and the enormous Minakshi temple,
named after the goddessconsidered to
be Madurai’s patron deity. Interestingly,
the temple was the real ritual center of
the city, as is clearly shown by its place-
ment and the processional streets sur-
rounding it.
Tirumalisai
(9th c.) One of the Alvars, a group of
twelve poet-saints who lived in southern
India between the seventh and tenth
centuries. All of the Alvars were devotees
(bhakta) of the god Vishnu, and their
stress on passionate devotion (bhakti)
to a personal god, conveyed through
hymns sung in the Tamil language,
transformed and revitalized Hindu reli-
gious life. According to tradition,
Tirumalisai was the son of a sage and a
celestial nymph (apsara), who was
abandoned by his parents at birth. He
was found and raised by a man of very
humble status who called his foster son
by the name of their village. For further
information see Kamil Zvelebil, Tamil
Literature, 1975.
Tirumangai
(9th c.) By far the most picturesque of
the Alvars, a group of twelve poet-saints
who lived in southern India between the
seventh and tenth centuries. All the
Alvars were devotees (bhakta) of the god
Vishnu, and their stress on passionate
devotion (bhakti) to a personal god,
conveyed through hymns sung in the
Tamil language, transformed and revi-
talized Hindu religious life. According to
tradition, Tirumangai was born into a
casteof thieves, and theft, robbery, and
deceit play an important role in the sto-
ries associated with him. One story
reports that after taking a vow to feed
1,008 Vaishnavasfor a year, he resorted
to highway robbery to raise the neces-
sary funds; on another occasion he took
to robbery to raise funds to enlarge the
temple at Shrirangam. In these and
other works, he had the continual help
of Vishnu, his chosen deity; regardless of
their truth or falsity, these stories reveal
a great deal about the passionate
devotional commitment of his time.
For further information see Kamil
Zvelebil, Tamil Literature, 1975; and
John Stirling Morley Hooper, Hymns of
the Alvars,1929.Tirunavukkarashu
(7th c.) This was the given name of the
Nayanar poet-saint most commonly
referred to as Appar(“father”). Appar
was one of the earliest of the Nayanars, a
group of sixty-three southern Indian
poet-saints who were devotees (bhakta)
of the god Shivaand who lived in south-
ern India in the seventh and eighth cen-
turies. Along with their contemporaries
the Alvars, who were devotees of
Vishnu, the Nayanars spearheaded the
revitalization of Hindu religion through
their passionate devotion (bhakti) to a
personal god, conveyed through hymns
sung in the Tamil language.Tirupati
Town in the far southern part of the state
of Andhra Pradesh, about 160 miles
northwest of Madras. It is most famous
for the Holy Hill (Tirumalai) eight miles
to the north, which is the location of the
temple to Venkateshvaraand for which
Tirupati is the major gateway.Tirupati/Tirumalai Devasthanam
Official name for the managing commit-
tee of the Venkateshvaratemple, near
the town of Tirupati in the state of
Andhra Pradesh. This temple is the
richest one in India, based largely on the
popular belief that any wish made in the
deity’spresence will invariably come
true. In earlier times all of the temple
receipts were taken by the priests run-
ning the temple, but since Indian inde-
pendence in 1947, the temple
committee has been responsible for
them. The committee has channeled
these funds into hundreds of charities,
but particularly into education and tem-
ple building: the former in schools fromTirumalisai