The Bhakti Movement began in Tamil in the seventh century in South India, where it is now recognized as sections of Kerala and Tamilnadu and moved northwards. From the 15th century, this spread across east and north India, peaking during the 15th to 17th centuries.

The Alvars were the devotees of Vishnu on the other hand the Nayanars leaders were the Shiva worshipers. Both of them started a protest movement against the system of caste and the Brahmana domination and made an attempt to modify it. This is confirmed by the fact that bhaktas, or disciples, came from a wide range of social backgrounds, including Brahmanas, artisans, and cultivators, as well as “untouchable” castes.

The Nayanars, also called Hounds of Lord Shiva and subsequently the Teachers of Shiva were a body of sixty-three saints whose primary goal was the devotion to Lord Shiva. They then put all of their efforts into it. They were also vital for inspiring the Bhakti movement in the Southern region of India, which began in the early Middle Ages. Furthermore, Sundarar is credited for compiling the name of Nayanars.

On the other hand, Alvars, also termed Alvarkal, were Tamil poet-saints who resided in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. There, they worshipped the almighty Lord Vishnu or Lord Krishna, who was Lord Vishnu’s avatar. Then they dedicated their entire lives to the worship of these gods. They sang songs of ecstasy, longing, and their service to the gods to convey their devotion. They lived from the span of 5th to 10th Century CE. During the medieval period, the Alvars’ spiritual outpourings aided in the revival of the Bhakti Movement. Moreover, the group hymns of adoration for Lord Krishna and Lord Vishnu saved the bhakti movement.

Difference between Nayanars and Alvars

1. The almighty Shiva and his avatars were worshipped and devoted by Nayanars whereas on the other hand Vishnu and his avatars, like Lord Krishna, were worshipped and devoted by Alvars.
2. The Nayanars lived between the sixth and eighth centuries AD whereas modern researchers assume the Alvars existed between the 5th to 10th centuries AD, although other research suggests that they lived between the period of 4200 to 2700 before the common era.
3. The hymns were converted into a sequence of booklets named as Tirumurai by Raja Raja Chola I’s chief priest, Nambiyandar Nambi whereas on the other hand the Alvars‘ hymns were compiled into Divya Prabandha, a single volume which included all of their hymns.
4. The Nayanars were Brahmins, Harijans, and Nobles from varied origins and they were regarded as the most significant saints of Hindu from Southern India, alongside the Alvars whereas the Alvars developed Bhakti literature, that assisted to the establishment and preservation of a distinct culture distinct from the ritual-oriented Vedic religion. They were deeply immersed in devotion, besides that, they saw it as the only method to salvation.
5. Some of the important scholars of Nayanars are Tiru Neelakanta, Viralminda, Meiporul, Amaraneedi, Eripathar, and Yenathinathar
6. Some of the important scholars of Alvars are Sri Andal, Thiruppan Alvar, Nammalwar, Thirumazhisai Alvar, Kulasekara Alwar

Significance of the Nayanars and the Alvars

These two travelled from one location to another singing Tamil hymns in praise of their lords. Both the groups, the Alvars and the Nayanars, began a protest campaign against the caste system, which was a major flaw at the time, as well as the domination or authority of Brahmanas, or at the very least strove to modify the system. This is substantiated by the notion that bhaktas, or disciples, came from a wide range of social backgrounds, including Brahmanas, artisans, cultivators, and even ‘untouchable’ castes.

Conclusion

Around the sixth century, the Nayanars as well as the Alvars started some of the first bhakti movements. The movement sparked the growth of regional languages like Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Hindi, Marathi and others, and the lower classes gained prominence. Furthermore, the movement valued men and women equally, emphasizing the importance of women in society.