Uyyakkondar was born at Thiruvellarai, not far from Srirangam, and was named Pundarikakshar after the Lord of that temple. He became a disciple of Nathamunigal and learned the Divya Prabandham and its meanings at his feet.
According to tradition, Nathamunigal offered to teach him yoga, the path in which one enjoys the Lord alone in deep meditation. Pundarikakshar gently declined. How could he sit in joy, he asked, while the people around him were still suffering without knowing the Lord? Nathamunigal was delighted by this answer and gave him the name Uyyakkondar, which the tradition explains as the one through whom others are uplifted.
Uyyakkondar is remembered for this compassion, and for the teaching he faithfully passed on, not for books. He taught Manakkal Nambi and, keeping Nathamunigal's wish, asked him to carry everything he had received to Nathamunigal's grandson, Yamunacharya.