num_pages: 168
description: The Nalayira Prabandham consists of four thousand verses in praise of Lord Vishnu in what is perhaps the oldest language of India - Tamil. Composed by the Azhwars, literally the 'God-immersed', the Prabandham includes the work of Andal, the only woman among the poet-saints of South India. The present volume carries a representative selection from the work of four of the twelve Azhwars - Periyazhwar, Tirumangai Azhwar, Tiruppaan Azhwar and Nammazhwat - apart from Andal's 'Tiruppaavai' and 'Nachiyaar Tirumozhi'. Extolling the beauty, courage and wisdom of Lord Vishnu in his various incarnations as saviour of the world, these poems reveal the passionate involvement of the poet-devotee with the divine object of love. It is this involvement, often sensual and erotic, as in the case of Andal's poetry, that transends narrative time and space and renders the epic contemporary.
language: English
title: For the Love of God: Selections from Nalayira Divya Prabandham
titlecomplete: For the Love of God: Selections from Nalayira Divya Prabandham (Penguin classics)
publisher: Penguin Books