శ్రీ వైష్ణవ ఆళ్వారుల పేరు లో ఏముంది ?

There are reasons why the Azhvars have their respective names. Poigai Azhvar appeared in a pond (poigai) opposite the Yatoktakari temple in Kanchipuram. Hence his name. Pei Azhvar, the third Azhvar to make his appearance, was so caught up in Narayana bhakti, that he might be said to have been obsessed with Lord Narayana. This led to the name Pei. Parasar Bhattar refers to him as ‘mahat,’ indicating his greatness. Pei, in Tamil, also means big. Pei Azhvar’s God obsession was prodigious. But while this is understandable, how did Bhoothathazhvar get the name ‘Bhootham’? ‘Bhoo’ in Sanskrit means to exist. Bhoothathazhvar existed because of his devotion to Narayana, His bhakti was what sustained him. For him, to exist was to think of Narayana. After all one exists only with the realisation of the Supreme One. To exist is to know Him. While all the other Azhvars too lost themselves in Narayana bhakti, the first three Azhvars -- Poigai, Bhootam and Pei -- are the pioneers. And of these Bhoothathazhvar was the first to show us the Narayana sabdham. The primary preoccupation of most of us is to make provisions to satisfy our craving for food. Nammazhvar refers to one’s stomach as ‘Thooraakkuzhi,’ the pit that cannot be filled. If there is a pit, we can roughly calculate or estimate how much soil we will need to fill it up. But is the pit that is our stomach ever completely full? No sooner we finish one meal than we make preparations for the next, for we know we will soon be hungry again. Hunger, therefore, is a constant in our lives, never going away forever. A verse attributed to Avvaiyar berates the stomach. Can we eat in one sitting, enough to keep hunger at bay for the next two days? Can we go without eating even for a day? The answer to both questions is obviously in the negative. So the poet concludes that life in the company of one’s stomach is difficult indeed. Bhoothathazhvar too had an insatiable appetite. But his appetite was for Narayana bhakti. He existed only because of, and for, his bhakti.