According to tradition, Nammalwar was born at Thirukkurugur (today's Alwarthirunagari, on the Tamirabarani) to Kari and Udaya Nangai. The baby did not cry or take milk. His parents laid him at the foot of the tamarind tree in the temple of Adinatha Perumal, the tree revered as Adisesha, and there he sat in silent communion with the Lord for sixteen years. He is called Maran, the one who was different from the world, and Sadagopan, for he was untouched by the forgetfulness every soul is born with.
Madhurakavi Alwar, far away in the north, saw a light rising in the south and followed it to the tree. He asked the silent youth a question about the soul and the body, and Nammalwar spoke for the first time. Madhurakavi fell at his feet, and from then on the Alwar's verses poured out while his disciple wrote them down.
His four works are honoured as the four Vedas in Tamil: Tiruviruttam (100 verses) as the Rig, Tiruvasiriyam (7) as the Yajur, Periya Tiruvandadi (87) as the Atharva, and Tiruvaymozhi (1,102) as the Sama Veda, 1,296 verses in all. Tiruvaymozhi, the heart of the Prabandham, sings of the Lord as both the goal and the way, of surrender at His feet, and of service to Him and to His devotees; the Lords of many divya desams are praised in it.
Swami Nammalwar is the first in the line of acharyas after Perumal, Thayar and Vishvaksena; Nathamunigal received the Prabandham from him. He is the avayavi, the whole body, and the other Alwars are its limbs. In every temple, the crown of the Lord's feet that is placed on our heads is called Sri Satari after him, and Sri Ramanuja is revered as his feet.
A pasuram to begin with
Tiruvaymozhi 1.1.1 · verse 2791 of the four thousand
The first verse of Tiruvaymozhi. In it Swami Nammalwar tells his own mind who the Lord is, and what the Lord has given him.
Meaning
Who is He who possesses every good, so high that nothing is higher? Who is He who graciously gave me knowledge, free of all confusion, that ripens into love? Who is He who is Lord of the tireless immortals? O my mind, worship His radiant feet that end all sorrow, and rise!
Word by word
- uyarvu aṟa uyar nalam
- goodness so high that nothing is higher
- uṭaiyavaṉ
- He who possesses it
- mayarvu aṟa mati nalam
- knowledge free of confusion, ripening into love
- aruḷiṉaṉ
- graciously gave
- ayarvu aṟum amararkaḷ
- the immortals who never tire, the nitya suris
- atipati
- the supreme Lord
- tuyar aṟu cuṭar aṭi
- radiant feet that end all sorrow
- toḻutu eḻu
- worship and rise
- eṉ maṉaṉē
- O my mind
The verse is from the e-text of the Nalayira Divya Prabandham by Project Madurai. The meaning is a simple rendering in the light of the acharyas' commentaries, and is awaiting a scholar's review.
Ask Sri Paduka about this pasuram →All the pasurams
Nammalwar sang 1,296 pasurams. Each one is here in English letters, with a simple meaning and the meanings of its key words.