The alvars, also spelt as alwars or azhwars were Tamil poet-saints of South India who espoused bhakti (devotion) to the Hindu god Vishnu or his avatar Krishna in their songs of longing, ecstasy and service. They are venerated especially in Vaishnavism, which regards Vishnu or Krishna as the Supreme Being.
Lord Ayya Vaikundar, also known as tenth avatar or incarnation of Lord Vishnu, also called as Sriman Narayana Vaikundasamy or Narayana Pandaram, was a 19th-century social reformer and iconoclast who worked for the upliftment of downtrodden people in the Kingdom of Travancore. He is central to the Hindu denomination of Ayyavazhi, as per holy scripture. Akilattirattu Ammanai says that he was Lord Vishnu. In order to attain human form, Lord Vishnu used the body of previous avatar for the incarnation of Lord Ayya Vaikundar, kept in Parvatha Ucchi Malai after the completion of the Lord Krishna Avatar. In order to attain natural growth of the human body, Lord Vishnu used the soul of Sampooranathevan a deva also called Mudisoodum Perumal, he was granted moksha before the Lord Ayya Vaikundar Avathar in the sea.
Akilathirattu Ammanai, also called Thiru Edu, is the main religious text of the Tamil belief system Ayyavazhi. The title is often abbreviated to Akilam or Akilathirattu.
Saamy is a 2003 Indian Tamil action film written and directed by Hari. The film was presented by K. Balachander and produced by Pushpa Kandasamy under banner Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Vikram and Trisha in lead roles and Kota Srinivasa Rao in a negative role. Music was composed by Harris Jayaraj. Upon release, the film was highly successful at the box office. It was remade in Telugu as Lakshmi Narasimha (2004) starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, in Bengali as Baroodstarring Mithun Chakraborty, loosely in Kannada as Ayya (2005) starring Darshan and later in Hindi as Policegiri (2013) starring Sanjay Dutt.
The History of Ayyavazhi traces the religious history of Ayyavazhi, a belief-system originated in the mid-19th century in Southern India. Ayyavazhi came to be noticed by the large number of people gathering to worship Ayya Vaikundar in the middle of the 19th century. The majority of the followers of Ayyavazhi were from marginalised and poor sections of society.
The purpose of this chronology is to give a detailed account of Ayyavazhi from the beginning of the incarnational events of Vaikundar to the present time. Question marks on dates indicate approximate dates. A star (*) indicates the mentioning of that particular date in Akilam or Arul Nool. All dates but a few are found in the Tamil calendar and so doesn't coincide exactly with the months of the Gregorian calendar. The dates may span over any halves of the two consecutive months (Gregorian).
Shamanism is in practice in Ayyavazhi right from the period of Vaikundar. At present certain people who are considered to be posed by the divine power use to perform shamanism in many Ayyavazhi worship centers. Though a whole acceptance from the followers in not there for this practise, several followers accept this. They claim that this practise was based on quotes on scriptures such as "to convey certain messages to the ordinary folk." Some also believe that through the words of these possessed persons one could be able to know what God tells about him or herself or their activities.
Tiruththanka, or Tooppul located in Kanchipuram in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Deepa Prakasar and his consort Lakshmi as Maragathavailli.
Ayyavazhi phenomenology is the phenomenological variations found in Ayyavazhi society, worship centers etc. from their holy text Akilattirattu Ammanai.
Vivekanandan Version is one among the release versions of Akilam. It was the only version released so far which includes the original source-text as well as the interpretations combainingly. It was named after the publication Vivekananada Pathippakam.
Vaikundar Thirukkudumbam Version (VTV) is one among the released versions of Akilam, the scripture of Ayyavazhi. It was named after the socio-religious welfare organisation Ayya Vaikundar Thirukkudumbam, which released it.
Ulagalandha Perumal Temple is a temple dedicated to Vishnu located in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, India. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Ulagalantha Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Amudavalli. The temple is believed to have been built by Pallavas, with later contributions from Medieval Cholas, Vijayanagar kings and Madurai Nayaks.
Parimelalhagar, also known as Vanthuvarai Perumal, was a Tamil poet and scholar known for his commentary on the Thirukkural. He was the last among the canon of ten medieval commentators of the Kural text most highly esteemed by scholars. He was also among the five oldest commentators whose works had been preserved and made available to the Modern era, the others being Manakkudavar, Pari Perumal, Kaalingar, and Paridhi. Although the chapter ordering, and the verse ordering within each chapter, of the Tirukkural as set by Parimelalhagar varies greatly from the original work of Valluvar, the scholars and publishers of the modern era primarily follow Parimelalhagar’s ordering. Thus, it is Parimelalhagar’s ordering that is used to number the Kural chapters and couplets today.
Thiruthetriyambalam or Palli Konda Perumal Temple is located in Thirunangur, a village in the outskirts of Sirkazhi in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Palli Konda Perumal.
Thirumanikkoodam or Varadaraja Perumal Temple is located in Thirunangur, a village in the outskirts of Sirkazhi in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Varadharaja Perumal.
Myths of Cheraman Perumal are a group of tales regarding the last Cheraman Perumal of Kerala following his disappearance.
== Legend of Cheraman Per
There are references to many Cheraman Perumals across the historical Tamil Nadu and Kerala region and this has made his identification difficult.
Kaalingar, also known as Kalingarayar, was a Tamil poet and commentator known for his commentary on the Thirukkural. He was among the canon of ten medieval commentators of the Kural text most highly esteemed by scholars. He was also among the five ancient commentators whose works had been preserved and made available to the Modern era, the others being Manakkudavar, Pari Perumal, Paridhi, and Parimelalhagar.
Pari Perumal, also known as Kaviperumal, was a Tamil poet and commentator known for his commentary on the Thirukkural. He was among the canon of ten medieval commentators of the Kural text most highly esteemed by scholars. He was also among the five ancient commentators whose works had been preserved and made available to the Modern era, the others being Manakkudavar, Kaalingar, Paridhi, and Parimelalhagar.
Paridhi, also referred to as Paridhiyaar, was a Tamil literary commentator known for his commentary on the Thirukkural. He was among the canon of ten medieval commentators of the Kural text most highly esteemed by scholars. He was also among the five ancient commentators whose works had been preserved and made available to the Modern era, the others being Manakkudavar, Pari Perumal, Kaalingar, and Parimelalhagar.
