The 12 Alvars: Tamil Poet-Saints of Vishnu

The Alvars are twelve Tamil poet-saints whose hymns to Vishnu, about 4,000 verses in all, form the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, revered in Sri Vaishnavism as the Tamil Veda. Historians place them between about the 6th and 9th centuries CE; tradition places the earliest far earlier. Their hymns praise

HinduTone Dharma DeskNovember 12, 20264 min read

The Alvars are twelve Tamil poet-saints whose hymns to Vishnu, about 4,000 verses in all, form the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, revered in Sri Vaishnavism as the Tamil Veda. Historians place them between about the 6th and 9th centuries CE; tradition places the earliest far earlier. Their hymns praise Vishnu in the temples they visited, the 108 Divya Desams, and shaped the teaching of Ramanujacharya and his followers.

Key facts
Number	Twelve
Period	About 6th–9th century CE (historians); much earlier by Sri Vaishnava tradition
Language	Tamil
Deity	Vishnu (Narayana) in his temple forms
Collected work	Nalayira Divya Prabandham, "the four thousand divine compositions"
Compiled by	Nathamuni, 10th century
Temples sung	108 Divya Desams

The meaning of "Alvar"

"Alvar" is usually explained as "one who is immersed", that is, immersed in love of God. The Alvars came from many backgrounds: a king, Brahmins, a woman, and men of communities then counted low, and the tradition honours them all equally.

The twelve Alvars

Alvar	Place associated	Main work in the Prabandham
Poigai Alvar	Kanchipuram	Mudal Tiruvandadi
Bhutattalvar	Mamallapuram	Irandam Tiruvandadi
Peyalvar	Mylapore, Chennai	Munram Tiruvandadi
Tirumalisai Alvar	Tirumalisai	Nanmugan Tiruvandadi; Tiruchanda Viruttam
Nammalvar	Tirukkurugur (Alvar Tirunagari)	Tiruvaymoli; Tiruviruttam; Tiruvasiriyam; Periya Tiruvandadi
Madhurakavi Alvar	Tirukkolur	Kanninun Siruttambu (on Nammalvar)
Kulasekhara Alvar	Chera country (Kerala)	Perumal Tirumoli
Periyalvar	Srivilliputtur	Periyalvar Tirumoli; Tiruppallandu
Andal	Srivilliputtur	Tiruppavai; Nachiyar Tirumoli
Tondaradippodi Alvar	Tirumandangudi; served at Srirangam	Tirumalai; Tirupalliyeluchi
Tiruppan Alvar	Uraiyur; Srirangam	Amalanadipiran
Tirumangai Alvar	Tiruvali-Tirunagari	Periya Tirumoli and five other works

The first three Alvars

Poigai, Bhutam and Pey are called the Mudal Alvars, the first Alvars. Tradition tells that the three met by chance one rainy night in a narrow shelter at Tirukkovalur, felt a fourth presence pressing among them, and each sang a hundred verses on the vision of Vishnu that followed. Their three Tiruvandadis are linked verse sets in which each verse begins with the last word of the one before.

Nammalvar and Madhurakavi

Nammalvar is the most honoured of the Alvars. His Tiruvaymoli, 1,102 verses, is the heart of the Prabandham and is often called the Dravida Veda. Tradition says he sat in meditation under a tamarind tree at Tirukkurugur, now Alvar Tirunagari, and that Madhurakavi, a Brahmin scholar, became his disciple. Madhurakavi's one short work is a hymn not to Vishnu but to his guru.

Periyalvar and Andal

Periyalvar of Srivilliputtur sang of the child Krishna as a mother would. Tradition says he found the infant Andal in his garden and raised her. Andal's Tiruppavai, thirty verses sung in the month of Margali, is recited in Vishnu temples and homes across the Tamil world. Read more: Andal, the devotee-poetess.

Kulasekhara, Tondaradippodi, Tiruppan and Tirumangai

Kulasekhara was a Chera king who, in his poems, longs to be even a step at the Tirumala shrine; the step before the sanctum there is still called the Kulasekharan padi. Tondaradippodi, "dust of the feet of devotees", served at Srirangam and wrote the morning hymn sung to wake the deity. Tiruppan, a minstrel from a community kept out of the temple, sang ten verses on the form of Ranganatha. Tirumangai, a chieftain turned devotee, sang of more Divya Desams than any other Alvar.

The Divya Prabandham and the Divya Desams

The hymns were nearly lost by the 10th century. Sri Vaishnava tradition says Nathamuni heard a few verses of Tiruvaymoli sung at Kumbakonam, searched for the rest, and arranged about 4,000 verses into the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, setting them to music. The 108 temples praised in the hymns are the Divya Desams. Ramanujacharya and later acharyas gave the Prabandham a place beside the Sanskrit Vedas, and it is recited in Sri Vaishnava temples every day.

Frequently asked questions

Who are the 12 Alvars?

Poigai, Bhutattalvar, Peyalvar, Tirumalisai, Nammalvar, Madhurakavi, Kulasekhara, Periyalvar, Andal, Tondaradippodi, Tiruppan and Tirumangai.

Who was the only woman among the Alvars?

Andal, who wrote the Tiruppavai and the Nachiyar Tirumoli.

What is the Nalayira Divya Prabandham?

The collection of about 4,000 Tamil verses of the Alvars, compiled by Nathamuni in the 10th century.

When did the Alvars live?

Historians place them between about the 6th and 9th centuries CE. Sri Vaishnava tradition dates the earliest Alvars much earlier.

What are the Divya Desams?

The 108 Vishnu temples praised in the Alvars' hymns.

Which Alvar is the greatest?

Sri Vaishnavas honour Nammalvar as the foremost; his Tiruvaymoli is the heart of the Prabandham.

Sources

Vidya Dehejia, Slaves of the Lord: The Path of the Tamil Saints (Munshiram Manoharlal, 1988).
Friedhelm Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti: The Early History of Krishna Devotion in South India (Oxford University Press, 1983).
A. K. Ramanujan, Hymns for the Drowning: Poems for Visnu by Nammalvar (Princeton University Press, 1981).

Last reviewed: 12 November 2026.

Related: Famous Hindus · 108 Divya Desams · Andal · The Nayanars · Annamacharya