Nammalvar's Works

• October 1, 1974

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Nammalvar's works are four in number:

  1. Tiruviruttam (Tiru Viruttam)
  2. Tiruvasiriyam (Tiru Asiriyam)
  3. Periya Tiruvantati (Periya Tiru Antati)
  4. Tiruvaymoli (Tiru Vaymoli)

The Tiru that serves as prefix in the names of the four works means 'good', 'auspicious', 'divine'. Viruttam and Asiriyam are two kinds of verse; the first two works, therefore, are named after the verses in which they are written. Periya in 'Periya Tiru Antati' means 'great' and antati is a characteristic of a certain kind of Tamil verse in which the last word or syllable of a stanza is taken up as the opening word or syllable of the next stanza. Vaymoli in 'Tiru Vaymoli' means that which is uttered. Tiru Vaymoli means therefore 'the Divine Word'.

Nammalvar

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