Tiruppan

(9th c.) One of the Alvars, a group of
twelve poet-saints who lived in southern
India between the seventh and tenth
centuries. All of the Alvars were devotees
(bhakta) of the god Vishnu, and their
stress on passionate devotion (bhakti)
to a personal god, conveyed through
hymns sung in the Tamil language,
transformed and revitalized Hindu religious life. According to tradition,
Tiruppan was a foundling who was
adopted by a musician. As he grew up,
he developed deep devotion for Vishnu
in his form as Ranganatha at the temple
of Shrirangam, but because his family
status was unknown, he never went into
the temple itself out of fear that his presence might render it impure. Tiruppan
finally gained entrance when one of the
temple’s brahmin priests, who had earlier insulted him, received a divine command to carry Tiruppan on his
shoulders to Ranganatha’s image. As
with many stories in the lives of the
bhakti saints, the lesson here clearly
emphasizes the superiority of devotion
over birth. For further information see
Kamil Zvelebil, Tamil Literature, 1975;
and John Stirling Morley Hooper, Hymns
of the Alvars, 1929.