Alvars were the 10th century composer of the Nalayira Divya Prabandham. The Nalayira Divya Prabandham is a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses (Naalayiram in Tamil means 'four thousand') composed by the 12 Alvars, and was compiled in its present form by Nathamuni during the 9th–10th centuries. The work marks the beginning of the canonisation of 12 Vaishnava poet saints. The works were lost before they were collected and organized in the form of an anthology by Nathamuni. The Divya Prabandham sings the praise of Narayana (or Vishnu) and his many forms