Nathamunigal

Nāthamunigaḷ is considered to be the second guru of the Sri Vaishṇava Guru Paramparā. He is believed to have been born near Viranarayanapuram, near modern-day Mannargudi, in what is believed to be 823 AD. He is credited with the resurgence and the compilation of the Naalayira Divyaprabandhaṅgaḷ.

At one point, all of the Naalayira Divyaprabandhaṅgaḷ were lost except for ten pashurams that were being sung at this temple. Here, Nāthamunigaḷ heard this, and the verses told ten out of a thousand pashurams. This had Nāthamunigaḷ intrigued as to where the other nine hundred and ninety pashurams had disappeared. These ten pashurams also spoke of Kurugur (present-day Āzhwār Tirunāgari), Sadagopan (Nam Āzhwār). Thus Nāthamunigaḷ went in search of Nam Āzhwār.

Upon reaching Kurugur and enquiring about these ten pashurams, the locals denied knowing of the ten pashurams that he asked for, but they knew of eleven other pashurams. Nāthamunigaḷ recited these eleven pashurams twelve thousand times in front of the divine tamarind tree where Nam Āzhwār had once resided. Upon completion of the recitation, Nam Āzhwār is said to have appeared in front of Nāthamunigaḷ and blessed him with the thousand pashurams sung by him, as well as the three thousand other pashurams which were sung by the nine other azhwars.

Nāthamunigaḷ is said to have taught the Naalayira Divyaprabandhaṅgaḷ to his two nephews at Shrīraṅgam and introduced them at the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, where he served as the temple administrator.

The ritual of worship, as followed in Vishṇu Temples, is based on two early standard works. The first is the Vaikhanasa Sūtra, which probably belongs to the Krishna Yajurveda school. The other is the Panchratra Agama, which belongs to the extensive Tantra literature, believed to have been composed by Lord Sriman Nārāyaṇa himself. The Agama has a peculiar philosophy of its own, the Bhāgavata Cult, which is very old and is referred to in the Mahābhārata and Bādarāyaṇa Sūtras.

Nāthamunigaḷ made a provision for the recitation of Tamil Vedas on appropriate occasions during the main festivals of the Lord.

Nāthamunigaḷ is said to have attained Paramapadam at Gangaikona Cholapuram.

Nāthamunigaḷ's grandson, Yamunacharya, became the torch-bearer of Sri Vaishṇava Philosophy.