1. The Azhwars, the Vaishnavite Bhakti sages and the originators of Bhakti cult, and the Nayanmars, the worshipers of Siva or the Saivites, composed devotional hymns in Tamil language, dedicated to their respective gods.
2. Vishnu-bhakti or Vaishnavism is based on Vishnu’s avatars (incarnations), particularly Krishna and Rama. The 12 Tamil Azhwars are chiefly known for their immortal hymns.
3. Two Azhwars stand out distinctly for their contribution to the promotion of the Bhakti movement.
(a) AdiShankara:
1. Adi Shankara or Shankarachariar (c. 700- 750 A.D.) preached the Advaita philosophy.
2. He set up mathas (mutts), centres of learning and worship, at Badrinath, Puri, Dwarka and Sringeri.
3. His commentary on the Brahma-sutra, which is a fundamental text of the Vedanta school and on the principal Upanishads are considered equally important.
(b) Ramanuja:
1. Ramanuja, a 11th century Vaishnava saint, was the most influential thinker of Vaishnavism.
2. He established centres to spread his doctrine of devotion, Srivaishnavism, to God Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi.
Exponents of Bhakti Movement:
1. Ramananda spread the Bhakti ideology in northern India where it became a mass movement. Vallabhacharya, a Telugu philosopher, built a temple for Lord Krishna on the Govardhan Hills near Mathura. Surdas, a blind poet and musician, was associated with this temple as well as that of Agra. His famous collection of poetry is called Sursagar. Meera Bai, wife of the crown prince of Mewar, was an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna.
2. Tulsidas’s Hindi retelling of the story of Rama in the Ramcharitmanas, the sentiment of friendship and loyalty is stressed.
3. Tukaram, a 17th century saint poet of Maharashtra, is known for his spiritual songs (abangas or kirtanas), devoted to Vitthoba, an avatar of Krishna.
