Āḻvārs (Āzhwārs) | Category

12 Alvars - Azhwars

Āḻvārs or Āzhwārs, their history and works - included in Nālāyira Divya Prabandham or otherwise called - Drāviḍa Veda or Tamil Veda – very important holy scriptures in the tradition of Śrī Vaiṣṇavism – also called – the Ubhaya Veda – or Double Veda – founded both on Ancient Vedic Scriptures in Sanskrit language, known as the 4 Vedas – on one hand – and

Mudhal Thiruvandhadhi | Poigai Āḻvār

Poigai Āḻvār was the forerunner of the Āḻvār tradition, who hailed from Kānchīpuram. Poigai Āḻvār, along with Bhutat Āḻvār who was born in Mahābalipuram, and Pei Āḻvār born in Mylapore in Chennai, are referred to as Mudhal Āḻvārs, and were born on successive days in the same month and year. According to historical belief, the first three Āḻvārs came together for the first time on

Nācciyār Tirumoḷi | Āṇḍāḷ

Govinda appeared in dream to Periyāḻvār: "My dearest Periyāḻvār, Viṣṇucitta! For singing verses of glory and wearing my garlands Godā has earned a special place in my heart. She is my beloved Bhūdevī (Mother-Earth) and only appeared as your daughter and she shall be called Āṇḍāḷ hereafter. Do not try to stop her from wearing the garlands. She should continue wearing them." Āṇḍāḷ wrote Tiruppāvai

Irandam Thiruvandhadhi | Bhutat Āḻvār

Irandam Thiruvandhadhi | Bhutat Āḻvār. If only we recite Nārāyaṇa’s names in a state of pure love born out of inner realisation of His ‘svarūpa’ and ‘vibhūti’, and our relationship with Him, that will surely elevate us to the level of our spiritual kinfolk, the celestial beings of Śrī Vaikuṇṭha, eternally blessed to serve the Lord. They, who are devoted to the sacred feet of

Nāṉmukaṉ Thiruvandhadhi | Thirumaḻisai Āḻvār

Only two poetic works of Thirumaḻisai Āḻvār are available for us to study: One is Thiruchanda Virutham with 120 verses and Nāṉmukaṉ Thiruvandhadhi with 96 verses. It is said that Āḻvār threw all the manuscripts of his works into the Cauvery river and these two manuscripts floated against the stream.. Even today one can see the Vrindāvan and a beautiful shrine where Āḻvār is said

Tirumāḷai | Thondaradipodi Āḻvār

Once, Thondaradipodi Āḻvār left Mandangudi on a pilgrimage and headed towards Srirangam, the foremost among divya deśas. Śrī Raṅganātha captivated his mind in the very first darśan and the Āḻvār who came on a tour remained there in a grove near the temple permanently. He could not bear to go away from the Lord whose beauty and grace he describes in his “Tirumāḷai”(45 verses)verses as

Perumāḷ Tirumoḷi | Kulaśekhara Āḻvār

Kulaśekhara Āḻvār was born as a prince to Chera king Dhidavrathan and Nādhanāyagi on the same month and nakṣatra as that of Lord Rāma. The child when born looked divine and made everyone happier and cheerful. One night, The Lord wished to divert Kulaśekhara's attention to Him and he appeared as Lord Tirupati Veṅkaṭa in the king's dream and blessed him. The king Kulaśekhara was

Thiruchanda Virutham | Thirumaḻisai Āḻvār

Thirumaḻisai Āḻvār was chronologically the fourth of the 12 Āḻvārs, who has been living right between Peyāḷvar and Nammāḷvār. The name of Thirumaḻisai Āḻvār comes from his birthplace, Thirumaḻisai, a suburb in modern day Chennai. Thiruchanda Virutham presented on the following pages is one of his 2 works, consisting of 120 verses. The name Thiruchanda Virutham can be translated as 'The Poem of Beautiful Verse'

Periyāḻvār Tirumoḷi | Periyāḻvār

We already discussed recently the biography of Periyāḻvār – or Āḻvār ‘the Great’ – at length – on a separate page, as also Periyāḻvār’s most popular work - Tiruppallāṇdu – which can roughly be translated as “Be forever our Lord!” – however – it was only the first chapter of a much larger work called Periyāḻvār Tirumoḷi or the Holy Verses of Āḻvār the Great.

Amalān Ādi Pirāṉ | Tiruppānāḷvar

Tiruppānāḷvar was completely immersed in divine love all his life with his mind fixed on the Arcā mūrti, Lord Śrī Raṅganātha. Vishnu appeared in the dream of sage Loka Sāranga and commanded him to fetch Pānar to the temple the next morning in his shoulders. When they reached the sanctum, Pānar experienced the bliss of Raṅganātha and composed the Amalān Ādi Pirāṉ, a poem describing

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