The Alvars Saints

The earliest saints who appeared after Buddhist era on the Indian scene were Alvars.

They came from present day Tamilnadu.
According to modern scholars the Alvars flourished between seventh and ninth centuries A.D. They were worshippers of Vishnu and are known as Bhagavata (followers of  Lord Vishnu; also known as Vaishnavas). Vishnu’s incarnation is Krishna, who is popular as Krishna in Western India. The Guptas in North and Pallavas in South were followers of Vishnu and Bhagavata teachings. The Alvars who are twelve in number were great mystics and sang their mystic experiences in simple poems known as Pashuras composed in ecstatic love towards the Lord which depict different bhavas (attitudes). 

The greatest Alvar was Nammalvar, also known as Satakopan

belonged to lowly Vellala caste. He composed four Tamil Vedas– Thiruvaimoli,  his famous hymn speaks of God as all pervading spiritual principle who assumes different human forms for the upliftment of devotees. 

Tirumangai Alvar belonged to a tribe of thieves (Kallars) and was a practicing robber before becoming a saint. Tiruppani Alvar was an untouchable. Kulashekhara was a ruler and composed Mukundamala in Sanskrit, which considered the most beautiful and popular hymns of total self-surrender. Vishnu Chitta was a Brahmin and known as Periyalvar whose composition in Tamil Thiruppallandu is daily sung in important Vaishnava temples of South India.

Andal (a.k.a. Antal), daughter of Vishnu Chitta is one of greatest women saints of India along with Lalleshwari (Kashmir), Akka Mahadevi (Karnataka) and Meera (Rajasthan).

She considered herself the bride of Lord Vishnu from her childhood.

Tradition holds that the Lord ordered a palanquin to be sent to Andal’s house and she be brought to the temple in all bridal finery. Andal came accordingly and merged into divine body (image of Lord Vishnu). A magnificent temple at Srivilliputtur, the Andal’s birthplace, stands as an example of divine love where the famous festival takes place. Andal was a gifted poet whose compositions, Tiruppavai are sung all over South India in the month of Margashirsha. (see also: Married to God, Tiruppavai Illustrations)

This Alvar Bhakti cult was quite popular when the great Acharya Ramanuja (born in 1017 A.D.) appeared on the scene. Ramanuja was a well learned, liberal philosopher and defined a new realm of Indian spirituality known as Vishishtadwaita or Qualified Monism.
Scholars are not sure of the caste of other four Alvars. But all are equally held holy and worshipped. Their compositions numbering to four thousands are known as Prabandhams. Vaishnavas (including Sri Vaishnavas or Iyengars, the followers of Ramanujacharya) consider the Prabandams as holy as the Vedas. There are 215 compositions which are sung in everyday rituals.

The Vaishnava teacher Nathamuni in the later years collected all available poems and hymns of Alvar saints in a monumental work Nalayira Prabandham. It is also called Anubhava Vedanta.

Life And Teachings of The Alvars.

Source: kamat,

The Alvars Saints: Life, Bhakti, and Spiritual Legacy

The Alvars Saints are remembered as great Tamil Vaishnava poet-saints who filled South Indian spirituality with love for Lord Vishnu. Their name is commonly understood as those who are deeply immersed in God. They did not teach devotion as dry theory; they sang it with longing, surrender, and joy. Through Tamil hymns, temple worship, and emotional bhakti, they helped common people feel close to the Divine.

The Alvars Saints are traditionally counted as twelve. Their names include Poigai, Bhoothath, Pey, Thirumazhisai, Nammalvar, Madhurakavi, Kulasekhara, Periyalvar, Andal, Thondaradippodi, Thiruppaan, and Thirumangai. Among them, Andal holds a special place as the only woman Alvar. Their lives came from different social backgrounds, showing that devotion is not limited by birth, gender, education, or wealth. A sincere heart is the true qualification for divine love.

The Alvars Saints composed passionate hymns in praise of Vishnu and his sacred forms. These hymns were later gathered as the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, a collection of about four thousand Tamil verses. In Sri Vaishnava tradition, this collection is honoured as the Tamil Veda because it brings deep Vedantic truth into the language of devotion. It made spiritual wisdom accessible to ordinary devotees who could sing, hear, and remember the Lord.

The Alvars Saints are closely connected with the Divya Desams, the sacred Vishnu temples praised in their hymns. These temples are spread across India, especially in Tamil Nadu, and remain important pilgrimage centres for Vaishnavas. Their songs did not describe temples as buildings only; they saw them as living spaces where the Lord receives love, removes sorrow, and blesses devotees. This temple-centred bhakti shaped the worship culture of South India.

The Alvars Saints also prepared the ground for the later Sri Vaishnava tradition. Acharyas such as Nathamuni preserved and organized their hymns, while later teachers like Ramanuja gave philosophical depth to the path of surrender. The Alvars showed that bhakti and knowledge can support each other. Their emotional devotion did not reject wisdom; it made wisdom warm, personal, and practical.

The Alvars Saints remain relevant today because people still search for love, identity, and peace. Their message is simple: remember God with sincerity, serve with humility, avoid pride, and see all devotees as dear to the Lord. They teach that spiritual life is not only in rituals, but also in tears of longing, songs of praise, compassion, and surrender.

The Alvars Saints stand as timeless guides of Vishnu bhakti. Their hymns continue to be sung in temples and homes, keeping Tamil devotion alive across generations. Their legacy teaches that poetry can become prayer, music can become meditation, and love can become the path to liberation. For modern seekers, their lives offer faith, equality, emotional purity, and deep trust in divine grace. They also remind families and students that devotion grows through daily habits: respectful speech, clean conduct, regular prayer, and kindness toward others. When these values enter ordinary life, the spirit of their hymns becomes a living force rather than only a memory of the past.