1. Nammalvar was one of the twelve Alvar saints of Tamil Nadu, India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism.
16 Facts About Nammalvar
1. 2.
Nammalvar is considered to be the fifth in the line of the twelve Alvars.
3.
Nammalvar is highly regarded as a great mystic of the Vaishnava tradition.
4.
Nammalvar is considered to be the foremost among the twelve Alvars, and his contributions amount to 1352 among the 4000 stanzas in the Naalayira Divya Prabandam.
5.
In Hindu legends, Nammalvar remained speechless from the moment of his birth, sitting under a tamarind tree when he first interacted with Madhurakavi Alvar, who saw a bright light shining to the south, and followed it until he reached the tree where the boy was residing.
6.
The works of Nammalvar were compiled by Madhurakavi as four different works, the Tiruvaymoli, Tiruviruttam, Tiruvaciriyam and Periya Tiruvantati.
7.
The works of Nammalvar contributed to the philosophical and theological ideas of Vaishnavism.
8.
Thirumalisai Alvar was the son of a sage, Thondaradippodi Alvar, Madhurakavi Alvar, Periyalvar and Andal were from the Brahmin community, Kulashekhara Alvar was a kshatriya, Nammalvar was a Vellala, Thiruppaan Alvar was a paanar and Thirumangai Alvar was a kallar.
9.
Nammalvar was born into a Vellalar clan at Thirukurukur in the southernmost region of the Tamil country.
10.
Nammalvar gave a word that whoever reads this 11,000 times with devotion will get vision and blessings of Nammalvar whenever they visit his abode at Alvarthirunagari.
11.
Nammalvar was one of the twelve alvar poet-saints who immersed themselves in a love of Vishnu and who had a considerable knowledge of ancient Tamil literature and its variants of traditional stories concerning Vishnu and his associates, as well as the philosophical differences between Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.
12.
Swami Madhurakavi Alvar composed 11 pasurams in praise of his Acharya, Swami Nammalvar known as Kanninun Siruthambu, which are included among the Nalayira Divya Prabandham.
13.
Nammalvar is regarded as one of the top three Hindu mystics in India, with the other two being Manickavasagar and Kabir.
14.
Nammalvar is considered greatest among the twelve alvars and his contributions amount to 1352 among the 4000 stanzas in the Nalayira Divya Prabandam.
15.
The festival image of Nammalvar is brought in Anna Vahanam and his verses dedicated to each of these nine temples are recited.
16.
The performance is enacted by priests and images in the temple depicts Nammalvar as reaching heaven and getting liberation from the cycle of life and death.