Alvars are considered the twelve supreme devotees of Vishnu, who were instrumental in popularising Vaishnavism in the Tamil-speaking regions. The Azhvaars were influential in promoting the Bhagavata cult and the two Hindu epics, namely, Ramayana and Mahabaratha. The religious works of these saints in Tamil, songs of love and devotion, are compiled as Nalayira Divya Prabandham containing 4000 verses and the 108 temples revered in their songs are classified as Divya desam. The verses of the various azhvaars were compiled by Nathamuni (824 - 924 CE), a 10th-century Vaishnavite theologian, who called it the Dravida Veda or Tamil Veda. The songs of Prabandam are regularly sung in all the Vishnu temples of South India daily and also during festivals.