Bhakti that offers salvation to Sanathana Dharma followers through ardent devotion and
love to God, is considered as one of the three paths of Moksha and had triggered a popular
movement that may had changed the course of Hinduism paving the way for two new
religions; Sikhism and Lingayatism. Our work aims to explore and rightly present the genesis
of Bhakti movement and contributions of Alvars and Nayanmars, who were often neglected in
Bhakti literature.
Since Islam entered south India and Bhakti originated there in the same period as well, and
it shows great similarity between principles of Islam and Bhakti’s teachings on salvation, its
methods and social structure, the work examines whether Islam had influenced or not.
Therefore, the work will also contribute significantly to comprehend the genesis of Sufism and
cross-religious synchronizations.