Periya Thiruvandhadhi is another work of the famous Vaishnava Āḻvār Nammāḷvār – one and probably the most popular of ancient Vaiṣṇavite saints. The present poem of Śrī Nammāḷvār consists of 87 verses and also forms a part of Nālāyira Divya Prabandham - also known as Drāviḍa Veda – consisting of 4000 verses altogether. Another, much longer poem of the same

Thirupalliyezhuchi by Thondaradipodi Āḻvār The Āḻvār, Śrī Thondar-adi-podi (dust of the feet of the devotees of the Lord), in these verses requests the Lord of Śrīraṅgam to awake from his Yoga Nidrā to bless all those gathered to receive his Darśan. With a fine description of the nature around Śrīraṅgam and a broad canvas of poetic imagery, the verses carry

One evening, the king took Viṣṇu-citta on a ceremonial parade around the city on his elephant. Śrīman Nārāyaṇa, delighted to see all these honours being showered on the Āḻvār, appeared in the sky on His Garuda Vāhana with Śrī Mahālakṣmī. He always enjoyed Krishna as a child, blessed the Lord with a long life imagining himself as the Lord's mother

Madhura Kavi is that celebrated Āḻvār, who had no interest in worldly attainments or Lord’s grace, since his mind was totally occupied by the thoughts about his Ācārya, Swāmi Nammāḷvār. His connection with Ācārya was the only one that mattered to him. His sole enjoyment was the singing of the four great poems of Swāmi Nammāḷvār everywhere as the four

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

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

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

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

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