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Hymns For The Drowning

Hymns for the Drowning, written by Nammalvar and translated by A.K. Ramanujan, presents some of the earliest devotional poems dedicated to Lord Vishnu, composed by the saint-poet Nammālvār in Tamilnadu between the sixth and ninth centuries. These hymns are significant for their literary merit and their role in shaping a sacred geography for Vishnu worship, influencing the evolution of Hindu devotional literature across India. They also articulate a philosophical concept known as 'qualified monism,' allowing for a relationship between the worshipper and god, balancing love and union.

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577 views1 page

Hymns For The Drowning

Hymns for the Drowning, written by Nammalvar and translated by A.K. Ramanujan, presents some of the earliest devotional poems dedicated to Lord Vishnu, composed by the saint-poet Nammālvār in Tamilnadu between the sixth and ninth centuries. These hymns are significant for their literary merit and their role in shaping a sacred geography for Vishnu worship, influencing the evolution of Hindu devotional literature across India. They also articulate a philosophical concept known as 'qualified monism,' allowing for a relationship between the worshipper and god, balancing love and union.

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devilwithgoodheart01
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Hymns for the Drowning

Written by Nammalvar, translated by A.K. Ramanujan

The poems in this book are some of the earliest about Lord Vishnu, also known as Tirumal, the
Dark One.

Tradition recognizes twelve alvars, saint-poets devoted to Visnu, who lived between the sixth
and ninth century in Tamilnadu. The devotees of Vishnu and the devotees of Siva (nayanmar),
changed and revitalized Hinduism and their devotional hymns addressed to Vishnu are among
the earliest bhakti (devotional) texts in any Indian language.

Nammālvār (‘Our Alvar) or Catakōpan, is held in great endearment by the Vaishnavas of South
India. His Tiruvāymoli (‘sacred utterance’) is held in especial regard. Nammālvār’s hymns, of
impeccable literary merit, are varied in tone, style and content.

Cultural Significance :These Tamil poems in praise of Vishnu are some of the most affecting
verses in the long history of Indian literature. They are also the earliest examples of devotional
literature that would later spread to other major languages in India, including Sanskrit.

For south India, they are especially significant in mapping a sacred geography for the worship of
Vishnu, naming temples with idols of the god; not only that, but the poets themselves became
recognised as saints and are worshipped in temples and shrines scattered over south India.

In this way, along with their Siva counterparts, these poets created and shared a new religious
vocabulary, a special idiom that exists until this day. These poems are thus part of a living
religious tradition of hymns that are chanted in temples and during festivals.

At one particular temple, Srirangam in Tiruchinapalli, there is an annual ten-day festival devoted
to the hymns of Nammalvar. A professional reciter dresses in ritual finery to sing the hymns to
Vishnu, who is listening in his temple. These passionate poems to Vishnu set a tradition that then
continued into north India, especially in Bengal where they led right up to the poems of Tagore
in the modern era.

More than this, these poems also articulated a separate school of Hindu philosophy known as
‘qualified monism’ (visista-advaita). The problem faced by the original poets was that neither
monism nor dualism was acceptable. In monism, there was no possibility of a relationship with
god because there was no distinction between them, while in dualism, there was an unbridgeable
gap between man and god. So, the idea of ‘qualified monism’ emerged, in which the worshipper
could approach god as separate and then merge with Him. It allowed for both the ecstasy of love
and the stillness of union.

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