Antal

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. Kulacēkarar, a Cēra prince, sings of both Rāma and Krishna, identifying himself with several…

…(later canonized as the saint Andal), the only woman of the 12 Tamil Alvars. She likely lived in the 9th century. In some of her poems she expresses her religious desire for Venkateswara in terms of romantic desire for a beloved man. She stylizes the yearning as the separation of…