Mangalasasanam

Managalasasanam (Songs in praise of the holy shrines and its prosperity).  The shrines where the divine saints Azhwars, (Azhwars were believed to be the Amsams of Sriman Narayanan), have sung – Mangalaasaasanam – are called Divya Desams. There are 108 Divya Desams out of which 105 are located in India, 1 in Nepal and remaining 2 (Parama padam and Thiruppaarkadal) are to be believed in the celestial world. The presiding deities in these Divya Desams are found in various Thirukkolams (postures)

The Alvars during the early medieval period of Tamil history (between 6th and 10th centuries CE) worshiped Sriman`Narayana (Lord Vishnu) and his Avatars through their hymns. This collection of their hymns is known as Divya Prabhandham. Divyadesams that have the most number of pasurams sung upon them are Srirangam (247), Thirumala (202), Thirumaliruncholai and Thirukannapuram (128 each)

1.  Alvars (or Alwars/ Azhwars ; Tamil: ஆழ்வார்கள்)
2. List of Divyadesams
3. Mangalasasanam Classifications
4. List of Managalasasanam

Alvars or azhwars (Tamil: ஆழ்வார்கள், āzvārhaḷ [aːɻʋaːr], ‘those immersed in god’) were Tamil poet saints of south India who lived between the sixth and ninth centuries A.D. and espoused ‘emotional devotion’ or bhakti to Visnu-Krishna in their songs of longing, ecstasy and service. Sri Vaishnava orthodoxy posits the number of alvars as ten, though there are other references that include Andal and madhurakavi, making the number twelve. The devotional outpourings of Alvars, composed during the early medieval period of Tamil history, helped revive the bhakti movement, through their hymns of worship to Vishnu and his Avatars. They praised 108 of this deity’s holy abodes in their hymns, known as the Divya Desams. Together with the contemporary sixty three Saiva Nayanars, they are accounted as South India’s 75 Apostles of Bhakti . Read more on Azhwars.