Periyalvar is a Tamil
word that refers to a the Tamil poet who was widely known as "Periya – Alvar
(Great – Alvar)" (9th c.) One of the Alvars, a group of twelve poet-saints
who flourished during the seventh and tenth centuries in southern India.
The Alvars were Vishnu followers (bhakta), and their
emphasis on intense devotion (bhakti) to a personal deity, expressed via hymns
sung in Tamil, changed and revived Hindu religious life.
Periyalvar was born into a brahmin household, according to
legend.
He had a great sense of piety since he was a child, and one
of his major forms of devotion was to cultivate and select flowers for the
picture of his chosen god, Krishna.
Periyalvar's most famous narrative is about a dream in which
God instructed him to participate in an academic discussion to be hosted by one
of the Pandya rulers.
Despite his worries about his lack of knowledge, Periyalvar
accepted this instruction when he awoke.
When he spoke, the words poured out of him like water, and
the prize money bag flew off the hook and into his hands as a token of his
triumph.
See Kamil Zvelebil, Tamil Literature, 1975, and John
Stirling Morley Hooper, Hymns of the Alvars, 1929, for further details.
Pandya dynasty is another name for the Pandya dynasty.
