Tamil Bhakti movement: How the 8th-century poet Nammalwar composed over a thousand hymns to Vishnu
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Let us explore verses from the towering triumvirate of Tamil Bhakti – Nammalwar, with his piercing mysticism; Appar, with his intense, grounded devotion; and Sambandhar, with his radiant, youthful fire.
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Nammalwar is considered the greatest of the twelve Alwars. The reason will be apparent when one reads his poems. They are “at once philosophic and poetic, direct in feeling yet intricate in design, singleminded yet various in mood – wondering, mischievous, tender, joyous, subtly probing, often touching despair but never staying with it”. The 1102 verses of Tiruvaymoli (god-spell) are the most important of his works. It was hailed as the “ocean of the Tamil Veda in which the Upanishads of the thousand branches flow together”.
Nammalwar was born into a peasant caste (Vellala), entering the world during the latter half of the eighth century. Hailing from a princely family in Alwartirunagari near Tirunelveli, he lived for 35 years. According to legend, his birth was an answer to his parents’ prayers, yet their joy was short-lived as the child initially demonstrated peculiar behaviour, refusing to feed, remaining silent and showing no response to external stimuli. Distraught, his parents left him at the feet of Vishnu in a local temple. Astonishingly, the child autonomously took residence...