Nammalvar was one of the twelve Alvar saints of Tamil Nadu, India, recognized for their contributions to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The hymns of the Alvars are compiled as the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, which praises 108 temples classified as divine abodes, known as the Divya Desams. Nammalvar is traditionally counted as the fifth among the twelve Alvars. He is regarded as a central mystic of Sri Vaishnavism. Widely considered the foremost of the Alvars, he composed 1,352 of the 4,000 hymns in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham.
According to traditional accounts, Nammalvar was born in 3059 BCE in Alwarthirunagiri. Historically, scholars date him to the eighth century CE. According to legend, Nammalvar remained silent from birth and sat beneath a tamarind tree. The poet-saint Madhurakavi Alvar, followed a bright light shining in the south until he found the child sitting beneath the tree, where Nammalvar spoke his first words.
The works of Nammalvar were compiled by Madhurakavi as four different works, the Tiruvaymoli (1,102 verses), Tiruviruttam (100 verses), Tiruvaciriyam (or Tiru Asiriyam - 7 verses) and Periya Tiruvantati (87 verses). The works of Nammalvar contributed to the philosophical and theological ideas of Vaishnavism.
The Garudasevai festival in Nava Tirupati, the nine Vishnu temples in the Thoothukudi region, and the Araiyar Sevai during the Vaikuntha Ekadashi festival of the Srirangam temple are dedicated to him. The verses of Nammalvar and other Alvars are recited as a part of daily prayers and during festive occasions in several Vaishnava temples in Tamil Nadu.
Alvars
The word alvar means the one who dives deep into the ocean of the countless attributes of god. The Alvars are considered the twelve supreme devotees of Vishnu who were instrumental in popularising Vaishnavism. The religious works of these saints in Tamil, songs of love and devotion, are compiled as Nalayira Divya Prabandham containing 4000 verses and the 108 temples revered in their songs are classified as Divya Desam.Dalal 2011, pp. 20-21 The saints had different origins and belonged to different castes. As per history, the first three alvars, Poigai Alvar, Bhoothath Alvar and Pey Alvar were born miraculously. Thirumalisai Alvar was the son of a sage, Thondaradippodi Alvar, Madhurakavi Alvar, Periyalvar and Andal were from the Brahmin community, Kulashekhara Alvar was a kshatriya, Nammalvar was a Vellala, Thiruppaan Alvar was a paanar and Thirumangai Alvar was a kallar. The Divya Suri Charitra by Garuda-Vahana Pandita (11th century), Guruparamparaprabhavam by Pinbaragiya Perumal Jiyar, Periya tiru mudi adaivu by Anbillai Kandadiappan, Yatindra Pranava Prabavam by Pillai Lokacharya, commentaries on Divya Prabandam, Guru Parampara (lineage of Gurus) texts, temple records and inscriptions give a detailed account of the alvars and their works. According to these texts, the saints were considered incarnations of some form of Vishnu. Poigai is considered an incarnation of Panchajanya (Krishna's conch), Bhoothath of Kaumodakee (Vishnu's Mace/Club), Pey of Nandaka (Vishnu's sword), Thirumalisai of Sudarshanam (Vishnu's discus), Namm of Vishvaksena (Vishnu's commander), Madhurakavi of Vainatheya (Vishnu's eagle, Garuda), Kulasekhara of Kaustubha (Vishnu's necklace), Periya of Garuda (Vishnu's eagle), Andal of Bhoodevi (Vishnu's wife, Lakshmi, in her form as Bhudevi), Thondaradippodi of Vanamaalai (Vishnu's garland), Thiruppaan of Srivatsa (An auspicious mark on Vishnu's chest) and Thirumangai of Sharanga, Rama's bow. The songs of Prabandam are regularly sung in all the Vishnu temples of South India daily and also during festivals.
According to a traditional account by Manavala Mamunigal, the first three alvars, namely Poigai, Bhoothath and Pey, belong to the Dvapara Yuga (before 4200 BCE). It is widely accepted by tradition and historians that the trio are the earliest among the twelve alvars. The alvars were also instrumental in promoting the Bhagavatha cult and the two epics of India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.B.S. 2011, p. 42 The alvars were instrumental in spreading Vaishnavism throughout the region.B.S. 2011, pp. 47-48 The verses of the various alvars were compiled by Nathamuni (824-924 CE), a 10th-century Vaishnava theologian, who called it the "Tamil Veda".
Early life According to traditional scriptures, Nammalvar was born on the 43rd Kali in 3059 BCE as an amsha of Vishvaksena, Vishnu's army commander. He was born into a Vellalar clan at Thirukurukur (modern day Alwarthirunagiri) in the southernmost region of the Tamil country.
Tradition says that he must have been born fully enlightened because as a baby he never cried or suckled and never opened his eyes. According to legend, as a child he responded to no external stimuli and his parents left him at the feet of the deity of Sri Adhinathar in Alwarthirunagari. The child then got up and climbed into a hole in a tamarind, sat in the lotus position, and began to meditate. It appears he was in this state for as long as sixteen years when a Tamil poet and scholar named Madhurakavi Alvar was born in Thirukolur (who was elder to him by age) and had travelled to North India on a temple trip. As he was performing his Nityaanushtanam (daily rituals) one day, he saw a bright light shining to the south, and followed it until he reached the tree where the boy was residing. Unable to elicit any reaction from the child, he asked him a riddle: "If the small is born in a dead's body (or stomach), what will it eat and where will it stay?" meaning, if the subtle soul is embodied in the gross body, what are its actions and thoughts? Nammalvar broke his lifelong silence and responded, "That it will eat, it will rest!" meaning that if the soul identifies with the body, it will be the body but if it serves the divine, it will stay in Vaikuntha and eat (think) of God. Madhurakavi Alvar realized the divinity of this child.
It is believed that in the Kali Yuga, the doors of Vaikuntham (The abode Of Vishnu) was opened first time for him by Narayana himself and it is believed that the followers of Swami Nammalvar have the most easy access to the supreme abode. Following his moksha his family entitle as the Subbiah Kumara Pillai by holy Vaishnava acharyas and they serve him and believe him to be Sriman Narayana Tiruvadi. After the passing of Nammalvar, Madhurakavi Alvar composed 10 pasrams called Kanninin Sirutambu. He gave a word that whoever reads this 11,000 times with devotion will get vision and blessings of Nammalvar whenever they visit his abode at Alvarthirunagari.
Nammalvar was one of the twelve alvar poet-saints who immersed themselves in a love of Vishnu and who had a considerable knowledge of ancient Tamil literature and its variants of traditional stories concerning Vishnu and his associates, as well as the philosophical differences between Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.
Madhurakavi Alvar was his first disciple. Swami Madhurakavi Alvar composed 11 pasurams in praise of his Acharya, Swami Nammalvar known as Kanninun Siruthambu, which are included among the Nalayira Divya Prabandham.
Work He contributed four pieces of works to Divya Prabhandham. These works consisted of 1,296 poems, making him the most prolific contributor to the 4,000 hymns written by the Alvar poet-saints. These works are:
Tiruvaymoli (1102 verses) Tiruviruttam (100 verses) Tiruvaciriyam (7 verses) Periya Tiruvantati (87 verses)
Tiruvaymoli describes Ranganatha as a metaphor for discussing the philosophical details in The nature of the paramatma (divine soul) The nature of the jeevatma (living soul) The means for the jeevatma (living soul) to attain the goal of Paramatma (divine soul) The blocks and hurdles on the way and The goal moksha (divinity).
In the Sri Vaishnava canon, these four represent (in Tamil language) the four Sanskrit vedas, respectively, the Sama Veda, Rig Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. According to tradition "He poured the cream of these vedas" into his songs and poetry that were the result of deep mystic experience. Though Nammalvar did not visit any of the 108 divyadesam temples talked about in the Vaishnava religion, it appears from his works he must have had the vision of all the archa forms in the temples he glorified in his hymns.Das 2005, p. 29
Style of composition The distinction of Nammalvar with his contemporaries is above the devotional aspects in writing, the visualization and dramatic movement. He mentions Vishnu in various aspects frequently in all his verses. The poems of Tiruvirrutam are depicted fully between the lone context of the hero and heroine. Most of these are utterances of the hero, heroine, her friends to the heroine or her mother to the heroine. The heroine always perceives her hero, Vishnu everywhere around her. As per Varadachari, Tiruviruttam is "an account of the pilgrimage of the soul to its transcendence over its ignorance, sleep and sloth in which it is caught up in the body". While medieval poetry is considered self-pity and repentance, his works always have a message of hope.Das 2005, pp. 41-44
Significance
Nammalvar is regarded as one of the top three Hindu mystics in India, with the other two being Manickavasagar and Kabir. Nammalvar is considered greatest among the twelve alvars and his contributions amount to 1352 among the 4000 stanzas in the Nalayira Divya Prabandam.
The Garuda Sevai utsavam (festival) in the month of Vaikasi (May-Jun) witnesses nine Garudasevai, an event in which festival image deities from the nava tirupathis temples namely, Mayakoothar Temple, Makara Nedunkuzhai Kannan Temple, Rettai Tirupathi - South Temple, Rettai Tirupathi North Temple, Vaithamanidhi Perumal Temple, Adhinaatha Perumal Temple - Thirukkurugur, Kaaisinavendhan Temple, Vijayaasana Perumal Temple, Sri Vaikuntanatha (Kallapiran) Temple are brought on Garuda vahana. The festival image of Nammalvar is also brought in Anna Vahanam (palanquin) and his verses dedicated to each of these nine temples are recited. The utsavar of deities of each of the nine temples, travel through the paddy fields in the area, reach Alvar Thirunagari. The verses dedicated to each of the nine Divyadesams are chanted with music and dance in front of respective utsavar deities. It is the most important of the festivals in this area, and it draws thousands of visitors.After this paasuram recital is completed, the Alvar utsavar in anna vahanam and the nine Perumal deities in Garuda Vahanam come around the maada veethi [temple street] of Alvar Thirunagari. Then, each divyadesam Perumal utsavar bid farewell to their most relished jeevathma Nammalvar and return to their respective temples. Amongst these Perumals, when Alvar most favourite deities of Irattai tirupathi leave after the utsavam, Alvar is saddened by their departure and will wait until they take a turn to their divyadesams. This episode of the Garuda Sevai is known as "Vidaiyaatri Utsavam". The saddened Alvar is taken into the temple by Alvar Thirunagari's deity Polindhu Nindra Piran by showing his beauty. This garuda sevai is to show how Alvar has sung paasurams on each perumal without moving an inch from his Thirupuliyazhwar. All the Perumals come to the Holy Tamarind tree to get sung by the Alvar.