Thirumangai Alvar (IAST:Tirumaṅgai Āḻvār ), also referred to as Thirumangai Mannan[2] is the last of the 12 Alvar saints of south India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. He is considered one of the most learned Alvars, and the most superior Alvar in the context of composition of verses. He holds the title Narkavi Perumal, the mark of an excellent poet, and Parakala (Beyond Time).

Though he is respected as a Vaishnava saint-poet, he initially worked as a military commander, a chieftain, and then a robber. After his conversion to Vaishnavism, he confronted practitioners the sect of Shaivism, as well as Buddhism and Jainism.

Legend

Temple for Thirumalisai Alvar, the Alvar

The Alvars, who are regarded as Vishnu's twelve greatest devotees in Sri Vaishnavism, helped spread Vaishnavism throughout Tamil-speaking areas. The Ramayana and Mahabharata, two Hindu epics, were both promoted by the Alvars, who also had a significant impact on the Bhagavata cult. The 108 temples mentioned in their hymns are referred to as Divya Desams, and the religious writings of these saints in Tamil, including their hymns, are collected in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, which contains 4000 lines. [ Nathamuni (824–924 CE), a Vaishnavite theologian of the 10th century, collated the poetry of the numerous Alvars and dubbed it the "Dravida Veda or Tamil Veda." Every day, in a number of South Indian Vishnu temples, the hymns of the Prabandam are sung and also during festivels.

The mythological genesis of the Alvars is attributed to an incident in the middle of the Dvapara Yuga that resulted from a contentious argument between Vishvakarma, the divine architect of the gods, and Agastya, a sage, about whether language was better—Sanskrit or Tamil. [Reference needed] In the midst of this argument, Agastya becomes enraged and curses the former, saying that one of his works of architecture will one day be lost and never be found (a contemporary of Gandhari's curse to Dvaraka). (According to some traditions, Agastya cursed Vishvakarma to bring Sanskrit into disrepute; the curse came true in the current Kali Yuga.) [Reference needed] Vishvakarma is furious and curses Agastya for tarnishing Tamil, one of his favourite languages, in the future. [Reference needed] Agastya, who feels bad about what he did, is given a divine vision of Vishnu who assures him that Tamil will regain its renown and that a Tamil Veda would appear.

Following the Battle of Kurukshetra, the fall of Dvaraka, and the killing of Krishna by the hunter Jara, Vishnu resumes his dwelling in Vaikuntha, planting the seeds for the Kali Yuga. He starts to worry about the inhabitants of the Kali Yuga. His qualities, such as the Sudarshana Chakra and the Panchajanya, inquire as to the cause of his worry, and he confides in them his anxieties. Vishnu smiles and declines the Sudarshana Chakra's suggestion that he chop off the heads of all those who reject dharma. Vishnu makes the decision that certain of his amshas (elements of his personality) would take the form of people and guide them on the virtuous path and in their devotion to him. These amshas, who aligned with the blessing bestowed upon Agastya by accepting their birth as the twelve Alvars, also served as an example for later Kali Yuga humans.

Nammalvar (considered to be an incarnation of Vishvaksena) is credited with turning the Rigveda into 100 poems known as the Tiruviruttam, the Yajurveda into Thiruvarshiyam, and the Sama Veda into Tiruvaymoli in 1000 verses, fulfilling the promise that Vishnu made to Agastya (poems)

Varnas

The saints came from various varnas and had various origins. According to legend, the first three Alvars—Poigai Alvar, Bhuthath Alvar, Peyalvar, and Andal—were not given birth but instead were miraculously born. Thondaradipodi Alvar, Mathurakavi Alvar, and Perialvar were Brahmin; Kulasekhara was a Kshatriya; Nammalvar was from a cultivator family; Thirupanalvar was from the Tamil Panar community; and Thirumangai Alvar was from the Kalvar community. Thirumalisai Alvar was the son of a sage named Bhargava. With the exception of Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar, only the top 10 Alvars are taken into consideration by some Vaishnavites; however, others also include these two. The 12 Alvars usually praised Srirangam as the only Divya Desam.

Works

The Alvars and their accomplishments are described in great detail in temple documents and inscriptions. These texts state that the saints were regarded as manifestations of Vishnu in some way. Most of them are not:

Divya Suri Saritra by Garuda-Vahana Pandita (11th century)
Guruparamparaprabavam by Pinbaragiya Perumal Jiyar
Periya tiru mudi adaivu by Anbillai Kandadiappan
Yatindra Pranava Prabavam by Pillai Lokacharya
commentaries on Divya Prabandam
Guru Parampara (lineage of Gurus) texts

Dating

The first three Alvars, Poigai Alvar, Bhoothath Alvar, and Pey Alvar, are said to be from the Dvapara Yuga in accordance with a traditional account by Manavala Mamunigal (even before the birth of Krishna, i.e., before 4200 BCE). Tradition and historians generally concur that the trio is the oldest of the twelve Alvars. Together with the other three Saiva Nayanmars, they had an impact on the Pallava rulers who were in power, sparking a Bhakti movement that led to the shift of Buddhism and Jainism in the area to these two sects of Hinduism.

A small portion of the Divya Prabandham was lost after the Alvar era. Vishnu is thought to have despatched Nathamuni, who saw Nammalvar through the idol, to rescue them, as Madhurakavi Alvar was instructed by Nammalvar to obtain.

The traditional date attributed to Thirumangai is year 399 of Kali Yuga, that is 2702 or 2706 BCE, making him traditionally the last of the Alvar saints. Modern scholars have placed the Alvars in between 5th to 9th centuries based on few historical evidence. Dr. N. Subba Reddiar summarizes their views and arrives at the date 776 AD for Thirumangai, making him chronologically the eighth Alvar, though even these dates are disputed. Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar notes he is generally dated to 7th-8th century. Professor of Religion and Asian Studies, James G. Lochtefeld of Carthage College dates Thirumangai to the 9th century. He is generally considered to be a contemporary of Pallava king Nandivarman II (731 CE - 796 CE) as he refers to the later Pallavas of Pallava dynasty in his hymns.

The hagiographies detailing the life of Thirumangai and other Alvars are Divya charitam (11th century) and Guruparampara-prabhavam-arayirappadi (13th century) and Guruparampara-prabhavam-muvayirappadi (14th century). Other Vaishnava scholars have written hagiographics based on the above works later.

Thirumangai Alvar (IAST: Tirumangai Āḻvār), also referred to as Thirumangai Mannan is the last of the 12 Alvar saints of south India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. He is considered one of the most learned Alvars, and the most superior Alvar in the context of composition of verses. He holds the title Narkavi Perumal, the mark of an excellent poet, and Parakala (Beyond Time).

Though he is respected as a Vaishnava saint-poet, he initially worked as a military commander, a chieftain, and then a robber. After his conversion to Vaishnavism, he confronted practitioners the sect of Shaivism, as well as Buddhism and Jainism.

Early life
Thirumangai was born in the Kallar caste in Thirukuraiyalur, a small village in Tamil Nadu. Thirumangai's real name was Kaliyan or Kalikanti. Thirumangai's father was Nilam, a general under the Chola empire. He was skilled in archery and worked as a military commander himself for the Chola king. In recognition of his valour, he was conferred upon the title Parakala and rewarded a small terrority called Ali Nadu to govern, for his military services. Its capital was Thirumangai. He earned the title Thirumangai Mannan or chief of Thirumangai, a name he maintained even when he became a saint.

Married life

Vishnu was the patron deity of Thirumangai Alvar and is believed to have given a vision to the saint.
According to the traditional accounts, he fell in love with Kumudavalli, a Vaishnava doctor's adopted daughter at Thiruvellakkulam (also known as Annan Kovil). She gave a set of conditions that he must become a Vaishnavaite and that he must feed a thousand people for over a year, every day. During that process, he was so attracted to Vaishnavism that he started constructing temple walls for Srirangam. Unable to bear the heavy expense of feeding a thousand people, Kaliyan resorted to highway robbery. One day, he saw a group of people returning from a marriage, with the bride and groom. He and his assistants were able to get all the loot, but the toe ring from the groom was left. He tried to remove them, but could not do so. Then he realised the bridegroom was none other than Vishnu himself. Narayana revealed himself to Kaliyan and transformed him by teaching the Narayana mantra or Ashtakshara (the eight syllabled) – Om Namo Narayanaya, turning the robber into a saint, and starts singing the first verse of Periya Tirumoli (Vaadinen Vaadi). The temple-god of Thirunaraiyur (Naraiyur Nindra Nambi) – a form of Vishnu – is believed to have initiated Thirumangai into Vaishnavism, by teaching him the pancha samskara.

The first ten verses of Thirumangai's poem Periya Tirumoli sing of his transformation, after receiving the spiritual knowledge from Vishnu. He sings about his transformation thus:

I became a thief
deceitful and dishonest
I wandered hither and thither
yet light dawned upon me –
I reached Your feet
and instantly your grace fell upon me
with melting heart and choked voice
your praises I sing
bathed in streaming tears
I repeat day and night
the sacred name of Narayana (Vishnu)

The Periya Tirumoli is the composition of hymns illustrating the greatness of Vaishnava shrines and their presiding deity as well as God's numerous attributes. His songs extol the largest number of shrines – over 40 forms of Vishnu, from Badrinath in North India to Thirukkurungudi in the extreme South. Thirumangai also discusses causes of human suffering and ways to overcome it to achieve salvation. Vedanta Desika praises the work as "a deep insight in spiritual knowledge".

The word thandakam in Tiru-nedun-thandakam and Tiru-kuru-thandakam refers to the staff used for support for climbing a hill, this refers to God as the support for sustence of the soul in context of the poems. The words nedu and kuru signify the length of the compositions and its poetic meter. In Tirunedunthandakam, Thirumangai speaks as a Nayaki (consort of the Lord), who separated from her beloved God (Nayaka). Tirukuruthandakam speaks dependency of the soul on God and its way to escape suffering with the help of Vishnu, who is the sole supporter.

Tiruvelukkutirukkai deals with the concept of surrender to God to attain freedom from suffering, the nature of God and the means of attaining Him.

Periya Tirumadal and Siriya Tirumadal use the madal, an ancient Tamil custom which is practised by a rejected lover to win back his love, though it is prohibited for women. The custom evolves singing about his love in love, devoid of food and sleep and finally trying to commit suicide before her if all things fail. Thirumangai sings as a woman threatening Lord to finish her life if He can not reciprocate her love. He assumes the role of a gopika (milkmaid) who threatens Krishna (a form of Vishnu) with madal. He defends the gopika's actions of performing the prohibited madal, by saying that he follows the Sanskrit literary tradition who permits madal for women, not the Tamil one. His songs are also based on akam love poems, and talk of employing bees and storks are messengers to God.[ He goes to the length of portraying himself as the nayaki, pining for the love of Vishnu.