Alwars

The paasurams (poems) called naalaayira dhivyap prabhandam composed by twelve great souls called aazhvaars. The paasurams were collected and brought out by one of the much revered sri vaishnavaa aachaaryaas called sriman naadhamuni. By the time of sriman naadamuni (9th century A.D.) the aazhvaar paasurams were not lost or unknown. It was by divine fortune that sriman naadhamuni came to know of the thamizh poems praising Lord Vishnu. There is much debate about the exact historical dates for the twelve aazhvaars. It is believed that most of the aazhvaars lived prior to kali yuga, i.e. at least 3000 years ago. Others place the aazhvaars in the range of 7th through the early parts of 9th century. In any case, we can be sure that the aazhvaars lived much before sriman naadhamuni (826 A.D.) since during his time aazhvaar paasurms had become virtually unknown.