Devaram

Name for the collected hymns of the
poet-saints Appar, Sambandar, and
Sundaramurtti. These were the most
important of the Nayanars, a group of
sixty-three Shaiva poet-saints who lived
in southern India between the seventh
and ninth centuries. Along with their
Vaishnava counterparts, the Alvars, the
Nayanars spearheaded the revitalization
of Hindu religion versus the Buddhists
and the Jains. Both the Nayanars and the
Alvars stressed passionate devotion
(bhakti) to a personal god—Shiva for
the Nayanars, Vishnu for the Alvars—
and conveyed this devotion through
hymns sung in the Tamil language.
Appar and Sambandar were the first of
the Nayanars, and Sundaramurtti was
the last. Although the hymns in the
Devaram are devotional, they form the
basis for the philosophical school
known as Shaiva Siddhanta, and are
thus considered the holiest of the Tamil
Shaivite texts. The hymns are also
marked by opposition and hostility
to non-Hindu traditions, particularly
the Jains, with whom the Nayanars
were apparently contesting for influence
and patronage.