The Poetry of the Alvars
The figure of Rama and several episodes from the Ramayana are prominent in the poems of the Tamil mystics (Alvars), as well as in the devotional meditations and theological arguments of the Srivaishnava preceptors (Acharyas). This article will explore the importance of the Ramayana in Srivaishnava theology and experience by focusing on the Tamil poetry of the Alvars and on the interpretation of these verses by their commentator, Periyavaccan Pillai (born 1228 A.D.), a Srivaishnava…