It is tradition in Vaishnavaites to perform Goda Devi Kalyanam in all Vishnu Temples ,on the day of Bhogi . A part from that in our temple also we have been conducting Goda Devi Kalyanam every year on Bhoghi day. As such in this year also on Bhogi day i.e 14-01-2016 we conducted Goda Devi Kalyanam at our Temple i.e Garloddu. Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple. In this context i would like to give brief history of Goda Devi or Andal Matha .
Andal is an 8th century Tamil saint and one of the twelve Alwars (saints) and the only woman Alwar of Vaishnavism. She wrote the great Tamil works of Tiruppavai (30 verses) and Naacchiyaar Tirumozhi (143 verses). Andal is known for her unwavering devotion to Lord Vishnu.
Andal was discovered under a Tulasi plant in the temple garden of Srivilliputtur, by Vishnuchitta who was one of the most revered saints in Hinduism, Periyalwar. She was named Kodhai or Goda. As she grew, her love and devotion for the Lord grew to the extent that she decided to marry none but the Lord Himself. She started to live in a dream world with her beloved Lord and was constantly fantasizing about marrying Him. Goda made flower garlands for her beloved Lord at the temple. She started wearing the flower garland which was meant to be offered to the Lord before sending it to the temple. One day, she was caught red-handed by her father. The Lord appeared to Vishnuchitta in his dream and told him that He whole-heartedly accepted Goda' s offering. From this day on, Goda was respected by the devotees and came to be known as "Andal", the girl who "ruled" over the Lord. She is also known as "Soodi kodutha Sudarkodi". Periyalwar took Andal to Srirangam to marry Her to the Lord Ranganatha. She entered the temple sanctum and became one with him.
So eventhough Goda Devi is Consort of Lord Ranga Natha , The Vaisnavaites Sampradaya allowed her to become Consort of all Vishnu Avatara Gods by considering her as avatar of Bhu Mata. Actually Lord Narasimha has two Consorts. they are Goddess Adhi Lakshmi and Chenchu Lakshmi. Because of above said Vaishnavaites tradition only the daughter of the Vishnuchitta Alvar also becomes additional consort to Lord Narasimha. this same tradition also has been following in all Vishnu Temples such as Lord Rama, Krishna, Venkateswara etc. So in our temple same Sampradaya adopted by the Vaishnava Arachakas.
The images of Goda Devi Kalyanam 2016 is given below.
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This post first appeared on S.S.M.ASHRAMAM(Surya Savarnika Manavu Ashramam), please read the originial post: here
