The woman poet whose verses Meena reads was a Tamil devotee whose son…

Meena, a history student from Madurai, visits a large temple where priests sing old Tamil hymns during the daily worship, and the image of a poet-saint stands near the main deity. Her guide tells her that the poet-saint once walked from place to place, singing in praise of his god. In the temple library she finds a large anthology of poems by the Alvars and the verses of a Tamil woman poet who calls herself the beloved of her god. She also reads a scholar's note on quarrels between groups who followed different paths of worship in early medieval India.

The woman poet whose verses Meena reads was a Tamil devotee whose songs are widely sung even today. Whom does this description fit?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → Andal

Option (1) Karaikkal Ammaiyar — Incorrect. Karaikkal Ammaiyar was a Tamil woman devotee of Shiva, but she took the path of extreme asceticism in order to reach her goal.

Option (2) Andal — Correct. Andal was a woman Alvar whose songs are still sung. She saw herself as the beloved of Vishnu, and her verses express her love for him.

Option (3) Mirabai — Incorrect. Mirabai also sang of love for her god, Krishna, but she was a Rajput princess of a much later time.

Option (4) Both Andal and Karaikkal Ammaiyar — Incorrect. Only Andal fits. Karaikkal Ammaiyar was a devotee of Shiva who chose extreme asceticism.

NCERT (2026-27): “2.3 Women devotees
Perhaps one of the most striking features of these traditions was the presence of women. For instance, the compositions of Andal, a woman Alvar, were widely sung (and continue to be sung to date). Andal saw herself as the beloved of Vishnu; her verses express her love for the deity. Another woman, Karaikkal Ammaiyar, a devotee of Shiva, adopted the path of extreme asceticism in order to attain”