Nayanmars

Nayanmars Azhwars Azhwars composed moving hymns addressed to Vishnu. They were compiled in the Nalayira Divviyaprabandham by Nadamuni, at the end of the ninth century. Nadamuni who served as a priest at the Ranganatha temple in Srirangam is credited with compiling this work comprising four thousand poems. Periyalvar lived in Srivilliputtur during the reign of Pandyan king Srimara Srivallabha in the ninth century. The themes are mostly Krishna’s childhood. Krishna is the hero in Andal’s hymns. Her songs convey her abiding love for Krishna. Nammalvar, from Kurugur (Alvar Tirunagari), now in Thoothukudi district, is considered the greatest amongst Alvars. Nammalvar authored Bhakti cult as a religious movement opened a new chapter in the history of Tamilnadu in the early medieval period. A strong wave of Tamil devotionalism swept the country from the sixth through the ninth centuries. The form was in hymns of the Nayanmars and the Azhwars. The saints of Saivism and Vaishnavism simplified the use of Tamil language with the application of music. They brought the local and regional ethos into the mainstream. Azhwars (totally ) and Nayanmars (totally ), came from different strata of Tamil society, such as artisans and cultivators. There were women saints as well like Andal, an Azhwar saint. The poet Karaikkal Ammaiyar (Tilakawathi), and the Pandya queen Mangayarkkarasiyar were prominent female Nayanmar saints. The refashioning of Saivism and Vaishnavism by the Bhakti saints effectively challenged Buddhism and Jainism. The influence of the Bhakti movement is still discernable in Tamilnadu. Sources Hymns of Thevaram corpus; Nalayira- divyaprapandam; Periyapuranam; Tiru-thondarthogai ; Manickavasakar’s Tiruvasagam ; Hymns engraved on the walls of temples. Miniature sculptures in the circumambulation of temples; paintings in the temples. Bhakti as Ideology The term Bhakti has different connotations. It includes service, piety, faith and worship. But it also has an extended meaning. It is an enactment of emotion, aesthetics and sensitivity. Bhakti hymns have three major themes: First and foremost is the idea of devotion to a personal god. The second is a protest against orthodox Vedic Brahmanism and the exclusiveness of the Brahmans in their access to divine grace and salvation. The third is the outright condemnation of Jains and Buddhists as heretics. Bhakti and the Arts Originating with folk dancing, the choreography of temple dancing became highly sophisticated and complex renderings Azhwars XI History - Lesson - - Cultural Development in South India up the emergence of state in Tamil country and indirectly integrated the different social groups into the religious fold through the instrumentality of temple institutions. Over the centuries the Bhakti movement spread all over India, and resulted in a transformation of Hinduism.