Bhakti Movement in South India

India has been a land of great philosophical, intellectual and mystic dynamism. At different points in time, saints have appeared along the length and breadth of the country and contributed to the upliftment of the human mind and spirit towards the timeless eternal truth. These saints and savants have helped the cultural ethos of our country retain and nurture its deep bond with spirituality.

The śāstra-s speak of the three-fold paths - karma yōga, bhakti yōga and jñāna yōga. In very general terms,

•  karma yōga refers to the path of action,

•  bhakti yōga – the path of devotion and

•  jñāna yoga- the path of enquiry and enlightenment

Nature of Bkhati :

• Men and women who have achieved great spiritual heights have, understood the nature of each of these paths and out of the innate compassion in their hearts, strived to spread the message of the ultimate truth to mankind, through the message of bhakti. 

• Their transcendental spiritual experiences, if are to be understood by the average man, have to be expressed in a simplified way. 

• Therefore, the saints have used poetry and songs to communicate their spiritual messages to humankind. The most attractive of all instruments to achieve this end, is that of music. Music communicates like no other. 

• The language of music tears down barriers of language, caste, and creed. 

For instance :Ādi śaṅkara, to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, from Kabīrdās to Annamācārya,these saints have shown us, through their poetry, songs and hymns, how to live and how to elevate oneself to a higher level

Azvars :

• .The word ‘āzvār’ means – one who is immersed in the devotion of Lord Viṣṇu. 

• There are twelve āzvār-s, the most well-known being Āṇḍāḷ, Nammāzvār, Toṇḍaraḍippoḍi āzvār, Madhurakavi āzvār and Periyāzvār. 

• Many of the āzvār-s came from diverse backgrounds and each of them is believed to be the incarnation of one of Lord Viṣṇu’s aspects. 

• For example, Kulaśēkharāzvār is believed to be an incarnation of the kaustubha gem of Lord Viṣṇu.

Nayanmars:

The Nāyanmār-s were saints who followed the Śaiva siddhānta philosophy, in which Lord Śiva is considered the supreme Lord of the universe. This school had existed in the Tamiz region in different forms for several centuries, 

but it solidified and took a firm shape during the period between the 6th and 8th centuries C.E. This was the period when the nāyanmār-s walked the earth. They, along with the āzvār-s shaped the religious thinking of South India for centuries to come.

Akka Mahādēvī:

• Akka Mahadevi  great woman-saint from the Karnataka region. 

• Akka Mahādēvī is one of the foremost woman mystic saints of India.

•  She was a prominent torchbearer of the Vīra śaiva movement in the 12th century C.E. and is, till date, considered an icon of emancipation of women. 

• She proved that women could, as well as any man, pursue a life of spirituality and engross oneself in the search of the divine.

Tayumanavar :

• Tāyumānavar is one of the foremost saints of Śaiva siddhānta in Tamil Nadu.

•  He has followed the hallowed path of Tirumūlar, the author of the philosophical masterpiece – Tirumandiram.

Tarigoṇḍa  Veṅgamāmbā

• Tarigonda Vengmamba   was an 18th century  bhakti saint who lived  her life dedicated to Lord  Narasimha and Lord Vēṅkaṭēśvara  of Tirupati.  

• She  is famous  for composing  many devotional  poems and rūpaka-s,most  important being the mutyāla  hārati, which is still sung before  the Lord Vēṅkaṭēśvara during ēkānta sēva.

• Tarigoṇḍa  Veṅgamāmbā has  composed many poems,  devotional songs as well as  yakṣagāna-s. Some of her important  works are Nṛsimhavilāsa kathā, Śiva nāṭakam,  Ceñcu nāṭakam, Ramā pariṇayam, Vasiṣṭha rāmāyaṇam  in dvipada metre, Aṣṭāṅgayōgasāram, Śri Vēṅkaṭācala mahātmyam  and many more.  

Dāsa kūṭa

• Dasa kuta, gave commentaries  and helped remove many confusions  and blind prejudices in the minds of  the common man using an intellectual approach  with logic and reasoning, and the dāsa kūṭa on  the other hand, followed the bhakti mārga i.ethey  sang the praises of Lord Viṣṇu and encouraged the common  folk to follow the same path for liberation.  

• The  dāsa-s  made moral  and didactic  teachings in addition  to their philosophic content  in very simple language. They  were quite prolific and have left  behind a huge body of work.  

• The  Dāsa composers  wielded a great  influence not just  over the bhakti movement,  but also on the development  of Karṇāṭaka music. Composers like Purandaradāsa  and Vyāsarāya have mentioned in their songs,

 The great  saints of South  India who have fostered  and nurtured the bhakti movement.  Though they sang and composed poems  in regional languages, their message of  devotion and divine love crossed all such  mundane barriers and to date, their compositions  are sung by people all over the country (and by Indian  diaspora spread over the world).