Alvars and Nayanars

Definition

The two groups of Tamil devotional (Bhakti) saint-poets of South India between roughly the 6th and 9th centuries CE, the Alvars devoted to Vishnu and the Nayanars devoted to Shiva, who launched the early Bhakti movement.

Key points

• Alvars: twelve Vaishnava saints (devotees of Vishnu); their hymns are collected in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham (the "Tamil Veda").
• Nayanars: sixty-three Shaiva saints (devotees of Shiva); their hymns form the Tevaram, part of the larger Tirumurai.
• Both rejected caste and ritual hierarchy, sang in Tamil (the vernacular) rather than Sanskrit, and included saints of low caste and women (Andal among the Alvars, Karaikkal Ammaiyar among the Nayanars).
• They flourished under the Pallavas and Pandyas and challenged the prevailing Buddhism and Jainism, helping revive Hinduism in the Tamil land.
• The Alvar tradition fed into the later philosophy of Ramanuja (Vishishtadvaita) and the Sri Vaishnava sect.

Why it matters for CAPF

The Alvar (Vishnu, twelve) versus Nayanar (Shiva, sixty-three) distinction, their texts (Divya Prabandham and Tevaram), and their role as the earliest Bhakti movement in the Tamil south are standard culture facts.

Common confusion

Alvars worship Vishnu and number twelve; Nayanars worship Shiva and number sixty-three; both are Tamil, early (6th to 9th century), and precede the north Indian Bhakti saints by centuries.

Parent note

bhakti and sufi movements