What is Nalayira Divyaprabandham?

Correct — A, compositions by the Alvars compiled in the form of an anthology. Nalayira Divya Prabandham means the divine collection of four thousand verses, and that is what it is: the Tamil hymns of the twelve Alvars, the Vaishnava poet-saints of the sixth to ninth centuries, gathered into one collection by Nathamuni around the tenth century. Its standing in the Srivaishnava tradition is high enough that it is called the Tamil Veda and is recited in temple worship alongside Sanskrit scripture. Andal, the one woman among the Alvars, and Nammalvar, whose Tiruvaymoli forms a large part of the anthology, are its best-known voices.

• (b)Hymns composed by Nayanars — The Nayanars were the Shaiva counterparts of the Alvars, and their hymns were collected separately as the Tevaram and the wider Tirumurai. Mixing the two traditions is the trap this option sets.
• (c)Eulogies composed for Chola kings — The anthology is devotional poetry addressed to Vishnu, not court panegyric. Praise-poetry for the Cholas belongs to a different body of literature altogether.
• (d)An exposition of the hymns of Rig Veda in Malayalam — The Prabandham is in Tamil, not Malayalam, and it is original devotional composition rather than a commentary on the Rig Veda.

The Bhakti movement in the Tamil country ran in two streams from about the sixth century. The Alvars sang of Vishnu and the Nayanars of Shiva, both in Tamil, both travelling from shrine to shrine, and both drawing on an idiom of personal love rather than ritual. The Alvar hymns were collected as the Nalayira Divya Prabandham; the Nayanar hymns became the Tevaram and, with later material, the twelve books of the Tirumurai. The 108 shrines celebrated in the Prabandham are the Divya Desams of the Srivaishnava tradition.

Two pairs have to stay straight in the memory: Alvar with Vishnu and Prabandham, Nayanar with Shiva and Tevaram. The vocabulary helps once it is unpacked — Alvar means one immersed, and nayanar means leader or hound of Shiva. Andal is worth knowing separately, both as the only woman among the Alvars and for the Tiruppavai, recited through the Tamil month of Margazhi. Karaikkal Ammaiyar, often confused with her, belongs to the Shaiva side.

• Nalayira Divya Prabandham is the collection of four thousand Tamil verses by the twelve Alvars.
• It was compiled by Nathamuni, traditionally in the tenth century, and is called the Tamil Veda.
• The Alvars were devotees of Vishnu; the Nayanars, of Shiva.
• Andal is the only woman among the Alvars and composed the Tiruppavai.
• The shrines praised in the anthology are known as the 108 Divya Desams.

• Swapping the Alvars and the Nayanars, and with them Vishnu and Shiva.
• Assuming a text called a Veda in tradition must be in Sanskrit.
• Placing Andal among the Shaiva saints.

A direct identification item, where the three wrong options each shift one element — the deity, the language or the genre.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Nayanars were devotees of

  • (a)Vishnu
  • (b)Shiva
  • (c)Devi
  • (d)Surya

  Answer(b) Shiva — their hymns were gathered as the Tevaram, the Shaiva counterpart of the Prabandham.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Who among the following is the only woman counted among the Alvars?

  • (a)Andal
  • (b)Karaikkal Ammaiyar
  • (c)Akkamahadevi
  • (d)Lal Ded

  Answer(a) Andal — composer of the Tiruppavai; Karaikkal Ammaiyar belongs to the Shaiva Nayanars.