Andal (ஆண்டாள்) means "she who rules" in Tamil. **Andal (8th c.)** was the **only female among the twelve Alvar saints of Tamil Nadu** — Vaishnava mystic-poets. Found as an infant by Periyalvar and raised as his daughter, **she composed the Thiruppavai and Nachiar Tirumozhi**, devotional songs to Vishnu in the form of Krishna she considered her bridegroom. **At sixteen, she merged with the Vishnu idol at Srirangam.**
**Among the most revered female poet-saints of Hindu tradition.**
Andal reduces to seven — the number of Tamil Alvar saint.