Tevaram

Also called: Tirumurai, Thevaram · Topic: Bhakti and Sufi Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions"

Meaning

The Tevaram is a collection of Tamil hymns to Shiva, written by three Nayanar poet-saints: Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar. It was compiled in the 10th century, and the songs were sorted on the basis of their music. It matters for two reasons. It shows how songs in the people's own language became holy texts, and it shows how the Chola kings used bhakti (loving devotion to god) to win support for their rule.

Explanation

Background: the Nayanars and their songs

• The Nayanars (also spelt Nayanmars) were poet-saints who worshipped Shiva. The word means "leaders".
• There are 63 Nayanars, and three of them are women.
• With the Alvars (the 12 poet-saints of Vishnu), they started the earliest bhakti movements in India, from about the 6th century.
• Britannica dates the main Nayanar poet-musicians to the 7th and 8th centuries CE [2].
• They were itinerant (always on the move). They walked from shrine to shrine singing hymns in Tamil, not Sanskrit.

What the Tevaram contains

• It holds the poems of three Nayanars: Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar. Sundarar's name is sometimes spelt Chuntarar [2].
• Its key feature: the songs were sorted by their music, not by author or subject.
• This shows the hymns were made to be sung, not just read.

• The Tevaram is part of a larger Shaiva collection called the Tirumurai.

• Content of the hymns:

• They express deep, personal love for Shiva.
• They praise the shrines where Shiva lives.
• They are openly hostile to Buddhism and Jainism.
• Some verses attack caste pride. Appar dismissed the "rogues who quote the law books" and rejected their gotra (clan line) and kula (caste group).

How the songs became temple scripture

• From small shrine to big temple:
• A saint sings at a small shrine, and the shrine becomes famous.
• Kings and devotees give land and money, so it grows into a great temple.

• The temple becomes a pilgrimage centre (a holy place people travel to).

• Two new practices entered daily temple ritual:

• singing the saints' own hymns, and

• worshipping images of the saints themselves.

• Under the Cholas, the kings had the Tamil Shaiva hymns collected into the Tevaram.

Results

• The songs of wandering singers became a fixed, official collection of sacred texts.
• The Tevaram tied the Nayanar tradition to the Chola state and to its great Shiva temples.
• The poets became objects of worship. Their protest against caste pride was partly absorbed into temple ritual run by Brahmanas.

Time, place and evidence

• Hymns composed: c. 7th–8th centuries CE, according to Britannica [2]. In this period the Pallavas and Pandyas ruled (c. 6th–9th centuries), and Buddhism and Jainism had strong support from merchants and artisans.
• Compiled: 10th century, under the Cholas (c. 9th–13th centuries).
• Region: Tamil Nadu.
• Key people:
• Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar, the three poets.

• Parantaka I, a Chola king. Around 945 CE he set up metal images of Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar in a Shiva temple. These images were carried in procession at festivals.

• Linked Chola Shiva temples: Chidambaram, Thanjavur, Gangaikondacholapuram.

• The Brihadisvara temple at Thanjavur was built by Rajaraja I and inaugurated in AD 1009–10 [4].

• Thanjavur, Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara temple at Darasuram together form the "Great Living Chola Temples", a UNESCO World Heritage site [4][5].

• Why the Cholas backed it: the Nayanars were revered by the Vellala peasants, a large and powerful farming group. Supporting the saints' tradition helped win the Vellalas.

• How we know:
• the hymns themselves;
• the bronze images of the saints;
• Chola temple building and land grants;
• NCERT Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions".

Don't confuse with

• Nalayira Divyaprabandham: this is the Vaishnava collection of the 12 Alvars, also compiled in the 10th century. It is called the "Tamil Veda". The Tevaram is the Shaiva collection of the Nayanars.
• Nathamuni: he was a Shrivaishnava leader who gathered the Alvar hymns and began singing them in Vaishnava temples [3]. He has nothing to do with collecting the Tevaram.
• Karaikkal Ammaiyar: she was a woman Nayanar, famous for extreme asceticism (giving up all comfort). She called herself a pey (demoness). She is not one of the three Tevaram poets.
• Alvar vs Nayanar: Alvars worship Vishnu, and the word means "immersed". There are 12 of them. Nayanars worship Shiva, and the word means "leaders". There are 63 of them.

Prelims Hooks

• Tevaram has three poets: Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar (Chuntarar). All three are Nayanars, devotees of Shiva [2].
• Tevaram songs were classified on the basis of music, not by author or theme.
• Tevaram = Shaiva (Nayanar); Nalayira Divyaprabandham = Vaishnava (Alvar). Both were compiled in the 10th century.
• Parantaka I (Chola), c. 945 CE, set up metal images of Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar in a Shiva temple.
• Appar rejected gotra and kula. A common trap is to pair this quote with an Alvar.
• Order in time: hymns composed (c. 7th–8th centuries CE) → Tevaram compiled (10th century) → images of the poets installed (c. 945) → Thanjavur temple inaugurated (AD 1009–10) [2][4].

Mains Points

• Religion and royal power: the Tevaram shows devotion turning into state-backed scripture.
• The Nayanars' attacks on Buddhism and Jainism are explained as competition for royal patronage. NCERT treats this as a likely explanation, not a proven fact.
• The Cholas then collected the hymns, gave land to temples and installed images of the saints.

• Devotion gave kings legitimacy (an accepted right to rule), and kings gave devotion temples and wealth.

• Protest, or a protest that was tamed? Appar's rejection of gotra and kula supports the view of some historians that the Nayanars protested against caste and Brahmana dominance. But once the hymns became a Chola collection sung in temples run by Brahmanas, their sharp edge was absorbed into the system. This is a useful two-sided point for answers.

• Regional language and culture: a Tamil collection sorted by music shows that Tamil devotional song gained the status of scripture, alongside the Sanskrit tradition. This continues today in temples that are still in use. It is a strong example for GS-I topics on Indian heritage and regional cultures.

Related concepts

• Alvars
• Nayanars
• Nalayira Divya Prabandham
• Appar
• Sambandar
• Sundarar
• Manikkavachakar
• Nammalvar
• Tondaradippodi
• Andal

Read more

• The Alvars and Nayanars of Tamil Nadu