Appar

(7th c. C.E.) One of the earliest of the
Nayanars, a group of southern Indian
poet-saints who were devotees (bhakta)
of the god Shiva. The Nayanars helped
to revitalize the Hindu religion through
their passionate devotion (bhakti) to a
personal god, conveyed through hymns
sung in the Tamil language.
Historians believe that Appar was born
into a Shaivite family but became a Jain
ascetic in his youth. The turning point
came when he suffered a serious illness.
Discouraged when Jain medicines were
unable to cure his illness, he prayed to
Shiva for help and was cured.
Along with his younger contemporary
Sambandar, Appar actively confronted
and opposed the heterodox sects of the
times, particularly the Jains, with open
defiance, debates, and miracles. His greatest achievement is reported to have been
the conversion of King Mahendravarman
(r. 600–630 C.E.), one of the greatest kings
48
Apabhramsha
in the Pallava dynasty, from Jainism
to Shaivism.
The collected hymns of the three most
important Nayanars—Appar, Sambandar,
and Sundaramurtti—comprise the
Devaram, the most sacred of the Tamil
Shaivite texts.