Nachiyar Tirumoli

Tirumoli literally means "sacred verses" in a Tamil poetic style and nachiyar means "woman", sometimes also translated as goddess. Therefore, the title means "sacred verses of the woman or goddess". This poem fully reveals Andal's intense longing for Vishnu, her divine beloved. Utilising classical Tamil poetic conventions and interspersing stories from the Vedas and the Puranas, Andal creates imagery that is possibly unparalleled in the whole gamut of Indian religious literature.[3][4][5]

These 143 pasurams (verses) are organized in 14 segments and each one is called tirumoli. Each tirumoli deals with one specific topic.[6] The first decad is a set of verses to pray to Kama to seek Krishna as her husband. Andal expresses that she will lose her life if she is married to someone else other than Krishna. The second decad is a compilation of Andal's prayer to preserver the sand castle she built on the river. The third decad is a set similar to the vastraprahana, the playful chapter in Krishna's life when he took away garments of the gopikas and their request to get them back. The fourth decad has poems where she expresses her union with Krishna. Kuyil Pattu or cuckoo's song forms the fifth decad where Andal requests cuckoo to sing in praise of Krishna. Experts attribute the verses to Pancharatra Agama, a mode of worship practiced in Vaishnavite temples. The sixth decad indicates her dream to marry the deity laying down the principles of spiritual dynamics. The eighth tirumoli called "Vinnila Melappu" deals with the poetess telling her plight to the clouds and sending them as her messenger to Govinda, who is present in Tirumala. The remaining tirumolis are dedicated to different efforts by Andal to somehow speed up her union with Perumal. In the process, she waits impatiently, and finally in Patti Meindor Karerur Tirumoli, she is reunited with Vishnu.[7]

Some of Andal's verses express love for Vishnu, written with bold sensuality and startlingly savage longing, hunger and inquiry, that even today many of her most erotic poems are rarely rendered publicly.[8] In one such verse Andal dispenses with metaphor and imagines that she herself in lying in the arms of Krishna, and making love to him:[9]

(p. 140)[12]

Andal whilst admiring herself wearing the garland which was meant for the deity,

[13][14][15]

[16][17]

In one of her poems, Andal says that her voluptuous breasts will swell for the lord alone, and scorns the idea of making love to mortal beings, comparing that with the sacrificial offering made by Brahmins being violated by jackals in the forest,[18] and in another verse she dedicates her swelling breasts to Krishna who carries a conch.[11][19]

The hymns of the Nalayira Divya Prabandham are regularly sung in all the Vishnu temples of South India daily and also during festivals.[20][21] Andal is worshipped as a goddess in the Sri Vaishnava tradition of South India, and enshrined in several Vishnu temples. The verses of the Tiruppavai and Nachiyar Tirumoli are sung commonly in all the households and temples during the month of Margali (December - January).[22]

A redention of Varanam Ayiram was included in Ilaiyaraaja's score for Kamal Haasan's movie Hey Ram, with Shrivilliputhur Andal being acknowledged as one of the lyricists for the movie.[23][24]

• Kanninun Cirutampu
• Tiruviruttam
• Tiruchanda Viruttam