thumb|right|290px|The Nalvar () of [[Shaiva Siddhanta – (from left) Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar, the three foremost Nayanars, and Manikkavacakar.]]
The Nayanars (or Nayanmars; ) were a group of 63 Tamil saints living during the 6th to 8th centuries CE. Along with the Alvars, their contemporaries, they influenced the Bhakti movement in early medieval South India. The names of the Nayanars were first compiled by Sundarar. The list was expanded by Nambiyandar Nambi during his compilation of material by the poets for the Tirumurai collection, and would include Sundarar himself and Sundarar's parents.
The Nalvar () are the three foremost Nayanars Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar along with Manikkavacakar.
History
The list of the Nayanars was initially compiled by Sundarar (Sundararmurthi). In his poem Tiruthonda Thogai he sings, in eleven verses, the names of the Nayanar saints up to Karaikkal Ammaiyar, and refers to himself as "the servant of servants". The list did not go into the detail of the lives of the saints, which were described in detail in works such as Tevaram. His priest Nambiyandar Nambi began compiling the hymns into a series of volumes called the Tirumurai. He arranged the hymns of three saint poets Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar as the first seven books which he called the Tevaram. He compiled Manikkavasakar's Tirukovayar and Tiruvasakam as the eighth book, the 28 hymns of nine other saints as the ninth book, the Tirumandiram of Tirumular and 40 hymns by 12 other poets as the tenth book. In the eleventh book, he created the Tirutontanar Tiruvanthathi (also known as Tirutoṇṭar Antādi, lit. Necklace of Verses on the Lord's Servants), which consisted of 89 verses, with a verse devoted to each of the saints. With the addition of Sundarar and his parents to the sequence, this became the canonical list of the 63 saints. In the 12th century, Sekkizhar added a twelfth volume to the Tirumurai called Periya Puranam in which he expands further on the stories of each of 63 Nayanars.
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ List of 63 Nayanars
|-
! style="background:#b0c4de;"| No. one of the three female Nayanars
|-
| 25 || Apputhi Adigal ||
|-
| 26 || Tiruneelanakka ||
|-
| 27 || Nami Nandi Adigal ||
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| 28 || Sambandar ||A child prodigy Saiva Saint who lived only 16 years
|-
| 29 || Eyarkon Kalikama ||
|-
| 30 || Tirumular ||
|-
| 31 || Dandi Adigal ||
|-
| 32 || Murkha||
|-
| 33 || Somasi Mara||
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| 34 || Sakkiya ||
|-
| 35 || Sirappuli||
|-
| 36 || Siruthondar||Army general of the Pallava king Narasimavarman I
|-
| 37 || Cheraman Perumal || Tentatively identified with Chera ruler Rama Rajasekhara
Born in Aadhi month, Swathi nakshathiram
|-
| 38 || Gananatha||
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| 39 || Kootruva ||
|-
| 40 || Pugal Chola || Chola King
|-
| 41 || Narasinga Muniyaraiyar||
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| 42 || Adipaththar||
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| 43 || Kalikamba||
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| 44 || Kalia|| Born in Aadhi month, Kettai nakshathiram
|-
| 45 || Satti||
|-
| 46 || Aiyadigal Kadavarkon||
|-
| 47 || Kanampulla||
|-
| 48 || Kari||
|-
| 49 || Ninra Seer Nedumaara || Pandya King
|-
| 50 || Mangayarkkarasiyar || Queen and consort of Nindra Seer Nedumaran; one of the three female Nayanars
|-
| 51 || Vayilar||
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| 52 || Munaiyaduvar ||
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| 53 || Kazharsinga || Tentatively identified with Pallava king Narasimhavarman II (Rajasimha)
|-
| 54 || Idangazhi||
|-
| 55 || Seruthunai||
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| 56 || Pugazh Thunai ||
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| 57 || Kotpuli||
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| 58 || Pusalar ||
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| 59 || Nesa Nayanar|| Saliyar, weaver who donates clothes to Lord Shiva's devotees
|-
| 60 || Sengenar (Kochengat Chola)||
|-
| 61 || Tiru Nilakanta Yazhpanar ||
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| 62 || Sadaiya || Sundarar's father
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| 63 || Isaignaniyaar || Sundarar's mother; one of the three female Nayanars
|-
|}
Other saints
The 9th-century poet Manikkavacakar was not counted as one of the 63 Nayanars but his works were part of the eighth volume of the Tirumurai.
In Tiruchuli, the Tamil poet-philosopher Valluvar is worshipped as the 64th Nayanar. Valluvar was also added as the 64 saint in the annual Mylapore procession of the 63 Nayanars since c. 1905.
See also
- Manikkavacakar
- Tamil mythology