Alwar Tirunagari is believed to be the largest town in the time of Pandya kings.
The distinguishing name, with azhwar in Tamil prefixed to Thirunagarimeans the people who spoke languages first and speaks correct language.
The temple is considered the birthplace of Nammazhwar, considered the most prominent among the twelve Azhwar Saints.
Nammazhwar has contributed more than thousand verses out of the four thousand in Nalayira Divya Prabhandam, the Vainava canon.

According to traditional scriptures, Nammazhwar was born in 43rd Kali of 3059 BC.
He was born in a ((Mallar)) family at Thirukuravur(modern day Alwarthirunagiri) in the southernmost region of the Tamil country.
According to legend, as a child he responded to no external stimuli and his parents left him at the feet of the deity of Sri Adhinathar of Nagar tribe in Alwarthirunagari.
The child then got up and climbed into a hole in a tamarind tree, sat in the lotus position, and began to meditate.
It appears he was in this state for as long as sixteen years when a Tamil poet and scholar in Madurai named Madhurakavi Alvar saw a bright light shining in the south, and followed it until he reached the tree where the boy was residing.
Unable to elicit any reaction from the child, he asked him a riddle: "If the small is born in a dead's body (or stomach), what will it eat and where will it stay?"
meaning, if the subtle soul is embodied in the gross body, what are its actions and thoughts?
Nammalvar broke his lifelong silence and responded, "That it will eat, it will rest!"
meaning that if the soul identifies with the body, it will be the body but if it serves the divine, it will stay in vaikunta and eat(think) of God.
Madhurakavi Alvar realized the divinity of this child and became a devotee of the child.
The works of Nammalwar were compiled by Madhurakavi as four different works, the Tiruvayumoli (1102 verses), Thiruviruttam (100 verses), Thiruvaasiriam (or Thiru Aasiriyam - 7 verses) andPeriya Thiruvanthadi (87 verses).
The works of Nammalwar contributed to the philosophical and theological ideas of Vaishnavism.
Along with the three samaya kuravargal, Shaiva Nayanars Appar, Sundarar and Sambandar, they influenced the ruling Pallava kings of South India, changing the religious geography from Buddhism and Jainism to Hinduism.
Alwar Tirunagari is believed to be the largest town in the time of Pandya kings. The distinguishing name, with azhwar in Tamil prefixed to Thirunagarimeans the people who spoke languages first and speaks correct language. The temple is considered the birthplace of Nammazhwar, considered the most prominent among the twelve Azhwar Saints. Nammazhwar has contributed more than thousand verses out of the four thousand in Nalayira Divya Prabhandam, the Vainava canon.
According to traditional scriptures, Nammazhwar was born in 43rd Kali of 3059 BC. He was born in a ((Mallar)) family at Thirukuravur(modern day Alwarthirunagiri) in the southernmost region of the Tamil country. According to legend, as a child he responded to no external stimuli and his parents left him at the feet of the deity of Sri Adhinathar of Nagar tribe in Alwarthirunagari. The child then got up and climbed into a hole in a tamarind tree, sat in the lotus position, and began to meditate. It appears he was in this state for as long as sixteen years when a Tamil poet and scholar in Madurai named Madhurakavi Alvar saw a bright light shining in the south, and followed it until he reached the tree where the boy was residing. Unable to elicit any reaction from the child, he asked him a riddle: "If the small is born in a dead's body (or stomach), what will it eat and where will it stay?" meaning, if the subtle soul is embodied in the gross body, what are its actions and thoughts? Nammalvar broke his lifelong silence and responded, "That it will eat, it will rest!" meaning that if the soul identifies with the body, it will be the body but if it serves the divine, it will stay in vaikunta and eat(think) of God. Madhurakavi Alvar realized the divinity of this child and became a devotee of the child. The works of Nammalwar were compiled by Madhurakavi as four different works, the Tiruvayumoli (1102 verses), Thiruviruttam (100 verses), Thiruvaasiriam (or Thiru Aasiriyam - 7 verses) andPeriya Thiruvanthadi (87 verses). The works of Nammalwar contributed to the philosophical and theological ideas of Vaishnavism. Along with the three samaya kuravargal, Shaiva Nayanars Appar, Sundarar and Sambandar, they influenced the ruling Pallava kings of South India, changing the religious geography from Buddhism and Jainism to Hinduism.
Alwarthirunagari Temple