100 poems called the Tiruviruttam, the Yajurveda as Thiruvarshiyam, and the Sama Veda as Tiruvaymoli in 1000 verses (poems). Varnas The saints had different origins and belonged to different varnas. As per tradition, the first three Alvars, Poigai Alvar, Bhuthath Alvar, Peyalvar and Andal were born miraculously i.e., they were not given birth. Thirumalisai Alvar was the son of a sage Bhargava; Thondaradipodi Alvar, Mathurakavi Alvar, Perialvar were Brahmin; Kulasekhara was a Kshatriya, Nammalvar was from a cultivator family, Thirupanalvar from Tamil Panar community and Thirumangai Alvar from kalvar community. Some Vaishnavities consider only the main 10 Alvars (except Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar) while other include these two in the list too. Srirangam is the only Divya Desam that was glorified commonly by the 12 Alvars. Works Temple records and inscriptions give a detailed account of the Alvars and their works. According to these texts, the saints were considered incarnations of some form of Vishnu. Few of them are: Divya Suri Saritra by Garuda-Vahana Pandita (11th century) Guruparamparaprabavam by Pinbaragiya Perumal Jiyar Periya tiru mudi adaivu by Anbillai Kandadiappan Yatindra Pranava Prabavam by Pillai Lokam Jiyar commentaries on Divya Prabandam Guru Parampara (lineage of Gurus) texts Dating According to traditional account by Manavala Mamunigal, the first three Alvars namely Poigai Alvar, Bhoothath Alvar and Pey Alvar belong to Dvapara Yuga (even before the birth of Krishna, i.e., before 4200 BCE). It is widely accepted by tradition and historians that the trio are the earliest among the twelve Alvars. Along with the three Saiva Nayanmars, they influenced the ruling Pallava kings, creating a Bhakti movement that resulted in changing the religious geography from Buddhism and Jainism to these two sects of Hinduism in the region (even though Buddhism did not exist until 5th century BCE). After the era of Alvars, few of the Divya Prabandham were lost. In order to retrieve them, Vishnu is believed to have sent Nathamuni, who had a vision of Nammalvar through the idol that Nammalvar advised Madhurakavi Alvar to obtain. The idol can be found today in the Alvarthirunagari Temple. Summary Some modern scholars suggest that they lived during 5th – 9th century CE, "on the basis of a few historical evidences", although no "clear" evidence exists to place them between the 5th to the 9th century CE. The Encyclopædia Britannica says that Alvars lived between 7th and 10th centuries CE. Professor of Religion and Asian