Nayanars

The Nayanars (or Nayanmars; Tamil: நாயன்மார், romanized: Nāyaṉmār, lit. ‘hounds of Siva’, and later ‘teachers of Siva’) were a group of 63 poet-saints living in Tamil Nadu during the 3rd to 8th centuries CE who were devoted to the Hindu god Shiva. Along with the Alwars, their contemporaries who were devoted to Vishnu, they influenced the Bhakti movement in early medieval South India. The names of the Nayanars were first compiled by Sundarar. The list was expanded by Nambiyandar Nambi during his compilation of material by the poets for the Tirumurai collection, and would include Sundarar himself and Sundarar’s parents.

History

The list of the Nayanars was initially compiled by Sundarar (Sundararmurthi). In his poem Tiruthonda Thogai he sings, in eleven verses, the names of the Nayanar saints up to Karaikkal Ammaiyar, and refers to himself as “the servant of servants”. The list did not go into the detail of the lives of the saints, which were described in detail in works such as Tevaram.

In the 10th century, king Raja Raja Chola I collected the volumes of Tevaram after hearing excerpts of the hymns in his court.^: 50 His priest Nambiyandar Nambi began compiling the hymns into a series of volumes called the Tirumurai. He arranged the hymns of three saint poets Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar as the first seven books which he called the Tevaram. He compiled Manikkavasakar’s Tirukovayar and Tiruvasakam as the eighth book, the 28 hymns of nine other saints as the ninth book, the Tirumandiram of Tirumular and 40 hymns by 12 other poets as the tenth book. In the eleventh book, he created the Tirutontanar Tiruvanthathi (also known as Tirutoṇṭar Antādi, lit. Necklace of Verses on the Lord’s Servants), which consisted of 89 verses, with a verse devoted to each of the saints. With the addition of Sundarar and his parents to the sequence, this became the canonical list of the 63 saints. In the 12th century, Sekkizhar added a twelfth volume to the Tirumurai called Periya Puranam in which he expands further on the stories of each of 63 Nayanars.

The Nayanars were from various backgrounds, including Channar, Vanniyar, Vellalas, Idayars, Kurumbars, Thevars, oilmongers, Brahmins, washermen, and Dalit. Along with the twelve Vaishnava Alwars, they are regarded as the important Hindu saints from South India.

List of Nayanars

Sundarar’s original list of Nayanars did not follow any sequence with regards to chronology or importance. However, some groups have since followed an order for arranging their Nayanar temple images according to Sundarar’s poem as well as the information from Nambi and Sekkizhar.

List of 63 Nayanars

No.	Person	Notes
1	Sundarar	Born in Aadi month, Swathi nakshathiram
2	Tiru Neelakanta
3	Iyarpagaiar
4	Ilayankudi Maranar	Vellalar
5	Meiporul	Vellalar
6	Viralminda	Vellalar
7	Amaraneedi
8	Eripatha
9	Yenathinathar	Nadar, Brave swordsman/general in Chola Military
10	Kannappa	Veduvar
11	Kungiliya Kalaya
12	Manakanchara	Vellalar
13	Arivattaya	Vellalar
14	Anaya
15	Murthiyar
16	Muruga	Vellalar
17	Rudra Pasupathi
18	Nandanar (Thirunalai Povar)
19	Tiru Kurippu Thonda
20	Chandeshvara
21	Appar (Tirunavukkarasar)	Vellalar
22	Kulachirai
23	Perumizhalai Kurumba	Kurumbar
24	Karaikkal Ammeiyar	Nagarathar Woman saint who lived in the 6th century
25	Apputhi Adigal
26	Tiruneelanakka
27	Nami Nandi Adigal
28	Sambandar	A child prodigy Saiva Saint who lived only 16 years
29	Eyarkon Kalikama	Vellalar
30	Tirumular
31	Dandi Adigal
32	Murkha	Vellalar
33	Somasi Mara
34	Sakkiya	Vellalar
35	Sirappuli
36	Siruthondar	Army general of the Pallava king Narasimavarman I
37	Cheraman Perumal	Tentatively identified with Chera ruler Rama RajasekharaBorn in Aadhi month, Swathi nakshathiram
38	Gananatha
39	Kootruva
40	Pugal Chola	Chola King
41	Narasinga Muniyaraiyar	Muniyaraiyar
42	Adipaththar
43	Kalikamba
44	Kalia	Born in Aadhi month, Kettai nakshathiram
45	Satti
46	Aiyadigal Kadavarkon
47	Kanampulla
48	Kari
49	Ninra Seer Nedumaara	Pandya King
50	Mangayarkkarasiyar	Queen and consort of Nindra Seer Nedumaran
51	Vayilar	Vellalar
52	Munaiyaduvar
53	Kazharsinga
54	Idangazhi	Vellalar
55	Seruthunai	Vellalar
56	Pugazh Thunai
57	Kotpuli	Vellalar
58	Pusalar
59	Nesa Nayanar	Saliyar, weaver who donates clothes to Lord Shiva’s devotees
60	Sengenar (Kochengat Chola)
61	Tiru Nilakanta Yazhpanar
62	Sadaiya	Sundarar’s father
63	Isaignaniyaar	Sundarar’s mother

Other saints

The 9th-century poet Manikkavacakar was not counted as one of the 63 Nayanars but his works were part of the eighth volume of the Tirumurai. Although the traditional count of Nayanars is only 63, the Tamil poet-philosopher Valluvar is often counted as the 64th Nayanar as a sign of honour and is taken in annual procession by various communities across South India, including the Mylapore and the Tiruchuli communities.