108 Divya Desham

Vaishanvism regards Vishnu or Lord Krishna as Supreme being. In South India, Vaishnavism was spread by Vaishnav saints known as Alwar (also known as Azwar or Alvars). They hailed from all walks of life, and included women as well. They are considered as Ansham (part incarnation) of Lord Vishnu Himself. They were totally devoted to Lord Vishnu and his Avatars. Traditionally they are considered to have lived between 4200 BCE to 2700 BCE. They hold similar position among South India as that of 63 Nayanmars in Shaivisam. The only woman saint among them is Shri Andal (considered as incarnation of Goddess Laxmi). They spread Vaishnavism by composing devotional hymns on Lord Vishnu like Nayanmars spread Shaivism by composing devotional hymns on Lord Shiva. These sacred devotional hymns are 4000 in number and are together known as Divya Prabhandam. Alwars and Nayanmars helped Tamil religious life to become independent of the knowledge of Sanskrit.

Along with 3 Shaiva-Nayanmars, Alwars influenced the Pallava kings by promoting Bhakti-marg. This resulted in changing the religious geography of South India from Budhism and Jainism to Hinduism. The Alwars in their sacred hymns have revered 108 Vishnu temples. These are similar to 275 Shaiva Sthalams mentioned by Nayanmars in their hymns. These 108 Vishnu temples are together known as 108 Divya Deshams. These Divya Deshams follow Thenkalai (Southern) or Vadakalai (Northern) mode of worship. These 2 methods are followed in Vishnu temples of South India. Of these 108 temples, 84 are in Tamilnadu, 13 in Kerala, 2 in Andhra Pradesh, 1 in Gujrat, 4 in UP and 3 in Uttarakhand. The remaining 2 are Thirupalkadal (Ocean of milk) and Vaikuntham (Paramapadam).

It is noted that in the following Vishnu temples, the Goddess Laxmi has predomimamce over Lord Vishnu

1. Nacchiyar Kovil (At Thirunarariyur in Kumbhakonam of Tanjore district of Tamilnadu).
2. Thiru Andal temple at Srivilliputhur in Thriunelveli district of Tamilnadu
3. Pundarikaksha temple at Thiruvellarai in Trichy disctirct of Tamilnadu
4. Azagiya Manavala Perumal temple at Uraiyur in Tamilnadu

It is stated that Vishnu was of the view (opinion) that during Kaliyuga, women will have predominance over men. Hence it seems that he decided to set example first.