Hymns of the Alvars in Praise of Lord Srinivasa

Foreword

The Riks in Vedas are called Hymns. They are holy stotras, descriptions and prayers done by great Rishis. In devotional literature, in general, the entreaties intended to Divine entities are treated as hymns. Hence hymn is a sacred lyric that can be chanted and sung in adoration, ardour and honour.

In this context, the blissful expressions and experiences of Alvars in poetic form are' Hymns. The Alvars are great ardent devotees and are responsible for spread of the Vaishnava cult. As a matter of fact the origin of chanting of Vaishnava Divya prabandham in temple was owned by the Alvars. The Alvars are twelve in number. The poems written by them are called 'pasuras' in Tamil language in praise of Vishnu, Vaishnava temples and associated sacred Tirthas. There are 4000 pasuras produced by the Alvars and they constitute Vaishnava literature, otherwise called 'Nalayira Divya Prabandham' and popularly respected as 'Dravida Vedam'. The Alvars belonged to different castes and most of them visited famous Vaishnava temples in South India including Venkatachalam.

The selected hymns in this book are all in praise of Lord Srinivasa shining in Vengadam known as Seshadri, the holy spot where one is to render service to the Lord.

The devotion, experience, imagination, service, description, and offerings of Alvars are embeded in these pasuras. I congratulate Sri R. Ramanujachari who has ably edited the hymns in a particular sequence, and translated into beautiful english and bestowed with necessary notes.

This bunch of hymns is a treasure of spiritual living presenting an adequate understanding of hearty veneration which, I hope, would motivate pilgrims to raise to greater devotional heights and worship of the Lord of Seven Hills.

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