Thirumangai Azhwar

Thirumangai Azhwar

• The Idol Wing CID police have furnished documents through the Indian High Commission, London, to the Ashmolean Museum, in Oxford, U.K., requesting the restitution of a 16th-century bronze idol of Thirumangai Azhwar. The idol reportedly went missing from a temple near Kumbakonam half a century ago. 
• In November 2019, an independent scholar brought new research to attention, relating to the provenance of an Indian 16th century bronze of Saint Tirumangai Azhwar, which was acquired by the Ashmolean Museum from Sotheby’s in 1967. Research in the photo archives of the IFP-­EFEO (Institut Français de Pondicherry and the Ecole Française d’Extrême­Orient) appears to show the same idol in the Soundarrajaperumal temple near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu in 1957

About Azhwar

• The alvars, also spelled as alwars or azhwars (Those immersed in god) were Tamil poet-saints of South India who espoused bhakti (devotion) to the Hindu god Vishnu or his avatar Krishna in their songs of longing, ecstasy, and service. They are venerated especially in Vaishnavism, which regards Vishnu or Krishna as the Supreme Being.
• Many modern academics place the Alvars date between 5th century to 10th century CE, however traditionally the Alvars are considered to have lived between 4200 BCE - 2700 BCE. Orthodoxy posits the number of alvars as ten, though other references include Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar, making the number twelve. Andal is the only female saint-poet in the 12 Alvars. Together with the contemporary sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars, they are among the most important saints from Tamil Nadu.
• The devotional outpourings of Alvars, composed during the early medieval period of Tamil history, helped revive the bhakti movement, through their hymns of worship to Vishnu and his avatars. They praised the Divya Desams, 108 "abodes" (temples) of these Vaishnava deities. The poetry of the Alvars echoes bhakti to God through love, and in the ecstasy of such devotions, they sang hundreds of songs that embodied both depths of feeling and felicity of expressions. The collection of their hymns is known as Divya Prabandha. The Bhakti literature that sprang from Alvars has contributed to the establishment and sustenance of a culture that broke away from the ritual-oriented Vedic religion and rooted itself in devotion as the only path for salvation. Also, they helped to make the Tamil religious life independent of a knowledge of Sanskrit. As part of the legacy of the Alvars, five Vaishnava philosophical traditions (sampradayas) have developed at the later stages.

About Thirumangai Alvar

• Thirumangai Alvar also spelled as Tirumangai Alvar and Thirumangai Mannan is the last of the 12 Alvar saints of south India, who are known for their affiliation to Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. He is considered one of the most learned Alvar and the most superior Alvar in the context of the composition of verses. He holds the title Narkavi Perumal, the mark of an excellent poet, and Parakala (Beyond Time).
• Though he is respected as a Vaishnava saint-poet, he, initially, worked as a military commander, a chieftain and then a robber. After his conversion to Vaishnavism, he confronted practitioners of rival Hindu sects of Shaivism as well as Buddhism and Jainism.

Bhakti movement

• Began with the aim of reforming Hinduism and expressed a set of ideas and beliefs. "BHAKTI" means the passionate devotion to God. The Bhakti movement refers to the theistic devotional trend that emerged in medieval Hinduism and later acted as the defacto catalyst to the formation and subsequent revolutionization in the form of Sikhism. It originated in eighth-century south India (now Tamil Nadu and Kerala) and spread northwards. It swept over east and north India from the 15th century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE.
• The Bhakti movement regionally developed around different gods and goddesses, and some sub-sects were Vaishnavism (Vishnu), Shaivism (Shiva), Shaktism (Shakti goddesses), and Smartism. Bhakti movement preached using the local languages so that the message reached the masses. The movement was inspired by many poet-saints, who championed a wide range of philosophical positions ranging from the theistic dualism of Dvaita to absolute monism of Advaita Vedanta.
• The movement has traditionally been considered as an influential social reformation in Hinduism and provided an individual-focused alternative path to spirituality regardless of one's birth or gender. Postmodern scholars question this traditional view and whether the Bhakti movement ever was a reform or rebellion of any kind. They suggest the Bhakti movement was a revival, reworking, and recontextualization of ancient Vedic traditions.
• Scriptures of the Bhakti movement include the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavata Purana, and Padma Purana

Source: The Hindu and Wikipedia