Bhakti Movement in South India | Alvars & Nayanars

-Bethamehi Syiem
Religious life in South India during the early medieval period was largely characterized by the
tremendous growth and popularity of the Bhakti movement. The study of Bhakti as a cult that shaped
the development of religion in South India and as an important element of sectarian Puranic religion has
been extensive. Besides the concept, origins and rich poetic and aesthetic appeal of bhakti, recent
studies have also begun to examine the nature south Indian bhakti as a protest against caste hierarchy,
status and privileges. This essay is also an attempt to study bhakti as a concept that first evolved in the
hymns of the Vaisnava Alvars, and subsequently in those of the Saiva Alvars; how they grew as an
instrument of dissent against brahmana orthodoxy, existing social norms and inequalities; developed
into and ethical principle; and thereby, provided the basis of the emergence of a dominant ideology. The
Bhakti Movement in South India had a two-fold character. It firstly had two main currents, i.e., of
Saivism and Vaisnavism which flowed parallel to each other. The second character is that they also
mingled occasionally, the Saivas being known as Nayanars and the Vaisnavas being, Alvars. It is doubtful
whether the movement started as a conscious one but it is likely that several bhaktas appeared
simultaneously in different centres by the 9th century.

Historiography
Most of what has been written about the movement concerns itself with chronology, identity of the
individual saints and some literary / philosophical appreciations. However recent studies, initiated by
scholars such as M.G.S. Narayanan, K. Veluthat and R. Champalakshmi, have attempted to analyse the
movement not only within the framework of the development of society and culture in South India, but
also in its socio-economic context with special reference to the elements of dissent, protest and reform.
With regard to chronology, there are disputes amongst scholars regarding the identity and date of
individual saints. Historians like S. Krishnaswami, R.G. Bhandarkar and K.A. Nilakanta Sastri were among
those that helped to approximately fix the chronological timeline of the bhakti movement of the early
medieval.
Sources

Historical study of the bhakti cult is majorly drawn from the literary works of the Alvars and Nayanars
themselves, which are in the form of devotional songs and poetry. The source material may be thus
classified into the following:

1. Songs of the Alvars and Nayanars

2. Later compositions by their followers in the form of chronicles and hagiographies
3. References in contemporary and near-contemporary epigraphs
4. Representations in sculptured panels, paintings and images representing the lives of the saints
Social Background
So as to understand South Indian bhakti, we must place it within the background from which it emerged.
In the sixth century CE, the Chalukya, Pandya and Pallava dynasties rose to power. For the next three
centuries, they dominated politics in the region: waging war, upholding Brahmanical hierarchies, and
patronizing art and culture.
The new dynasties used inscriptions to make grand statements about their power. While kings gave
grants to brahmanas and temples, in return, brahmanas and temple priests asserted the king’s divinity
and his right to rule. The spread of land grants led to the expansion of the kingdom as well as the
extension of agriculture into dryland areas and forests. The heterodox faiths, Buddhism and Jainism,
began to decline; they were replaced by the passionate devotion of the bhakti saints and a temple
religion which provided a new set of myths and a new world view.

The Roots of Bhakti in South Indian Religion

While the bhakti movements represented a new trend, they also drew from the earlier religious
traditions of South India. Similarities exist between the bhakti hymns and early Tamil poetry. Later
classical texts such as the Paripatal praise the gods Murugan and Mayon in terms which anticipate the
early medieval hymns. Similarly, the sixth century poem, theTirumarukarrupattai (‘Guide to the Lord
Murugan’) advises devotees to approach the Lord and seek his grace. Each of the six parts of the poem
describes a sacred site of Murugan or one of his temples. In the earliest Tamil poems, Murugan was the
heroic deity of the mountains, presiding over acts of love and war. But now he becomes a God to whom
the devotee must offer worship.
Thus, bhakti imposed itself upon an earlier network of cults and deities in the region. The landscape
of tinaisor ecological regions was now replaced by a network of temples and shrines. In this process of
absorption, A.K. Ramanujan argues that the bhakti movements “used whatever they found at hand, and
changed whatever they used.”

The Saints of South India

There were two major streams to Tamil bhakti -- the Alvars and Nayanars -- who expressed their
devotion to Vishnu and Shiva respectively. Tradition tells us about the names and careers of some
important saints.

The Alvars

The term 'Alvar' means ‘one who is immersed in God’. The bhakti of the first three Alvars -- Poykai,
Putam and Pey -- was a simple devotion, a rendering of divine grace after they experienced Vishnu’s
presence while sheltering from a storm. Later, they came to be worshipped as amshas or incarnations of
Vishnu.

Periyalvar was born as Vishnuchittan, an untutored brahmana who served Vishnu’s temple at Puduvai.
Legend has it, that transformed by divine grace, he was able to prove the superiority of Vishnu in a
philosophical dispute at the Pandya court.

Tirumangai, a petty chieftain and highway robber, was converted to the path of Vishnu by the woman he
loved. Representations show him carrying a spear and accompanied by his wife Kumudavalli.

Nammalvar was a lower caste saint who spent his life in fasting and meditation. He compiled four series
of verses to provide poetry to the ordinary people. For this reason, he is called Nam-Alvar, ‘Our’ Alvar.
The Vaishnavites consider his four works equivalent to the four Vedas.

The Nayanars

There were 63 Nayanars or Shaivite saints. The term ‘Nayanar’ means a ‘leader', in the sense of God’s
chosen apostle. While the early Nayanars led a life absorbed in Shiva, later saints began to propagate
Shaiva bhakti, bringing them into conflict with the Buddhists and Jains.

Among the 63, the Muvar or ‘the three great hymnists’ - Appar, Sundarar and Sambandar - are given
prominence. Their hymns constitute the major part of the Shaivite canon.
Although Appar was born into an orthodox Shaivite family, he left to join a Jaina monastery at
Pataliputra (modern Patna). But when cured of a painful stomach ailment by his sister, he returned once
more to Shiva’s path. The memory of his betrayal filled his poems with penitence and humility. For the
rest of his days, he travelled across South India, singing the praises of Shiva.

Sambandar was born into a brahmana family in the Tanjavur district. Invited by queen
Mangaiyarkkarasai to the Pandyan court, he defeated the Jainas through miracles and debates and
converted the kingdom to Shaivism. His hymns speak of the worship of Shiva not through religious
observances but through an emotion that fills the heart and mind.

Sundarar was the child of poor brahmana parents, adopted and raised by a local chieftain. His hymns
stress the contemplation of Shiva as the one true path to bliss.

Bhakti and the Temple Cult

As temples became central to the new organization of space -- sacred, economic, social and political --
we need to consider the ways in which bhakti religion worked in tandem with this system. The space of
the shrine is central to the workings of bhakti.

The Paripatal, a Sangam classic, introduces us to a new era in Tamil culture, and a new milieu in Tamil
religion amd worship, namely the temple, which was to become one of the major symbols of south
Indian religious tradition. Bhakti as a concept of devotion appears here, in this context, though it was to
be developed much later by the Alvars and Nayanars. The idea of the temple as the focus of this
devotional cult is crystallized in the bhakti hymns.

Alvan and Nayanar bhakti bring several strands together, the typical Sangam Tamil humanism, the
emotional, sensual and transcendental character of worshipalong with several mythological structures.
Bhakti thus arose as a so[histicasted expression, that is, in singing the praise of god, as an emotional
seeking of union with the absolute, symbolized by the temple image. The development of this concept
may be traced through the various stages in Alvar poetry, dominated by Krisna bhakti.

Besides the fact that much of bhakti literature was centred on temples, devotees often undertook
pilgramges to different temples around south India by dancing and singing with large groups of followers
across fields and forests. The institution of the temple festivals may also be cited as the by-product of
the bhakti cult. The Onam festival of Kerala would remain the best example as it arose during the reign
of Kulasekhara Alvar (9th century). Inscriptions of the 10th century would also demonstrate the popularity
of the festival. Instances such as these go to prove that interests of the bhakti cult and the temple cult
often coincided.

Another specific consequence of the cult was the encouragement it gave to devadasis or handmaids of
the gods. As bhakti spread through media of song, dance and beauty, these devadasis would play an
important role in the popular appeal of the temple.

By the ninth century, the Chola kings systematically began to use bhakti shrines and centres as sites for
their temple building. From a small shrine, the temple became a towering edifice with many gateways
and enclosures and a multitude of shrines. Temple complexes such as those at Tanjavur and
Gangaikondacholapuram became huge centres, the focus of both sacred and secular enterprise.
Temples became huge landed magnates with tenants and servants, even investing money in land, guilds
and trade.

In the development of the temple, the emergence of hierarchical relations in the countryside, the
concentration of political and economic power, and the extension of agrarian civilization - the bhakti
ideology had an important role to play. It emerges first in the context of these developments, and
subsequently goes on to bolster their increasingly complex forms.

Dissent, Protest and Reform

There has been a general assumption among the historians and sociologists that the concept of bhakti,
as expressed by the Alvars and Nayanars, initiated a movement of protest and reform particularly aimed
at caste hierarchy and brahmana exclusiveness in Tamil society.

According to Veluthat and Champalakshmi, this represents an inadequate understanding of the hymns.
It also points to a lack of clear perspective of the historical processes that made bhakti a major
ideological force in the restructuring of the economy and society with Brahmanical temples as its focus.
The presence of lower caste saints has also led some to argue that bhakti represented a rebellion
against the Brahmanical caste system. The fact remains, however, that one third of the total number of
saints were brahmanas by birth.

However, this is not to say that there was no element of protest or dissent in the Alvar and Nayanar
poetry, representing an attempt to provide avenues of social acceptance and even mobility to the less
privileged castes and economic groups. Though the bhakti cult was indeed a causative factor as well as a
product of the proliferation of the temples, it had also deviated a good deal from the orthodox
philosophy of the brahmanical sects.

Perhaps, a better inquiry into the question of whether it initiated social reform and what the reform was
is needed to be elucidated. The Bhakti hymns are dominated by three major themes. Foremost amongst
these is the devotion to God. The second is the protest against orthodox Vedic Brahmanism and its
exclusiveness in access to divine grace and salvation. The third is a vehement denunciation of the Jains
and Buddhists as non-believers and heretics. It is the second theme that needs to be examined from the
point of view of the social base sought by the exponents of bhakti.

The castes and occupational background of the bhakti saints also provide useful insight into the nature
of the ‘movement’. The saints were drawn from various social strata from Brahmana to paraiya
(untouchable). The Shaiva saint Nandanar was in fact an untouchable engaged in the slaughter of
animals for leather and animal gut. His heart’s desire was to view the image of the dancing Shiva in
Chidambaram, but he was denied access to the temple. Shiva, however, commanded the temple priest
to light a fire before the temple door, and Nandanar passed through it unharmed, disappearing under
the foot of the dancing Shiva.

The Vaishnava saint Tiruppan Alvar was also an untouchable who spent eighty years of his life singing
the praises of Vishnu, standing a mile from the Srirangam temple. Appearing in a dream, Vishnu asked
the temple priest to place Tiruppan Alvar on his shoulders and carry him into the shrine. Once inside the
sanctum, the saint sang one last song, before merging into the divine image.
Such stories show that lower castes were able to create a space for themselves within the bhakti
tradition, proving that salvation was possible for all who loved God. Yet the number of these saints was
small, and their oppression as a group continued in society. What the bhakti movements succeeded in
doing was to create a few spaces of freedom without overturning the existing hierarchy.

Also to be noted was the freedom from all rituals, and even rules of the society enjoyed by the devotees
It seems that their individual right to rebellion was legitimized by their devotion. The badge of bhakti in
the form of sacred ashes or sandal paste smeared on the forehead or chest served as a sign of immunity
in this period as would the sacred thread in others. The same deviation from social norms may be be
cited in terms of status of women.

Women and Bhakti

The inclusion of women within the bhakti tradition marked an important departure from Brahmanical
Hinduism where women were debarred from spiritual attainment and the ascetic life. While bhakti
created space for the self-expression of women, the extent to which gender boundaries were dissolved
needs a closer look.

Clearly, the experience of bhakti was not the same for all women. The Alvar saint Andal refused to marry
anyone but Vishnu. Her poetry is filled with yearning for him and in the Nachchiyar Tirumozhi she
describes a vision of her marriage with him. Legend says that she disappeared into the idol of Vishnu at
Srirangam after having been married to him. In contrast, the Nayanar saint Karaikkal Ammaiyar was
originally the beautiful Punitavati whose spiritual power so overwhelmed her husband that he left her to
seek another wife. Punitavati then called upon Shiva to take away her beauty so that she could spend
the rest of her life in his service; this wish is granted. From then on, she dances like a pey, a demoness in
the cremation grounds of Tiruvalangadu.

Thus, the bhaktins shaped their lives by adopting two different approaches to sexuality. Karaikkal
Ammaiyar negates her sexuality and is able to transcend it, while Andal expresses her devotion in the
form of ‘bridal mysticism’, disappearing into her chosen Lord. But while Karaikkal Ammaiyar can
continue religious life in the ordinary world, Andal cannot return.

By denying the bonds of earthly marriage, the bhaktins tried to escape the confines of patriarchy and
Brahmanical religion. In seeking the love of God, they could spend their lives absorbed in meditation, in
a personal relationship that could not even be considered within the domain of a ‘good wife’.

Yet the difference between women and men could not be completely resolved. The bhaktins may have
freed themselves from the social norms of behaviour, but they still lived within the confines of their
female body. The acceptance of women saints within orthodox religion was also not an immediate
process. Iconographic representations of Karaikkal Ammaiyar do not appear until the 12 th century.
While the Tiruppavaiof Andal is sung on festive occasions, especially marriages, her more
erotic Nachchiyar Tirumozhi is never sung within the temple context.

Although the bhakti movements made spiritual attainment possible for women, there is an ambivalence
towards the position of women saints and the spaces offered to women were curtailed as time went by.
While Andal and Karaikkal Ammaiyar attained sainthood, the other women mentioned in the sources
exist in marginal roles: as devout mothers, sisters and wives who assist the bhaktas. As Vijaya
Ramaswamy points out, the Periya Puranam is filled with references to the bhaktas bartering, selling
and making use of their wives so as to further their devotion. Kaliyar Nayanar, for instance, tried to sell
his wife in the market so as to buy oil for the temple lamps!

Despite all this, women devotees seem to have made themselves a part of the bhakti movement,
following a call such as that contained in Andal’s Tiruppavai which tells them that in the worship of Hari
they will find only joy.

Bhakti and Indian Feudalism

The linkage between feudalism and bhakti was first advanced by D.D. Kosambi and scholars have since
expanded upon the theme. Bhakti with its ideas of subservience and devotion was seen as an ideology
to uphold the feudal social structure of the period. Just as the feudal lord demanded service, loyalty and
surrender from his vassal in return for protection, just so was the bhakta tied to his God. R.N. Nandi, for
instance, argues that “faith in an absolute superior was in keeping with the loyalties demanded by a
feudal society.” The doctrine of divine condescension and total surrender represented by bhakti, he
argues, was advanced by the landholding priestly elite to provide a moral justification for the
exploitation and subjugation of the masses.

There are problems with such an understanding in the context of South Indian bhakti. This linkage is not
immediately evident upon reading the texts. To begin with, while the bhaktas saw themselves as
subservient to God, they also assumed a voice of friendship, familiarity and love. The relationship was
not one of divine condescension; often they talked to God as father, friend or lover. Divine grace is not
always shown in terms of protection, but also involves the destruction of the ego and the deprivation of
the devotee’s material prosperity. There is thus an emotional and metaphysical dimension to South
Indian bhakti which cannot be ignored.

Concluding comments

In discussing the bhakti movement in south India, the following points are made clear to us.

 The bhakti movements drew upon the earlier religious and literary traditions of South India, but
also transformed them.

 The poems of the Tamil saints are marked by an intense devotion and love of God. The two
streams of the movement were devoted to the worship of Vishnu and Shiva, and their saints are
called the Alvars and Nayanars respectively.
 Although women and lower caste groups used the bhakti movements to harness spaces of
expression otherwise denied to them, the bhakti movements did not overturn existing
hierarchies and became increasingly conservative with time.
 Yet we cannot deny the tremendous popularity of the Tamil saints among all sections of society
alike. The Alvars and Nayanars hymns continue to occupy a sacred space in the cultural and
social life of the Tamil people even today.