Pey Alwar

The term "Alvar" is used for a person who is deeply devoted to God and who sees nothing other than the almighty. There are twelve supreme alvars in the history of South India who were staunch devotees of Lord Vishnu. These were saint-poets who composed hundreds of songs and hymns for Lord Vishnu. These alvars popularized Vaishnava tradition among all, and they were one of the major influencers. All of these alvars are said to be during the 5th-8th centuries A.D.

All the religious songs and hymns composed by these alvars are compiled in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, which contains 4000 verses. There are 108 temples in which these verses are revered, and these temples are called Divya Desam.

It is also believed that the first three saints were Poigai, Bhutha, and Pey. Hence Pey was one of the prime saints who were miraculously originated. As per the legends, these saints did not have any origin family. It is also said that these twelve alvars were the incarnations of Lord Vishnu's different weapons.

Pay alvar was one of the first three saint-poets of South India. These alvars belonged to Dvapara yuga, who believed to be lived around 4200 to 2700 BCE.

Today we will mainly discuss Pey Alvar and his early life.

Life of Pey Alvar

The origin of Pey Alvar happened from a lily flower that was blooming in a pond of the Adi Kesava Perumal Temple in Mylapore. Pey means someone who is possessed or devoted; since the saint was highly devoted to Lord Vishnu, he was called Pey.

The origin of the hundred hymns takes us to the time where once the three first alvars were confined in a small dark space. It was a night of heavy rain, and there was not enough space for shelter. All three alvars had to stand close to each other when suddenly they felt the presence of a fourth person. It was a night of heavy rain and lightning; due to the lightning, the three alvars could see some part of the fourth entity.

To their surprise, this fourth person was no one else but Lord Vishnu. The face was holding a lot of illumination and divinity. However, the three saints wanted to continue glance at the Lord's face, and hence the Alvar Poigai started to sing hymns for the lighting to continue. Alvar Pey and Bhoothath both were composing hymns on Lord Vishnu's praise.

The work of these saints then became a significant contribution that worked for the philosophical ideas of Vaishnavism. Their work also influenced the Pallava Kings heavily that the religious geography changed to two sects of Hinduism.

About Twelve Alvars

It is said that all twelve alvars were from different communities such as Tirumazhisai was the son of a sage, Thondaradi, Mathurakavi, Periyalvar and Andal were from the brahmin community, Kulasekhara from Kshatriya community, Nammalvar was from a cultivator family, Tirupanalvar from Panar community, and Tirumangaiyalvar from kallar community.

The legend says that all these alvars were the incarnation of Vishnu's different weapons. It goes like this: Poigai is considered an incarnation of Panchajanya (Krishna's conch), Bhoothath of Kaumodakee (Vishnu's Mace), Pey of Nandaka (Vishnu's sword), Thirumalisai of Sudarshanam (Vishnu's discus), Nammalvar of Vishvaksena (Vishnu's commander), Madhurakavi of Vainatheya (Vishnu's eagle, Garuda), Kulasekhara of Kaustubha (Vishnu's necklace), Periy of Garuda (Vishnu's eagle), Andal of Bhoodevi (Vishnu's wife, Lakshmi, in her form as Bhudevi), Thondaradippodi of Vanamaalai (Vishnu's garland), Thiruppaanalvar of Srivatsa (An auspicious mark on Vishnu's chest) and Thirumangaiyalvar of Saranga (Rama's bow).

Other than influencing the Pallava kings, these alvars also became an important part of promoting Bhagavatha and Ramayana, and Mahabaratha. As per the data, it is believed that the hymns or songs which these alvars composed were accumulated by Nathamuni, who was a 10th-century Vaishnavite theologian; the songs or hymns were also called "Tamil Veda."

Pey Alvar, this way, is the third saint among the three first alvars. All these three alvars Poigai, Bhoothath, and Pey, were called "Mutalamalvargal" together.

A hundred hymns that Pey Alvar composed are now a part of Moondram Tiruvandadhi. His composition gives a sense of Andhadhi style, where the final syllable of a hymn is actually a starting of the next hymn.

Pey Alvar described a hundred songs in which he described the charm of the divine face of the Lord. He mentioned how the almighty is equipped with chakra and sankha while having his divine consort Goddess Lakshmi.

Bhoothath was another Alvar, one of the three alvars. He also composed 100 songs meanwhile to keep the lightning constantly appear by infusing his love in his compositions about Lord Vishnu.