Kōdhai

One day, on Āḍi Pūram, as he was gathering flowers and tulasī leaves in his garden, Periyāzhwār heard the faint cry of a baby. She was an incarnation of Bhūmi Devī. Delighted to find a tiny girl with beautiful limbs and a radiant golden face, he lifted her lovingly in both arms and covered her with kisses. When he and his wife held her, they felt as though they were holding Bāla Krishna Himself. They raised the child with boundless joy, and named her Kōdhai.

Surrounded by their love, their devotion, Pāsurams steeped in bhakti, and their service to the Lord, Kōdhai grew up with an immense love for Kaṇṇan. This was hardly surprising, for Kaṇṇan Himself had been brought up in that same house through Periyāzhwār's Pāsurams. Kōdhai grew into a girl of captivating beauty, with keen intelligence and deep knowledge of the Lord. Helping her father in his service, she grew ever closer to Kaṇṇan. She too plucked flowers and wove garlands with her father, and her words and thoughts were always of Kaṇṇan.

She went with her father to the temple of Vaṭapatrashāyī with the garlands, to have the Lord's darshanam.

The years passed, and as Kōdhai grew, her devotion to Kaṇṇan grew beyond measure. She longed to see Him and be blessed by Him. Her love for Him was so great that she wished to marry Him, and vowed that she would marry no one else. She even dreamt of Him coming to her like a majestic elephant, clad in silk and pītāmbaram, for their wedding. She spent her days in such dreams, of Senkaṇ Tirumāl, the lotus-eyed Lord, taking her hand and walking around the sacred fire with her.

Seeing all this, Periyāzhwār grew anxious about how his beloved daughter's wish could ever be fulfilled, when it seemed impossible for anyone to marry the Lord.