The Chola Empire's Bhakti Movement: Poets, Temples, and Devotion

In this episode of The Chola Empire, Lucas and Luna explore how the Bhakti movement shaped Chola religious and political life. They discuss the Nayanars and Alvars, saint-poets whose hymns were sung in temples and collected in the Tevaram and Divya Prabandham. The episode covers Rajaraja Chola I's role in codifying these hymns, the bronze processional icons used in temple festivals, and the integration of Bhakti into state ritual. Specific figures include Sambandar, Appar, Sundarar, and Manikkavacakar. The conversation touches on the debate over whether Bhakti was a subaltern movement or elite-led, and how the Cholas used it to legitimize their rule. Listeners will learn about the Tiruvasagam, the Nachiyar Tirumozhi of Andal, and the rediscovery of the Tevaram text under Rajaraja. This episode complements earlier discussions of Chola temple building and royal women by focusing on the devotional literature that animated those temples. #CholaEmpire #BhaktiMovement #Nayanars #Alvars #Tevaram #DivyaPrabandham #Sambandar #Appar #Sundarar #Manikkavacakar #Andal #RajarajaCholaI #Tiruvasagam #SouthIndianHistory #MedievalIndia #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo