Vol. 22 No. 2 (2014)

The Āḻvārs (or sometimes Alwars or even Azhwars)* are those fortunate souls who are submerged in the ocean-like realm of God consciousness. The word itself means “immersed,” indicating that an āḻvār is one
who has no interest beyond the divine—a person who is “drowning” in transcendence, or totally God-intoxicated. Specifically, it refers to twelve Tamil poet-saints of South India who are known as bhakti exemplars, or Vaishnavas of the highest order: Poykaiyāḻvār, Putattāḻvār, Pēyāḻvār, Tirumaḻicaiyāḻvār, Toṇṭaraṭippoṭiyāḻvār, Kulaśēkarāḻvār, Tirumaṅkaiyāḻvār, Tiruppāṇāḻvār, Periyāḻvār, Nammāḻvār, Āṇṭāḷ, and Maturakaviyāḻvār.