were a group of sixty-three Shaivapoet-
saints who lived in southern India
between the seventh and ninth cen-
turies. Along with their Vaishnavacoun-
terparts, the Alvars, the Nayanars
spearheaded the revitalization of Hindu
religion in opposition to the Buddhists
and the Jains. Both the Nayanars and the
Alvars stressed passionate devotion
(bhakti) to a personal god—Shivafor
the Nayanars, Vishnufor the Alvars—
and conveyed this devotion through
hymns sung in the Tamil language.
According to tradition, Cekkilar was a
minister at the court of the Chola
dynasty’s king Kullottunga II
(r. 1130–1150 C.E.). Cekkilar was dis-
tressed by the king’s admiration for a
Jain epic poem and composed his own
text to distract the king. His text portrays
the Nayanars as models of devotion to
Shiva, although they are sometimes
extreme in their actions. Yet in every
case, the love between devotee (bhakta)
and deitymanifests itself in the circum-
stances of everyday life, leading the
saints to final liberation.
Celibacy
In traditional Indian culture, celibacy
was widely seen not only as a sign of
sanctity but also as a source of power.
On one hand, since sexual desire is often
the symbol for all types of desire, renun-
ciation of sexual activity is thus a sign for
the renunciation of the world in general.
On a more literal level, retention of
sementhrough celibacy is believed to
prevent the loss of a man’s vital energy.
In traditional Indian physiology, semen
is believed to be distilled from blood
and is therefore the concentrated
essence of a man’s vitality. Although
semen can and must be expended for
procreation, all other losses should be
carefully weighed. Thus there are strong
taboos on masturbation. This vital energy,
stored and conserved through celibacy,
can then be used for spiritual advance-
ment. The paradigm for the celibate
asceticis the god Shiva, one of whose
symbols is the linga, a pillar-shaped
image with clear phallic associations.
Shiva is the model husband and the
consummate ascetic. The linga repre-
sents his stored celibate energy, as the
product of his tapas(ascetic practices).
In the same way, celibacy is a way for
human men to conserve their vital ener-
gies, whether one is a lifetime celibate
(naisthika), a student (brahmacharin),
or—as in many cases—a married man
who has already had children.Chaitanya
(1486–1533 C.E.) Bengali saint, devotee
(bhakta) of the god Krishna, and the
founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnavareli-
gious community. Chaitanya was such a
pivotal figure that there are many tradi-
tional sources for his life, although their
hagiographic character makes them his-
torically unreliable. According to one of
these traditions, Chaitanya embodied
Krishna himself. Krishna became
Chaitanya to experience the longing of
Radha, his beloved consort whom
Chaitanya imagined himself to be. Thus,
for his followers Chaitanya was con-
ceived as Krishna and Radha in the
same body.
Chaitanya was born in the town of
Navadvipin the state of West Bengal
and given the name Vishvambar.
Traditional sources portray the young
man as a gifted teacher but with no
inclination toward Krishna. In 1508 he
went to Gaya, a sacred site (tirtha) asso-
ciated with rites for the dead, to perform
rites for his dead father. In Gaya,
Vishvambar met his teacher, Ishvara
Puri, and something profound hap-
pened there, for he returned to
Navadvip a passionate devotee of
Krishna. On his return, Vishvambar
began to hold the public kirtan(devo-
tional chanting) that has become the
hallmark of the Gaudiya Vaishnava
school. Devotees sang and danced in the
streets and wept uncontrollably.
Through this ecstatic emotional wor-
ship, they sought to regain the devotional
atmosphere associated with the gopis,
Krishna’s cowherd women, and thusChaitanya