The Naalayira Divya Prabandham (Tamil: நாலாயிரத் திவ்வியப் பிரபந்தம், romanized: Nālāyira Divya Prabandham, lit. 'Four Thousand Divine Hymns') is a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses composed[1] by the 12 Alvars. It was compiled in its present form by Nathamuni during the 9th–10th centuries. The work, an important liturgical compilation of the Tamil Alvars, marks the beginning of the canonisation of 12 Vaishnava poet saints, and these hymns are still sung extensively today. The works were lost before they were collected and organised in the form of an anthology by Nathamuni.
Modern book cover of volume two of the text
Nammalvar, considered the most prominent of the twelve Alvars whose works are compiled as Prabandam
The Divya Prabandham sings the praises of Narayana (Vishnu) and his many forms. The Alvars sang these songs at various sacred shrines known as the Divya Desams.[2] The TamilVaishnavites are also known as Ubhaya Vedanti (those that follow both Vedas, that is, the Sanskrit Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda, as well as the Tamil-language Tiruvaymoli, a work which devotees of Sri Vaishnavism regard as the Tamil Veda.[3] In many temples — Srirangam, for example — the chanting of the Divya Prabandham forms a major part of the daily service. It is also recited in some North Indian Vaishnavite temples, such as Badrinath.[4] The Divya Prabandham is recited along with the Vedas,[5] and it is given equal status to the Vedas in the Tenkalai denomination of Sri Vaishnavism, largely due to the efforts of Ramanuja who enshrined the Divya Prabandham on the same pedestal as the Vedas.[6]
Prominent among its 4,000 verses are the over 1,100 verses known as the Tiruvaymoli ("verses of the sacred mouth"), composed by Nammalvar (Kaari Maaran, Sadagopan of Alvarthirunagari Temple) and which forms the third portion of the overall Divya Prabandham. Nammalvar self-identifies as a lovelorn gopi pining for Krishna.[3]
Nomenclature
Pasuram
The hymns or songs sung by the Alvars dedicated to Vishnu are specifically designated the term pasuram in Tamil.[7]
Taniyan
The works that make up the Naalayira Divya Prabandham are usually preceded by a taniyan. A taniyan refers to a stray verse,[8] also referred to as a laudatory verse, that offers a brief synopsis of the life of the Alvar poet, a summary of the themes of the hymns, and emphasises the merit gained from the recitation, listening, or reading of the given text. It serves to glorify both the hymns as well as the composer of the hymns.[9] Six taniyans precede the Tiruvaymoli, the most of any text in the compendium.[10]
Vāḻi Tirunamam
Following the customary recitation of the hymns of the work, a vāḻi tirunamam is chanted. This refers to a hymn that serves to commemorate or exalt the poet-saint who composed a given work. For instance, such a verse may hope for the poet-saint to live long, or for their names to be remembered for a millennium.[11][12]
Compilation
The collection, once thought to have been lost, was organised in the form of an anthology by Nathamuni.[13]
Nathamuni was born in Veera Naarayanapuram (Veeranam) or present-day Kaattu Mannaar Koil. There is a long time gap between Thirumangai Alvar (the last Alvar) and Nathamuni. In this dark period, nobody knew what happened to the 4,000 verses of the text.
Legend has it that once Nathamuni heard some people reciting the cantos of Āravāmude of Nammalvar at Kumbakonam. Captivated by these pasurams (hymns), he wanted to know more about them. One of the verses also mentioned Āyiraththul Ippaththu (Tamil: these 10 out of the 1000). When Nathamuni enquired about the remaining 990, the people who sang the 10 did not know anything about the other verses. But as the song mentioned the name and place of the Alvar (Kurugoor Satakopan), Nathamuni proceeded to Thirukurugoor and asked the people there about Nammalvar's 1,000 verses.[14]
The people did not know the 1,000 verses that Nathamuni wanted, but they told him about 11 pasurams (hymns) of Madhurakavi Alvar, a disciple of Nammalvar, and the Kanninun Cirutampu. They asked him to go to Thiruppulialvar, the place where Nammalvar lived, and recite these 11 pasurams 12,000 times. Nathamuni did as advised, and pleased with his penance, Nammalvar granted him not only his 1,000 pasurams, but the entire 4,000-pasuram collection of all the Alvars.[15]
^"Divya Prabandham – An introduction". Srivaishnavam.com. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
^Rajarajan, R.K.K. (2013). "Historical sequence of the Vaiṣṇava Divyadeśas. Sacred venues of Viṣṇism". Acta Orientalia, Societates Orientales Danica Fennica Norvegia Svecia. 74: 37–90.
^ abCarman, John (1989). The Tamil Veda: Pillan's Interpretation of the Tiruvaymoli. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 4.
^Prabhu, S. (8 August 2013). "Dance of Devotion". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
^Ramesh, M. S. (1992). 108 Vaishnavite Divya Desams: Divya desams in Chola Nadu. T.T. Devasthanams. p. 42.
^Gupta, Sonika; Padmanabhan, Sudarsan (19 September 2017). Politics and Cosmopolitanism in a Global Age. Routledge. ISBN978-1-317-34132-1.
^Pārttacārati, Intirā (2008). Ramanujar: The Life and Ideas of Ramanuja. Oxford University Press. p. 95. ISBN978-0-19-569161-0.
^Nayar, Nancy Ann (1992). Poetry as Theology: The Śrīvaiṣṇava Stotra in the Age of Rāmānuja. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 95. ISBN978-3-447-03255-1.
^Venkatesan, Archana (10 January 2016). The Secret Garland: Andal's Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirumoli. Harper Perennial India. p. 5. ISBN978-93-5177-577-5.
^Nammalvar (17 February 2020). Endless Song. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. p. 297. ISBN978-93-5305-779-4.
^Viraraghavacharya, T. K. T. (1979). History of Tirupati: The Thiruvengadam Temple. Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams. p. 65.
^"Tribute to Sriman Naatha Muni". Retrieved 20 June 2007.
^"Table showing details of 4000 pasurams". srivaishnavam.com. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
External links
Naalayiram Text in different formats and languages
4000 divya prabandham in Tamil and English - index for downloading full books as well as every ten pasurams individually along with Telugu version for key pasurams. Other key supplementary texts for Divya Prabandham such as Thiruvoi mozhi nootrandhadi, Yethiraja vimsadhi, Mumukshupadi , Guru Paramapara and rare texts, articles, vyakhyanams, discourses available.
4000 Divyaprabhandham pdf in English, Tamil, Sanskrit Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam languages.
Divyaprabandham in Tamil, Telugu, Sanskrit. Thiruvomozhi availabale in convenient 100 song size. Click on downloads/ free downloads
4000 Divya Prabandham In Roman text, pdf formats.
Tamil Virtual University Library.
Download complete 4000 Divya prabandham as a convenient single 2.16 MB pdf file. Only downside is dhanians are not complete.
4000 divya prabandham available as separate files in pdf and unicode formats for every 1000
Entire 4000 and supplementary texts and other mantras as a single epub file in Tamil font
Nalayiram in English/ Roman text. Useful to quote, copy, paste
Prabandham in English Text. Quite useful to cut and paste relevant pasurams.
Divya Prabandham by DivyaDesam - extremely relevant for pilgrims travelling to 108 Divya Desam
Lists pasurams numbers relevant to individual Divya Desam from all Alvar's composition
Nalayiram pasurams in Tamil unicode under four convenient links easy to copy paste
Nalayira Divyaprabandham ANDROID APP with Pasurangal - Divyadesam wise
Nalayiram with Meaning or Vyakyanam (detailed commentary)
Entire 4000 Divya Prabhandam verses with PBA Swamy's meaning in Tamil and Araiyar Swami Sri Rama Bharathi's translation in English. Very useful for reference purposes.
For the first time online - Eedu 36,000 indepth commentary for Thiruvoimozhi at Tamil Virtual University Library
English text , Tamil Document and English meaning for Periya Thiromozhi.
Thiruvoimozhi in Roman text and meaning.
Thiruppavai with meaning.
Nalayiram Pasurangal – Audio
Araiyar Sevai, Listen to pasurams rendered in carnatic music
Mp3 format
Sites Relevant to Nalayiram Divya Prabandham
Articles on Divya Prabandham, Azhvars, Divya Desams and more
A comprehensive translation of Naalayira (4000) Divya Prabandham
Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN0-500-51088-1) by Anna Dallapiccola
Hymns of the Alvars
Best collection of Pictures of Shriman Nathamunigal (who regained the 4000 Divya Prabandham) and Sri Alavandar at their birthplace Chaturvedimangalam also known as Kuppankuzhi.
January 13, 2023
naalayira, divya, prabandham, this, article, external, links, follow, wikipedia, policies, guidelines, please, improve, this, article, removing, excessive, inappropriate, external, links, converting, useful, links, where, appropriate, into, footnote, reference. This article s use of external links may not follow Wikipedia s policies or guidelines Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references December 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Naalayira Divya Prabandham Tamil ந ல ய ரத த வ வ யப ப ரபந தம romanized Nalayira Divya Prabandham lit Four Thousand Divine Hymns is a collection of 4 000 Tamil verses composed 1 by the 12 Alvars It was compiled in its present form by Nathamuni during the 9th 10th centuries The work an important liturgical compilation of the Tamil Alvars marks the beginning of the canonisation of 12 Vaishnava poet saints and these hymns are still sung extensively today The works were lost before they were collected and organised in the form of an anthology by Nathamuni Modern book cover of volume two of the text Nammalvar considered the most prominent of the twelve Alvars whose works are compiled as Prabandam Contents 1 Description 1 1 Nomenclature 1 1 1 Pasuram 1 1 2 Taniyan 1 1 3 Vaḻi Tirunamam 2 Compilation 3 List of Pasurams 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksDescription EditThe Divya Prabandham sings the praises of Narayana Vishnu and his many forms The Alvars sang these songs at various sacred shrines known as the Divya Desams 2 The Tamil Vaishnavites are also known as Ubhaya Vedanti those that follow both Vedas that is the Sanskrit Rigveda Yajurveda Samaveda and Atharvaveda as well as the Tamil language Tiruvaymoli a work which devotees of Sri Vaishnavism regard as the Tamil Veda 3 In many temples Srirangam for example the chanting of the Divya Prabandham forms a major part of the daily service It is also recited in some North Indian Vaishnavite temples such as Badrinath 4 The Divya Prabandham is recited along with the Vedas 5 and it is given equal status to the Vedas in the Tenkalai denomination of Sri Vaishnavism largely due to the efforts of Ramanuja who enshrined the Divya Prabandham on the same pedestal as the Vedas 6 Prominent among its 4 000 verses are the over 1 100 verses known as the Tiruvaymoli verses of the sacred mouth composed by Nammalvar Kaari Maaran Sadagopan of Alvarthirunagari Temple and which forms the third portion of the overall Divya Prabandham Nammalvar self identifies as a lovelorn gopi pining for Krishna 3 Nomenclature Edit Pasuram Edit The hymns or songs sung by the Alvars dedicated to Vishnu are specifically designated the term pasuram in Tamil 7 Taniyan Edit The works that make up the Naalayira Divya Prabandham are usually preceded by a taniyan A taniyan refers to a stray verse 8 also referred to as a laudatory verse that offers a brief synopsis of the life of the Alvar poet a summary of the themes of the hymns and emphasises the merit gained from the recitation listening or reading of the given text It serves to glorify both the hymns as well as the composer of the hymns 9 Six taniyans precede the Tiruvaymoli the most of any text in the compendium 10 Vaḻi Tirunamam Edit Following the customary recitation of the hymns of the work a vaḻi tirunamam is chanted This refers to a hymn that serves to commemorate or exalt the poet saint who composed a given work For instance such a verse may hope for the poet saint to live long or for their names to be remembered for a millennium 11 12 Compilation EditThe collection once thought to have been lost was organised in the form of an anthology by Nathamuni 13 Nathamuni was born in Veera Naarayanapuram Veeranam or present day Kaattu Mannaar Koil There is a long time gap between Thirumangai Alvar the last Alvar and Nathamuni In this dark period nobody knew what happened to the 4 000 verses of the text Legend has it that once Nathamuni heard some people reciting the cantos of Aravamude of Nammalvar at Kumbakonam Captivated by these pasurams hymns he wanted to know more about them One of the verses also mentioned Ayiraththul Ippaththu Tamil these 10 out of the 1000 When Nathamuni enquired about the remaining 990 the people who sang the 10 did not know anything about the other verses But as the song mentioned the name and place of the Alvar Kurugoor Satakopan Nathamuni proceeded to Thirukurugoor and asked the people there about Nammalvar s 1 000 verses 14 The people did not know the 1 000 verses that Nathamuni wanted but they told him about 11 pasurams hymns of Madhurakavi Alvar a disciple of Nammalvar and the Kanninun Cirutampu They asked him to go to Thiruppulialvar the place where Nammalvar lived and recite these 11 pasurams 12 000 times Nathamuni did as advised and pleased with his penance Nammalvar granted him not only his 1 000 pasurams but the entire 4 000 pasuram collection of all the Alvars 15 List of Pasurams EditTopics in Tamil literatureSangam LiteratureFive Great EpicsCilappatikaram ManimekalaiCivaka Cintamaṇi ValayapathiKundalakesiBhakti LiteratureTevaram TirumuṟaiNaalayira Divya PrabandhamTamil peopleSangam Sangam landscapeTamil history from Sangam literature Ancient Tamil musiceditThe following table shows the details of the 4 000 pasurams hymns 16 Sl no Name of the prabandham Starting from Ending with Number of pasurams Sung by1 Periyalvar Tirumoli 1 473 473 Periyalvar2 Thiruppavai 474 503 30 Andal3 Nachiyar Tirumoli 504 646 143 Andal4 Perumal Tirumoli 647 751 105 Kulasekara Alvar5 Tiruchanda Viruttam 752 871 120 Thirumalisai Alvar6 Tirumalai 872 916 45 Thondaradippodi Alvar7 Tirupalliyeḻuchi 917 926 10 Thondaradippodi Alvar8 Amalanadhipiran 927 936 10 Thiruppaan Alvar9 Kanninun Cirutampu 937 947 11 Madhurakavi Alvar10 Periya Tirumoli 948 2031 1084 Thirumangai Alvar11 Tirukkuruntantakam 2032 2051 20 Thirumangai Alvar12 Tirunetuntantakam 2052 2081 30 Thirumangai Alvar13 Mutal Tiruvantati 2082 2181 100 Poigai Alvar14 Irantam Tiruvantati 2182 2281 100 Bhoothathalvar15 Munram Tiruvantati 2282 2381 100 Peyalvar16 Nanmukan Tiruvantati 2382 2477 96 Thirumalisai Alvar17 Tiruviruttam 2478 2577 100 Nammalvar18 Tiruvasiriyam 2578 2584 7 Nammalvar19 Periya Tiruvantati 2585 2671 87 Nammalvar20 Tiruvelukkutrirukkai 2672 2672 1 Thirumangai Alvar21 Ciriya Tirumatal 2673 2712 40 Thirumangai Alvar22 Periya Tirumatal 2713 2790 78 Thirumangai Alvar23 Tiruvaymoli 2791 3892 1102 Nammalvar24 Ramanuja Nootrantati 3893 4000 108 Thiruvarangathu AmudhanaarTotal number of pasurams 4000 4000 4000See also EditTiruvaymoli Perumal Tirumoli Periya Tirumoli Nachiyar Tirumoli TiruviruttamReferences Edit Divya Prabandham An introduction Srivaishnavam com Retrieved 20 June 2007 Rajarajan R K K 2013 Historical sequence of the Vaiṣṇava Divyadesas Sacred venues of Viṣṇism Acta Orientalia Societates Orientales Danica Fennica Norvegia Svecia 74 37 90 a b Carman John 1989 The Tamil Veda Pillan s Interpretation of the Tiruvaymoli Chicago University of Chicago Press p 4 Prabhu S 8 August 2013 Dance of Devotion The Hindu ISSN 0971 751X Retrieved 6 March 2021 Ramesh M S 1992 108 Vaishnavite Divya Desams Divya desams in Chola Nadu T T Devasthanams p 42 Gupta Sonika Padmanabhan Sudarsan 19 September 2017 Politics and Cosmopolitanism in a Global Age Routledge ISBN 978 1 317 34132 1 Parttacarati Intira 2008 Ramanujar The Life and Ideas of Ramanuja Oxford University Press p 95 ISBN 978 0 19 569161 0 Nayar Nancy Ann 1992 Poetry as Theology The Srivaiṣṇava Stotra in the Age of Ramanuja Otto Harrassowitz Verlag p 95 ISBN 978 3 447 03255 1 Venkatesan Archana 10 January 2016 The Secret Garland Andal s Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirumoli Harper Perennial India p 5 ISBN 978 93 5177 577 5 Nammalvar 17 February 2020 Endless Song Penguin Random House India Private Limited p 297 ISBN 978 93 5305 779 4 Viraraghavacharya T K T 1979 History of Tirupati The Thiruvengadam Temple Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams p 65 MPS2G2Db4xAC p 196 Bruce M Sullivan 1997 Historical Dictionary of Hinduism Scarecrow Press p 217 ISBN 9780810833272 thoo nilA mutRam Retrieved 20 June 2007 Tribute to Sriman Naatha Muni Retrieved 20 June 2007 Table showing details of 4000 pasurams srivaishnavam com Retrieved 20 June 2007 External links EditNaalayiram Text in different formats and languages4000 divya prabandham in Tamil and English index for downloading full books as well as every ten pasurams individually along with Telugu version for key pasurams Other key supplementary texts for Divya Prabandham such as Thiruvoi mozhi nootrandhadi Yethiraja vimsadhi Mumukshupadi Guru Paramapara and rare texts articles vyakhyanams discourses available 4000 Divyaprabhandham pdf in English Tamil Sanskrit Kannada Telugu and Malayalam languages Divyaprabandham in Tamil Telugu Sanskrit Thiruvomozhi availabale in convenient 100 song size Click on downloads free downloads 4000 Divya Prabandham In Roman text pdf formats Tamil Virtual University Library Download complete 4000 Divya prabandham as a convenient single 2 16 MB pdf file Only downside is dhanians are not complete 4000 divya prabandham available as separate files in pdf and unicode formats for every 1000 Entire 4000 and supplementary texts and other mantras as a single epub file in Tamil font Nalayiram in English Roman text Useful to quote copy paste Prabandham in English Text Quite useful to cut and paste relevant pasurams Divya Prabandham by DivyaDesam extremely relevant for pilgrims travelling to 108 Divya Desam Lists pasurams numbers relevant to individual Divya Desam from all Alvar s composition Nalayiram pasurams in Tamil unicode under four convenient links easy to copy paste Nalayira Divyaprabandham ANDROID APP with Pasurangal Divyadesam wiseNalayiram with Meaning or Vyakyanam detailed commentary Entire 4000 Divya Prabhandam verses with PBA Swamy s meaning in Tamil and Araiyar Swami Sri Rama Bharathi s translation in English Very useful for reference purposes For the first time online Eedu 36 000 indepth commentary for Thiruvoimozhi at Tamil Virtual University Library English text Tamil Document and English meaning for Periya Thiromozhi Thiruvoimozhi in Roman text and meaning Thiruppavai with meaning Nalayiram Pasurangal AudioAraiyar Sevai Listen to pasurams rendered in carnatic music Mp3 formatSites Relevant to Nalayiram Divya PrabandhamArticles on Divya Prabandham Azhvars Divya Desams and more A comprehensive translation of Naalayira 4000 Divya Prabandham Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend ISBN 0 500 51088 1 by Anna Dallapiccola Hymns of the Alvars Best collection of Pictures of Shriman Nathamunigal who regained the 4000 Divya Prabandham and Sri Alavandar at their birthplace Chaturvedimangalam also known as Kuppankuzhi Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Naalayira Divya Prabandham amp oldid 1130786477, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
