Nammālvār’s hymns, of impeccable literary merit, are varied in tone, style and content ranging from the didactic and philosophical to the amatory, the latter articulated through the voice of a forlorn female lover. An inscription of 998 AD from the temple at Ukkal names the presiding deity Tiruvāymolitēvar (‘Lord of the Tiruvaymoli’), attesting to the esteem accorded to the work from as early as the 10 th century.

Of the four works authored by Nammālvār (Tiruviruttam, Tiruvāymoli, Periya Tiruvantāti, Tiruvāciriyam), the Tiruvāymoli (‘sacred utterance’) is held in especial regard. He was born in Tirukurukūr (Ālvārtirunakari) of a Vellāla (peasant proprietor) family, bearing the personal name Māran, sometime in the last decades of the 9 th century.

His biography is engulfed in legend but hagiographic and epigraphic sources allow for some bare details to be fleshed out. , Archana Venkatesan – Tiruviruttam, Francis Clooney – Tiruvaymoli (a few poems in his book).Although chronologically ranked late relative to the other canonical Tamil Vaishnavite poet-saints (Ālvārs), Nammālvār (‘Our Alvar) or Catakōpan, is held in great endearment by the Vaishnavas of South India. Tiruviruttam: The Drama of the Love Divine Hymns for the Drowning: Poems for Visnu by Nammalvar The Tamil Veda – Pillan’s Interpretation of Tiruvaymoli , Srirama Bharati – The Sacred Book of Four Thousand, Norman Cutler – Songs of Experience: The Poetics of Tamil Devotion, John Carman and Vasudha Narayanan – Kurattalvar Aiyengar – Tiruvaimoli of Sathakopa, S. Sundaram – Tiruppavai, Nacciyar Tirumoli, Krishna Srinivas – Thiruppavai, Sri Aurobindo – Nacciyaar Tirumoli, Tiruvaymoli. A number of translations of Vaisnava Literature, especially that of Nammalvar’s hymns are available. Tirukkovaiyar, Tiruvaachakam – Tamil Text and English TranslationĪnd G.U. The note-worthy Saiva translations are from Norman Cutler –Ī Gift of Tamil: Translations of Tamil Literature, Songs of Experience: The Poetics of Tamil Devotion, T.N. Many scholars have attempted full or partial translations of both the canonical texts.

The devotional Bhakti poetry in Tamil comprises the hymns of the Saiva and Vaisnava saints, the nayanmars and alvars, the twelve Tirumurais, and the Nalayira tivya prapantam.

Hymns for the Drowning by Nammalvar