Pey Alvar
Pey Alvar (पेयाल्वार्, c. 7th century by common scholarly estimate) is regarded by Sri Vaishnava tradition as the third of the twelve Alvars, the Tamil poet-saints devoted to Vishnu, and the third of the three Mudhal Alvars. His name is popularly understood as “the possessed one” — one possessed by God — and he is the author of the Moonram Tiruvandadhi, a hundred-verse Tamil hymn included in the Divya Prabandham.
Life/Legend
Traditional hagiography relates that Pey Alvar was found as an infant in a lotus pond of the Adi Kesava Perumal temple at Mylapore (in present-day Chennai) and raised by a childless couple of that city. A noted legend describes the dance of Shiva, which Pey Alvar is said to have witnessed at Mylapore and celebrated in verse. The fullest tradition connects him with the other two Mudhal Alvars: on a stormy night at Thirukkoilur, the three met for the first time in a veranda too narrow to admit all three comfortably, and there each sang of Vishnu by the light of a spiritual lamp — Pey Alvar’s image being the lamp of union, joining God and devotee. These accounts are devotional tradition rather than documentary history.
Works
- Moonram Tiruvandadhi — 100 verses, the third work of the Divya Prabandham, centred on the union of the soul with Vishnu.
Legacy
His hymns are part of Sri Vaishnava temple liturgy, and the meeting of the three Mudhal Alvars is commemorated at Thirukkoilur.
Verification notes
- Alvar dating is debated; scholars place the Alvars between the 5th and 9th centuries CE, with the Mudhal Alvars commonly assigned to the 7th.
- The Mylapore pond birth and the Thirukkoilur veranda meeting are hagiographic tradition, not historical documentation.
- Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).