நாராயணப் பரத்துவமும் சமய அடையாள உருவாக்கமும்: திருமழிசையாழ்வார் பாசுரங்களின் சொல்லாடல் ஆய்வு: The Supremacy of Narayana and the Making of Religious Identity: A Discourse Study of Tirumazhisai Alvar's Pasurams

Abstract

The main argument of this article is that Tirumazhisai Alvar's Nanmukan Tiruvantati (96 pasurams) and Tiruchanda Viruttam (120 pasurams) are deliberate religious discourses that establish the supremacy of Tirumal, Narayana-paratvam. The two works are not mere expressions of devotion; through strategies such as the order of creation, question and answer, challenge, autobiographical testimony and philosophical sequencing, they construct an answer to the question 'Who is the supreme God?' The study follows the method of discourse analysis. Pasurams selected from both works are examined along three axes: (1) argumentative structure, (2) the rhetorical role of questions, and (3) conceptual relations with other religions, namely Jainism, Buddhism and Shaivism. Recent studies see the relationship between the Alvars and the Nayanmars not as 'unremitting hostility' but as 'parallel universes' with a shared landscape and distinct theologies (Narayanan & Shaw, 2019). Against that background, the article shows how Tirumazhisai's discourse handles refutation and inclusion together. In conclusion, Tirumazhisai Alvar does not deny the other deities but redefines them as creations subordinate to Narayana. Through the autobiographical voice of one who has 'learned' the scriptures of other religions and left them behind, he builds a distinct Vaishnava identity. This identity paved the way for the theological foundations of the later Srivaishnava acharyas.

Keywords

• Tirumazhisai Alvar
• Nanmukan Tiruvantati
• Tiruchanda Viruttam
• Narayana-paratvam
• discourse analysis
• religious identity
• Alvar bhakti