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 by the 12 Alvars. It was compiled in its present form by Nāthamuni during the 9th–10th centuries. The work, an important liturgical compilation by the Tamil Alvars who lived between the 5th and 8th centuries CE, marked the formal canonisation of the twelve Vaishnava poet-saints, and its hymns are still sung extensively today.
Description
The Divya Prabandham extols Narayana (Vishnu) and his various manifestations. The Alvars sang these songs at various sacred shrines known as the Divya Desams. These hymns originated during the early phase of bhakti tradition development in South India.
The TamilSri Vaishnavas, also known as Ubhaya Vedanti, follow both the SanskritVedas and the Naalayira Divya Prabandham regarded by adherents as the Tamil Veda. In many temples—Srirangam, for example—the chanting of the Divya Prabandham forms a major part of the daily service, integrating poetic composition with ritual worship and devotional practice. It is also recited in some North Indian Vaishnavite temples, such as Badrinath. The Divya Prabandham is recited alongside the Vedas, having been granted equal status in the Sri Vaishnava tradition largely through the efforts of Ramanuja, who elevated the Divya Prabandham to the same level as the Vedas.
Prominent among its 4,000 verses are the 1,102 verses known as the Tiruvaymoli ("Sacred Utterance" i.e. Tamil Śruti), composed by Nammalvar, which forms the third portion of the overall Divya Prabandham. In many of these verses, Nammalvar adopts the mood of a lovelorn gopi pining for Krishna.
The compendium begins with the Tirupallantu, a benedictory hymn composed by Periyalvar that invokes long life and protection upon Vishnu.
Structure
The text is divided into four sections of roughly 1,000 pasurams (stanzas) each. In sequential order, these are: Mudalayiram, Irandam Ayiram, Munram Ayiram, and Iyarppa. This four-section division reflects the later canonical organization of the hymns, which were composed by different Alvars over several centuries.
Nomenclature
Pasuram
The devotional hymns sung by the Alvars in praise of Vishnu are specifically referred to as pasurams in Tamil.
Taniyan
The works that make up the Naalayira Divya Prabandham are usually preceded by a taniyan. A taniyan is a laudatory verse that offers a brief synopsis of the Alvar's life, summarizes the themes of the work, and emphasises the spiritual merit gained from recitating, listening to, or reading the text. It serves to glorify both the hymns and the composer. Six taniyans precede the Tiruvaymoli, the highest number for any individual work in the compendium.
Vāḻi Tirunāmam
Following the customary recitation of a work's hymns, a vaḻi tirunāmam is chanted. This is a hymn that commemorates or exalts the poet-saint who composed the given work. For instance, such a verse may invoke a long life for the poet-saint or express the wish that their name be remembered for a millennium.
Compilation
The collection, once thought to have been lost, was organised in the form of an anthology by Nathamuni. According to tradition, Nathamuni compiled the Naalayira Divya Prabandham in the 10th century, after the Alvars.
Nathamuni was born in Veera Naarayanapuram (Veeranam) or present-day Kaattu Mannaar Koil. There is a long chronological gap between Tirumangai Alvar (the last Alvar) and Nathamuni, a period during which the transmission history of the 4,000 verses is obscure.
According to legend, Nathamuni once 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 inquired about the remaining 990, the reciters did not know anything about the other verses.
Guided by the name and place of the Alvar (Kurugoor Satakopan) mentioned in the verses, Nathamuni proceeded to Thirukurugoor and asked the people there about Nammalvar's 1,000 verses. 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 ancient tamarind tree Nammalvar preferred to meditate under during his lifetime, and recite these 11 pasurams 12,000 times. Nathamuni did as advised, and pleased with his penance, Nammalvar appeared and granted Nathamuni not only his 1,000 pasurams, but the entire 4,000-pasuram collection of all the Alvars.
Hymns
The following table shows the details of the 4,000 pasurams (hymns).
↑Vedānta Deśika and his followers do not count Tirupallāṇḍu as a separate book within the collection, and instead compress Śiriya Tirumaḍal and Periya Tirumaḍal into 40 and 78 verses respectively. They include the 108 verses of Rāmānuja-nūṟṟandādī at the end to bring the total to 4000.
