Tamil Bhakti Movement in South India

The word ‘bhakti ‘means the complete surrender of the individual to his god. The concept of bhakti
had its origin in the later Vedic texts itself. It gradually rose into prominence and Bhagavat Gita
conferred it an equal status with that of ‘jnana’ and ‘karma’. Varanasi, Ujjain, Mathura etc. were the
important centres of bhakti cult in the ancient period. By the beginning of the ‘Common Era’
(Christian Era) Siva and Vishnu had turned out to be the most important gods of the brahmaical
religion. To meet the challenges of the ‘heretical sects’, Brahmanism had to adopt new trends and
new gods and gradually it shifted its emphasis form vedic ritual to Bhakti. Thus a monotheistic
concept of good, with either Siva or Vishnu as His manifestation and Bhakti to Him, was gathering
strength.

The major north Indian religions like Brahmanism, Jainism and Buddhism had spread in south India
also. The Brahmanas brought with them the Vedic cult and the two theistic cults, Vaishnaviam and
Saivism. The attitudes and ideas were evidently spread to south India in the wake of new Brahmin
settlements and the propagation of Sanskrit literature. The Pallavas were these protagonists of
Aryanisation in south India. They patronised Brahmins and Brahmin culture on a large scale. The
Bhakti was spread through the temple-centred Brahmin settlements where religious study was in full
flow. The Bhakti movement started in south India in the sixth century A.D. became widely popular in
the eighth and ninth centuries and gradually came to a mysterious end by the middle of the tenth
century.

Several factors helped for the spread of the Bhakti Movement in South India. Though Bhakti had
emerged as a cult in north India earlier it became institutionalised in south India between the sixth
and tenth centuries. The Tamil Bhakti movement was the product of the fusion between Saivism
and Vaishnavism. The fusion of Murugan, the local tribal god with Vishnu is shown in the Tamil
devotional work, ‘Tirumurugattupadai’.

The royal patronage was an important factor for the growth of the south Indian Bhakti movement.
This royal patronage passed through the Pallavas and Chalukyas to the Pandyas and Cholas, and
finally to the Cheras. Mahendravarman started the construction of temples in south India. The
Pandyan king Varaguna of eighth century also provided patronage to the movement. Kulasekhara
Alwar and Cheraman Perumal Nayanar of nineth and early tenth centuries, the Perumal rulers of
Kerala were the promoters of Bhakti movement in Kerala. Cheraman Perumal Nayanar was the
friend of the famous Bhakti saint, Sundaramurthi Nayanar.

The Bhaki saints used Tamil for communication and for the spread of their philosophy. They
introduced several innovations in literary style and used new forms of poetry like lullabies, victory
songs etc. The lives of the saints were connected with miracles, myths, legendsetc. The Bhakti
saints belonged to different castes and creeds. The Bhakti saints generally rejected austerities. They
looked upon religion not as a matter of cold, formal worship, but as a living bond based on love
between god and worshipper.

There were several saints in south India who popularised both Saivism and Vaishnavism, and they
belonged to different castes and creeds.
 The Bhakti saints humanised and localised the cosmic forms of Siva and Vishnu. Each saint was
associated with separate temples. The temples like Srirangam, Chidambaram and Kumbakonam
were such centres. The Bhakti saints moved from one temple to another with their followers with
dance and songs. The Tamil work, ‘Periyapuranam’ states that some of the saints had conducted
joint pilgrimages for the spread of Bhakti. The ‘devadasis’, the dancing women of the temples, also
made notable contributions to the Bhakti moement.

Merits

The spread of the Bhakti movement created active cultural links among the different sections of
the society, cutting across the political boundaries of the different kingdoms. The ideology of Bhakti
brought together kings, brahmanas and the common people in a harmonious manner. This provided
an illusion of equality among the masses. The rulers endowed vast landed property to the temples,
often tax-free. Likewise land was given to the brahmanas also. The temples became the centres of
social activities. The rulers encouraged the temple-centred Bhakti movement.

The royal patronage, the unlimited wealth of the temples and the support of the landed gentry,
gradually, made the bhakti movement a part of the establishment. By becoming the part of the
establishment, it lost its earlier openness and flexibility. The forward urge of the earlier bhakti came
to an end.