have read this book that clearly and lucidly explained the various paths taken up by unique devotees of the Lord since it gave and continues to give me hope that I am protected in my journey and the apparent setbacks or blocks I face are merely to help me discard the layers of my onion ego, to ultimately reveal the divinity within me.
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| A beautiful compilation of Divine stories |
I deeply apologize for any perceived inconsistencies
which hopefully did not distract my readers
from the main focus of this article.
I had focused much more on comparing their journeys
and much less on the factual, historical details concerning their time period
As always, the perceived imperfections are due to foolish me
and the beautiful messages conveyed are due to the boundless Universe