The Lord is anxious to save jivatmas and grant them moksha, but this anxiety is even greater in His Consort, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan, in a discourse. When Rama is exiled to the forest, Sita insists on accompanying Him. She says She will walk in front on Him, and will trample down any thorns in the path, thus making the way smooth for Him. While this is certainly a mark of Sita’s devotion to Lord Rama, it also has a symbolic meaning. She is indicating that She will soften the hearts of people, so that they become ready to receive Him.
With this characteristic anxiety for jivatmas, Bhooma Devi asks Lord Varaha to suggest some easy ways of reaching His feet. He has already given the world many ways of reaching Him. But these are too difficult for most people. So Bhooma Devi wants something easier. In reply to her question, Lord Varaha says that there are two easy ways of reaching Him — one is singing about Him; the other is to surrender to Him. But Goddess Earth is not content to merely know the answer to Her question. She aims to inform the world about what the Lord told Her in private. She wants to make the secret of liberation public, so as to benefit all mankind. So, She takes the avatara of Andal. Anantazhvan, a disciple of Ramanujacharya, wrote a work titled Goda Catusloki, which records the greatness of Andal. Anantazhvan says that the Lord’s Consort came as Andal, with the quickness of an arrow shot from a bow. Bhoo Devi’s Gayatri mantra says She is dhanurdharAyai, that is the One who has a bow in Her hand. Anantazhvan must have had this in mind, when he described Andal’s speedy descent to the earth. Andal’s Thiruppavai contains the essence of the Vedas, and recitation of Her verses takes us nearer God.
