azwars: The Divine Dozen

Like the Upanishadic seers, azwars experienced the Lord, Brahman, in their inner vision and by realizing Him demonstrated that Brahman who has philosophically the highest was also intuitionally loftiest. The spiritual experience of the azwars found expression in the form of hymns steeped in bhakti, and collectively they are called Naalaayira Divya Prabhandham.

The spontaneous outpourings of the 12 azwars, which are characterized by lyrical beauty and bhakti are known as Prabhandham or Tamil Vedas.