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Nammalvar
நம்மாழ்வார்
The supreme Alvar — the singer of the Tiruvaymoli
Years
c. 9th century
Known as
Nammalvar — the greatest of the twelve Alvars
Birthplace
Alvartirunagari, Tamil Nadu
Field
Saints & Sages
“The Tiruvaymoli is the Veda of the Tamil land — the Lord's own word in the people's tongue.”
— The tradition of the Tiruvaymoli
The Story
Tradition tells that Nammalvar was born in the ninth century at Alvartirunagari and, as an infant, sat in meditation under a tamarind tree for sixteen years without speaking — until the Lord himself appeared and infused him with his grace, after which the saint poured forth the poetry of the Tiruvaymoli.
The Tiruvaymoli — 'the sacred utterance of the mouth' — is a thousand hymns in four books, expressing the soul's longing for God, its despair in separation, and its final bliss in union. The tradition honours it as the Tamil Veda, the very essence of the revealed word in the language of the people, and it is sung in the temples of the tradition to this day.
His life and poetry transformed the devotional tradition of the South: the later acharyas, from Yamunacharya to Ramanuja, drew on his hymns as the very heart of their teaching. He is honoured as the foremost of the Alvars, and his hymns remain the soul of the Sri Vaishnava worship.
Core Ideas
The Tiruvaymoli
A thousand hymns honoured as the Tamil Veda.
The Alvar
The greatest of the twelve saint-poets of the tradition.
The Longing
His poetry of the soul's separation and union with God.
The Silent Sage
Sixteen years of silence before the grace of the Lord.
The Heart of the Tradition
His hymns are the soul of Sri Vaishnava worship.
Why it matters today
Nammalvar is honoured as the supreme Alvar — the saint whose Tiruvaymoli is the heart of the Sri Vaishnava tradition and one of the supreme works of Tamil poetry. His hymns are sung in the temples of the land after a thousand years, and his name stands at the head of the devotional tradition of the South.