Antal, Āṇṭāl, Āṇḍāl, Andal: 7 definitions

Introduction:

Antal means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India, Tamil. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

Images (photo gallery)

In Hinduism

Shilpashastra (iconography)

Source: Shodhganga: The significance of the mūla-beras (śilpa)

Āṇṭāl is the name of a deity depicted at the Ulagalantha Perumal Temple in Kanchipuram (Kāñcīpuram), representing a sacred place for the worship of Viṣṇu.—Āṇṭāl is found standing in samabhaṅga posture with two hands. The left hand holds the flower in kaṭaka-hasta and the right hand holds dolā. In dance, Āṇṭāl, is depicted as standing in samapāda-sthānaka. She is found with kapittha in the left hand and dolā-hasta in the right hand.

Ānṭāl also depicted at the  Kallazhagar Temple in  Madurai, which represents a sacred place for the worship of Viṣṇu.—Ānṭāl is represented standing in atibhaṅga with two hands. The right hand is in kaṭaka-hasta and the left hand in dolā-hasta. This image is made of stone. In front of the stone figure, there is another image of Ānṭāl in sukhāsana pose with the same hands.

Āṇṭāl is also depicted at the Andal Temple in Srivilliputtur (Villiputtur or Thiruvilliputtur), representing a sacred place for the worship of The Goddess (Devī).—Ānṭāl is represented as standing in samapāda in samabhaṅga posture with two hands. The left hand holds kaṭaka-hasta and the right hand is in dolā. In dance, Ānṭāl is represented in samapāda-sthānaka with the left hand in kapittha-hasta and the right hand in dolā-hasta.

Shilpashastra book cover
context information

Shilpashastra (शिल्पशास्त्र, śilpaśāstra) represents the ancient Indian science (shastra) of creative arts (shilpa) such as sculpture, iconography and painting. Closely related to Vastushastra (architecture), they often share the same literature.

Discover the meaning of antal in the context of Shilpashastra from relevant books on Exotic India

Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)

Source: academia.edu: Dvādaśa-mūrti in Tamil Tradition

Āṇṭāḷ (ஆண்டாள்) refers to one of the twelve Āḻvār saints of Tamil Nadu (India), according to the Āṟāyirappati-Kuruparamparāprapāvam (pp. 8-101).

Vaishnavism book cover
context information

Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).

Discover the meaning of antal in the context of Vaishnavism from relevant books on Exotic India

General definition (in Hinduism)

Source: Google Books: The Secret Garland

Āṇṭāḷ is the only woman of the twelve āḻvār poets (600-900 C.E.), whose devotional poems comprise the Nālāyira Divya Prabandham (The Divine Collection of Four Thousand), the Tamiḻ canon of the Śrīvaiṣṇavas. But Āṇṭāḷ’s position as one of the āḻvār is tenuous, and she is sometimes excluded from this list.

Source: Oxford Bibliographies: Hinduism

Āṇṭāḷ is the epithet of the 9th-century Tamil female Vaishnava poet named Kōtai. She is the author of two major mystical poems, the Tiruppāvai and Nācciyār Tirumoḻi, both of which are included in the first book (Mutal Āyiram) of the Nālāyira Divya Prabandham (Divine Collection of Four Thousand). The sect of Śrīvaiṣṇavas consider the Divya Prabandham to be revealed. Within this formulation Āṇṭāḷ’s two compositions are regarded as equivalent to the Upanishads. Āṇṭāḷ whose name means “she who rules,” is counted as one of the twelve Āḻvār poets. However as she is believed to have married Viṣṇu, she is also sometimes left out of the list of Āḻvār poets, and is instead worshipped as a manifestation of Bhū Devī, the goddess Earth. As one of the most important and popular figures in Tamil Vaishnavism, there is a wide range of source material—primary and secondary—produced about Āṇṭāḷ. This includes traditional hagiographies, commentaries to her two poems in Maṇipravāḷa, Tamil, and Sanskrit, in addition to a substantial bibliography in English. This article focuses on the most significant primary and secondary sources about Āṇṭāḷ ––with an emphasis on her crucial role in the formation of Tamil Vaishnavism, both as a participant in the religious milieu of 9th-century devotionalism and as a recipient of devotion and religious practice in the period thereafter.

India history and geography

Source: academic.ru: South Asian Arts

Āṇṭāḷ (8th century), a Vaiṣṇava poetess, is literally love-sick for Krishna. Periyāḻvār, her father, sings of Krishna in the aspect of a divine child, originating a new genre of celebrant poetry.

Source: Shodhganga: The significance of the mūla-beras (history)

Andal Temple in Srivilliputtur (Villiputtur or Thiruvilliputtur) represents a sacred place for the worship of The Goddess (Devī).—The vast Śrī Āṇṭāl Temple in Sri Villiputtur is the birthplace of Ānṭ al, one of the twelve Al vārs and the author of the revered Tiruppāvai hymns. Thiruvilliputtur,.is another name for Srivilliputtur.

According to he Sthala-purāṇa, Lord Viṣṇu appeared in the dream of Periyālvār and told him that the garland worn by Kotai was the best garland for him. Since then, she came to be called Āṇṭāl. Periyālvār was worried as to how to unite Āṇṭāl with Lord Kṛṣṇa. The lord appeared in his dream and told him to bring Āṇṭāl to Tiruvaraṅgam and, when Āṇṭāl went to Tiruvaraṅgam with full love for the lord, she got united with the lord. The garden where Periyālvār made garlands for the lord is still maintained well. The garden is called “Tirupura Nandavanam” and it is in this garden that Āṇṭāl was also found as a baby under the tulasi plant on Adipura Star. Thus, in Thiruvilliputtur, the Āṇṭāl Temple is present near the Tirupura Nandavanamand the Vaṭabhadra Śayana Temple.

India history book cover
context information

The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.

Discover the meaning of antal in the context of India history from relevant books on Exotic India

Languages of India and abroad

Tamil dictionary

Source: DDSA: University of Madras: Tamil Lexicon

Āṇṭāḷ (ஆண்டாள்) noun < idem. A Vaiṣṇava saint, daughter of Periyāḻvār, and author of the Tiruppāvai and the Nāycciyār-tirumoḻi; சூடிக்கொடுத்த நாய்ச்சியார். [sudikkodutha naychiyar.]

context information

Tamil is an ancient language of India from the Dravidian family spoken by roughly 250 million people mainly in southern India and Sri Lanka.

Discover the meaning of antal in the context of Tamil from relevant books on Exotic India

See also (Relevant definitions)

Relevant text

Related products

Like what you read? Consider supporting this website: