AzhvAr Arulamudham

Now let us get some details of the Azhwars. Poigai Azhwar , Boothath Azhwar and Pey Azhwar are the first three Azhwars referred to as  Mudhal Azhwars They were contemporaries who were born in the same Tamil month of Aippasi on successive Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, in the constellations of Tiruvonam, Avittam and Sadhayam.   1) Poigai Azhwar , an incarnation of Panchajanyam, the divine conch of Lord Vishnu appeared on the lotus bud in a pond in Tiruvekka near Kanchipuram. 2) Boothath Azhwar , an incarnation of Kaumodhaki (the Gada) the divine mace of Lord Vishnu appeared in a Kurukkatti flower in Mahabalipuram. 3) Pey Azhwar , an incarnation of Nandaki, the divine sword of Lord Vishnu appeared in a red lily in the well of the temple of Adhikesava Perumal at Mylapore, Madras. 4) Thirumazhisai azhwar an incarnation of SUDARSHANA , the Divine Disc of Lord Vishnu was born during the same period of Mudhal azhwar (7thcentury). His star is    Makham and born in the Tamil month THAI

Divya Prabandham also called Nalaayira Divya prabandham consists of nearly 4000 hymns.  These 4000 Tamil verses are composed by 12 Tamil poet-saints called Azhwars who were immersed in their devotion to Lord Vishnu. The 12 Azhwars sang these songs about various sacred shrines and the presiding Deity of the shrine, that came to be known as the Divya Desams. There are 108 Divya Desams. 105 in India, 1 in Nepal  and the last two believed to be beyond the Earthly realms. The 12 Azhwars Poigai azhwar Boothath azhwar Peyazhwar Thirumazhisai azhwar Nammazhwar Madhurakavi azhwar Kulasekara azhwar Peri azhwar  Andal  Thondaradipodi azhwar Thiruppan azhwar Thirumangai azhwar       The Nalaayira Divya Prabandham also known as “DRAVIDA VEDAM” or “TAMIL VEDAM” became lost after the period of the Azhwars. Later it was the scholar-saint and Acharya “NATHAMUNI “ who in the 10th century retrieved and compiled this treasure in the present form which’s the pride of Tamil Classical Literature.      Natham