Brooklyn Museum - A Vision of Vishnu (Vaikuntha Darshana)

The Irantam Tiruvantati () is a Tamil Hindu work of literature composed by Bhutath Alvar, one of the twelve

Alvars The Alvars ( ta, ஆழ்வார், Āḻvār, translit-std=ISO, lit=The Immersed) were the Tamil people, Tamil poet-saints of South India who espoused ''bhakti'' (devotion) to the Hinduism, Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, in their songs ...

Sri Vaishnavism Sri Vaishnavism, or the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya, is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who ...

. Composed of 100 verses in the poetic meter called the antati, it is part of the compendium of hymns called the

Naalayira Divya Prabandham The Naalayira Divya Prabandham ( ta, நாலாயிரத் திவ்வியப் பிரபந்தம், lit=Four Thousand Divine Hymns, translit=Nālāyira Divya Prabandham) is a collection of 4,000 Tamil language, Tamil ver ...

, composed in the seventh century CE. It is dedicated to the preserver deity,

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within ...

Legend

According to a Sri Vaishnava legend,

Poigai Alvar Poigai Alvar was one of the twelve ''Alvar'' saints of South India, who are known for their affiliation to Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The verses of ''Alvars'' are compiled as '' Nalayira Divya Prabandham'' and the 108 temples revered are ...

once travelled to offer his veneration to

at the Ulagalantha Perumal temple at Tirukoilur. He met other two Alvars, Pey and Bhutath, whom he did not know, but who had also chosen to coincidentally visit the temple during the same period. During an ensuing rainstorm, Poigai found some accommodation at a mandapam, and was asked by Pey if he could share some space in his room. Observing that there was a single bed present in the mandapam, Poigai remarked that it would be most convenient for an individual to lie down upon the bed, but two to be seated. During this very moment, Bhutath arrived, and expressed the desire to share the mandapam with the other two poet-saints. The trio decided that it would be most proper for an individual to lie down, two people to be seated, but the fact that there were three of them meant that it would be most suitable for all of them to stand. Thus, the three poet-saints stood all night, and during the dawn, they felt the presence of a fourth entity in their midst. The force collided against them, and overwhelmed them so much that each of them composed hymns regarding their experience, in the form of an antati. The entity is proclaimed to be

Perumal Perumal (the 'Great One') is the name of a Hindu deity. It was also a medieval Indian royal title of: *Western Ganga dynasty Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala''. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 171. **Sripurusha **Rajamalla **Nitim ...

. Irantam Tiruvantati is stated to be the hymns composed by Bhutath Alvar, using his love for the deity as his lamp.

Hymns

The first hymn of the Irantam Tiruvantati describes the poet-saint's thoughts when Perumal overwhelmed him with his presence: The author also references Vishnu and

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

residing in their celestial abode,

Vaikuntha Vaikuntha ( sa, वैकुण्ठ, lit=without anxiety, translit=Vaikuṇṭha), also called Vishnuloka (), and Tirunatu (Tirunāṭu) in Tamil, is the abode of Vishnu, the supreme deity in the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism,Gavin Flood, A ...

, in this work:

References

Naalayira Divya Prabandham {{Tamil literature

External links

Irantam Tiruvantati text (Tamil)
Irantam Tiruvantati text and commentary (Tamil and English) - N. Rajagopalan Tamil Hindu literature Vaishnava texts

Legend

Hymns

See also

References

External links