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- #ReadWomen: The Secret Garland by Andal
Classical Tamil poetry by Andal
Translated by Archana Venkatesan in the Harper Perennial Volume The Secret Garland, out now in a special Harper Perennial keepsake edition.
Ōṅki Ulakaḷanta
Singing the names
of the perfect one who
spanned worlds with his feet
and measured them
we bathe at dawn
proclaim:
If we undertake this vow
our land will be free from evil
rains will fall three times a month
fish will leap
amidst the thick tall red grain
the spotted bee will sleep
nestled in the dark blue lily
and when we clasp their heavy udders
the great generous cows
will fill our pots without cease
limitless wealth will abound
el or empavay
Āḻi Maḻai Kaṇṇā
Dear rain, withhold nothing from us.
You scoop up the ocean, rise up replete and full:
your body dark
as the primordial lord’s form
supreme in the final deluge.
Flash like the flaming disc
Resound like the Valampuri
held aloft in the hands of Padmanabha
his shoulders broad and beautiful.
Rain without delay
like a shower of arrows
released from his bow
Rain
so we may bathe in Margali
so we may live in this world
so we may rejoice
el or empavay
About the book:
Legend tells us of a young girl in the ninth century who swears to marry none but Vishnu. She appropriates a garland meant for him – a transgressive act, yet one of singular devotion. Born of her boundless, consuming love for Vishnu are the two exquisite Tamil poems, Tiruppaval and Nacciyar Tirumoli. These compositions, in which Vishnu is her awesome, mesmerizing and sometimes cruel lover, give expression to Kotai’s powerful experiences and her vibrant, bold sensuality.
About the author:
Archana Venkatesan is associate professor of comparative literature and religious studies at the University of California, Davis. She was selected as a UC Davis chancellor’s fellow in 2014. Archana has also received numerous grants, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, American Institute of Indian Studies and Fulbright. Her research interests are in the intersection of text and performance in south India, as well as in the translation of early and medieval Tamil poetry into English. She is the author of A Hundred Measures of Time (Penguin Classics, 2014), with Crispin Branfoot, the forthcoming In Andal’s Garden: Art, Ornament and Devotion in Srivilliputtur (Marg, 2015), and a version of The Secret Garland: Andal’s Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirumoli was published by Oxford University Press in 2010. She is also collaborating with Francis Clooney of Harvard University on an English translation of Nammalvar’s Tiruvaymoli.
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