600 CE – 900 CE
The Bhakti period represents a massive paradigm shift in Tamil literature and politics. Following the Kalabhra interregnum, the Nayanmars (Shaivite) and Alvars (Vaishnavite) led a populist, musical, and emotionally intense religious movement.
The Shaiva poet-saints whose hymns formed the foundational Tevaram corpus.
The Vaishnava poet-saints whose verses form the Divya Prabandham.
Hymns were set to traditional Tamil musical modes (Panns) to be sung in temples.
Democratized access to the divine through the Tamil language.
Context
The Bhakti movement is often presented purely as a spiritual awakening, but it was deeply political. The hymns of Campantar and Appar contain explicit polemics against Jains and Buddhists, reflecting the royal patronage shift back to Vedic-Agamic traditions under the Pallavas and Pandyas.
Critical Note: Unlike the Sangam era, where poets were often wandering bards dependent on chieftains, the Bhakti saints were elevated to the status of deities themselves. The temples became massive land-owning institutions and centers of economic power.
The movement systematically marginalized Jainism and Buddhism in the Tamil country by blending deeply emotional poetry with royal endorsement. The literature is characterized by its intense longing for the divine, often drawing on the Sangam Akam (love poetry) conventions to express the devotee's relationship with God.
Selected Verses
தோடுடைய செவியன் விடையேறியோர் தூவெண் மதிசூடிக் காடுடையசுட லைப்பொடிபூசனி யென்னுள்ளங் கவர் கள்வன் ஏடுடையமல ரான்முனைநாட்பணிந் தேத்தவருள் செய்த பீடுடையபிர மாபுரமேவிய பெம்மானிவ னன்றே.
"He wears a rolled leaf in His ear, rides a bull, is crowned by the pure white moon, and smears Himself with the ash of the cremation ground... He is the thief who stole my heart."
— Thirugnanasambandar
மார்கழித் திங்கள் மதிநிறைந்த நன்னாளால் நீராட போதுவீர் போதுமினோ நேரிழையீர்
"The bright full-moon night of Margazhi has come — come, you who are adorned with fine jewels, come to bathe, come now..."
— Andal
The Visionaries
மாணிக்கவாசகர்
Shaiva — but his Shaivism is intensely personal, not ritual
Thiruvasagam — 51 poems of total surrender
நம்மாழ்வார்
Vaishnava — Sri Vaishnava tradition
Thiruvaymoli — 1,102 verses; the core of the Divya Prabandham
ஆண்டாள்
Vaishnava
Thirupavai (30 verses), Nachiyar Thirumozhi (143 verses)
திருஞானசம்பந்தர்
Shaivism (Hinduism)
One of the Nayanmars; Author of the first three Tirumurais of Tevaram; Key figure in the Shaiva Bhakti movement.
அப்பர்
Shaivism
One of the Nayanars, contributor to Thevaram, key figure in the Shaivite Bhakti revival.
சுந்தரர்
Saivism
One of the Three Tevaram Moovars; author of Tiruttondattogai; Tampiran Tozhar (Friend of Shiva)
பெரியாழ்வார்
Vaishnavism (Hinduism)
Composing Tiruppallandu and Periyalvar Tirumozhi; pioneering 'vatsalya bhava' (maternal devotion) towards Krishna; adopting Andal.