The Four Thousand Sacred Hymns
Nālāyira Divya Prabandham (Tamil: நாலாயிர திவ்ய பிரபந்தம்) — 'the sacred prabandham of four thousand' — is the complete corpus of 4,000 Tamil verses composed by the twelve Āzhvārs across several centuries (approximately 4th–9th century CE). These hymns constitute the primary devotional scripture of the Śrī Vaishnava community, considered equal in authority to the Sanskrit Vedas.
Collection and Organization
Nāthamuni (9th–10th century CE) is credited with collecting, organizing, and setting these verses to music after they had been scattered and partially forgotten. He divided them into four thousand verses across twenty-four works (divya prabandhams). The most important of these is Nammāzhvār's Tiruvāymozhi (1,102 verses), which occupies pride of place as the 'Tamil Vedas.'
Structure
The 4,000 verses are organized in four divisions of roughly 1,000 each: the Mudalāyiram (first thousand — works of the first three Āzhvārs and others), the Periya Tirumozhi grouping, the Mūvāyiram (the three thousands — Nammāzhvār's works), and the Iyarpa (various). The arrangement was designed to mirror the four Vedas.
Daily Recitation
The Divya Prabandham is recited daily in Śrī Vaishnava temples alongside Sanskrit Vedic hymns — a practice called sevakāla-anusandhānam (attentive recitation during worship times). Committing portions to memory (especially Tiruppāvai and Tiruvāymozhi) is a cherished practice for devotees.