page_title: Thirumangai Alvar
section_title: Works
hierarchical_section_title: Thirumangai Alvar / Works
caption_attribution_description: English: Thirumangai Azhwar
context_page_description: Thirumangai Alvar, also spelt as Tirumangai Alvar and Thirumangai Mannan is the last of the 12 Alvar saints of south India, who are known for their affiliation to Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. He is considered one of the most learned Alvar and the most superior Alvar in the context of composition of verses. He holds the title Narkavi Perumal, the mark of an excellent poet, and Parakala.
  Though he is respected as a Vaishnava saint-poet, he, initially, worked as a military commander, a chieftain and then a robber. After his conversion to Vaishnavism, he confronted practitioners of rival Hindu sect of Shaivism as well as Buddhism and Jainism.
context_section_description: Periya Tirumoli is the composition of hymns illustrating the greatness of Vaishnava shrines and their presiding deity as well as God's numerous attributes. His songs extol the largest number of shrines – over 40 forms of Vishnu, from Badrinath in North India to Thirukkurungudi in the extreme South. Thirumangai also discusses causes of human suffering and ways to overcome it to achieve salvation. Vedanta Desika praises the work as "a deep insight in spiritual knowledge". 
  The word thandakam in Tiru-nedun-thandakam and Tiru-kuru-thandakam refers to the staff used for support for climbing a hill, this refers to God as the support for sustence of the soul in context of the poems. The words nedu and kuru signify the length of the compositions and its poetic meter. In Tirunedunthandakam, Thirumangai speaks as a Nayaki (consort of the Lord), who separated from her beloved God (Nayaka). Tirukuruthandakam speaks dependency of the soul on God and its way to escape suffering being God, who is the sole supporter.
  Tiruvelukkutirukkai deals with the concept of surrender to God to attain freedom from suffering, the nature of God and the means of attaining Him.
  Periya Tirumadal and Siriya Tirumadal use the madal, an ancient Tamil custom which is practised by a rejected lover to win back his love, though it is prohibited for women. The custom evolves singing about his love in love, devoid of food and sleep and finally trying to commit suicide before her if all things fail. Thirumangai sings as a woman threatening Lord to finish her life if He can not reciprocate her love. He assumes the role of a gopika (milkmaid) who threats Krishna (a form of Vishnu) with madal. He defends the gopika's actions of performing the prohibited madal, by saying that he follows the Sanskrit literary tradition who permits madal for women, not the Tamil one. His songs are also based on akam love poems, and talk of employing bees and storks are messengers to God. He goes to the length of portraying himself as the nayaki, pining for the love of Vishnu.
caption: Image of the granite and festival image of Thirumangai in Alwarthirunagari Temple
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