
The Alvars sang these songs at various sacred shrines known as the Divya Desams.

The Divya Prabandham sings the praises of Narayana ( Vishnu) and his many forms. The works were lost before they were collected and organised in the form of an anthology by Nathamuni.

The work, an important liturgical compilation of the Tamil Alvars, marks the beginning of the canonisation of 12 Vaishnava poet saints, and these hymns are still sung extensively today. It was compiled in its present form by Nathamuni during the 9th–10th centuries. The Naalayira Divya Prabandham ( Tamil: நாலாயிரத் திவ்வியப் பிரபந்தம், romanized: Nālāyira Divya Prabandham, lit.'Four Thousand Divine Hymns') is a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses composed by the 12 Alvars.
