page_title: Nayanars
section_title: List of Nayanars
hierarchical_section_title: Nayanars / List of Nayanars
caption_attribution_description: Evening puja at Sri Kokarneshvarar Temple in Tirukokarnam, Tamil Nadu
context_page_description: The Nayanars were a group of 63 saints living in Tamil Nadu during the 6th to 8th centuries CE who were devoted to the Hindu god Shiva. Along with the Alwars, their contemporaries who were devoted to Vishnu, they influenced the Bhakti movement in early medieval South India. The names of the Nayanars were first compiled by Sundarar. The list was expanded by Nambiyandar Nambi during his compilation of material by the poets for the Tirumurai collection, and would include Sundarar himself and Sundarar's parents.
context_section_description: Sundarar's original list of Nayanars did not follow any sequence with regards to chronology or importance. However, some groups have since followed an order for arranging their Nayanar temple images according to Sundarar's poem as well as the information from Nambi and Sekkizhar.
caption: The 63 Nayanars in a Shiva temple
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