Previous Year Question

Two major saintly traditions emerged in the early Bhakti movement of South India—the Alvars and the Nayanars.

The Alvars were devotees of Vishnu, whereas the Nayanars were devotees of Shiva. According to IGNOU material, there were 12 Alvars, and their compositions were later collected in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham.

(a) Poygai — Alvar saint:
Poygai or Poygai Alvar was one of the twelve Alvar saints. He is counted among the first three Alvars.

These early three saints are generally identified as—

Poygai Alvar
Bhutath/Pudam Alvar
Pey Alvar

(c) Pudam — Alvar saint:
The name “Pudam” printed in the question refers to Bhutam/Bhutath Alvar. IGNOU's list includes him as Bhootayogi/Bhoottalvar. Therefore, he was also an Alvar saint.

(d) Tirumangai — Alvar saint:
Tirumangai Alvar was also one of the twelve celebrated Alvar saints. He was an important Tamil poet-saint of the Vaishnava Bhakti tradition, and his compositions form part of the Divya Prabandham tradition.

(b) Tirugyan — Not an Alvar:
The scan prints the name as “Tirugyan.” It refers to Tirugnana Sambandar/Thirugnana Sambandar.

Tirugnana Sambandar was not an Alvar but a major Shaiva Nayanar saint. He is counted among the leading Tamil Shaiva saint-poets along with Appar, Sundarar and Manikkavachakar.

The hymns composed by Sambandar became part of the early books of the Tevaram. Therefore, he belonged to the Shaiva Nayanar tradition, not the Vaishnava Alvar tradition.