CORE Tamil Bhakti: Alvars and Nayanars
Alvars (12 Vaishnava) and Nayanars (63 Shaiva) — Tamil Bhakti is the earliest strong base for the later Bhakti map. From the seventh to ninth centuries, Nayanars devoted to Shiva and Alvars devoted to Vishnu moved across Tamil regions, sang at shrines, accepted devotees from several caste backgrounds, and treated intense personal devotion as a path open beyond ritual rank. The best-known Nayanars include Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar and Manikkavasagar; their hymns are preserved in Tevaram and Tiruvacakam within the broader Tirumurai tradition. The Alvar line includes Periyalvar, Andal, Tondaradippodi Alvar and Nammalvar; their hymns were compiled in the Divya Prabandham. Andal is important because she is the sole woman Alvar in the standard list and her devotional voice shaped later Sri Vaishnava practice. Chola and Pandya temple building between the tenth and twelfth centuries strengthened the link between shrine, hymn and royal patronage. Rajasthan enters this opening section through the later contrast: Mira Bai's Merta-Mewar Krishna devotion is not Tamil in language, but it repeats the Alvar pattern of personal song, Krishna as beloved, and public devotion outside courtly control. Nathdwara in Rajsamand later became a major Krishna centre of Pushtimarga, showing how southern and western Vaishnava currents converged through image, hymn and pilgrimage. The social profile of these groups is as important as the number count: NCERT places potters, peasants, hunters, soldiers, Brahmanas and chiefs within the Nayanar memory, and divergent backgrounds within the Alvar memory. That social spread explains why early Bhakti created a public religious field in which shrine, language, music and community all worked together. Their hymns later became historical sources, not only sacred compositions, because they preserve place names, temple circuits, social memory and rival religious references. This turns devotional poetry into evidence for movement, patronage and social contact. It also explains why later hagiography became a usable historical source when handled with caution across regions.