Nalayira

Nalayira, formally known as the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, is a sacred corpus of Tamil Vaishnava devotional hymns. The term Nalayira means “four thousand,” reflecting the traditional count of the stanzas in the collection. The work is praised as a Tamil counterpart to the Vedas in Sri Vaishnavism and is revered as one of the most important expressions of Tamil bhakti.

The collection comprises 12 works or compendia, attributed to the Tamil Alvars, a group of saint-poets who revered Vishnu and his avatars. The hymns praise Vishnu in his many forms, extolling his virtues, avatars, and associated temples. Much of the poetry centers on the sacred temples known as Divya Desams, and the verses collectively articulate a theology of daīmya devotion, devotion through temple worship, and the beauty of the divine.

Historically, the Alvar hymns were compiled and organized into the current corpus by Nathamuni in the 9th to 10th century CE, with later refinements and commentaries by Sri Vaishnava scholars such as Ramanuja and his tradition. In Tamil religious culture, the Nalayira Divya Prabandham is treated as sacred Tamil scripture, recited in daily temple rites and pilgrimages. It has influenced temple liturgy, devotional practice, and the Tamil Vaishnava literary tradition, and it remains a central text for understanding the devotional context of Vishnu worship in South India.