Tirumurai

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The four foremost Nayanars with Manikkavaasakar - collectively called the நால்வர்: (from left) Sambandar, Appar, Sundarar, Manikkavachakar.

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Tirumurai (Tamil: திருமுறை, meaning Holy Order) is a twelve-volume compendium of songs or hymns in praise of Shiva in the Tamil language from the 6th to the 11th century CE by various poets in Tamil Nadu. Nambiyandar Nambi compiled the first seven volumes by Appar, Sambandar, and Sundarar as Tevaram during the 12th century. During the course of time, a strong necessity was felt by scholars to compile Shaiva literature to accommodate other works.<ref name="Das86" /> Tiruvasakam and Tirukovayar by Manickavasagar are included as the eighth, nine parts are compiled as the ninth Tirumurai out of which most are unknown, and the tenth as Tirumandiram by Tirumular, the famous Siddhar.<ref name="Das86"/> The eleventh is compiled by Karaikal Ammaiyar, Cheraman Perumal and others. The contemporary Chola king was impressed by the work of Nambi and included Nambi's work in the eleventh Tirumurai.<ref name="Das86"/> Sekkilar's Periya Puranam, composed a century later, contains the life depiction of all the 63 Nayanmars.<ref name="Das86"/> The response for the work was so tremendous among Shaiva scholars and Kulothunga Chola II that it was included as the 12th Tirumurai.<ref name="Das86">Das 2005, p. 86</ref> Tirumurai along with Vedas and Shaiva agamas form the basis of Shaiva Siddantha philosophy in South India and Sri Lanka.<ref>Subramuniyaswami 2003, p. 551</ref>

History and backgroundEdit

The Pallava period in the history of the Tamil land is a period of religious revival of Shaivism by the Shaivite Nayanars who by their Bhakti hymns captured the hearts of the people. They made a tremendous impression on the people by singing the praise of Shiva in soul-stirring devotional hymns.<ref name="Sub541">Subramuniyaswami 2003, p. 541</ref> Tirumurai in anthology supersedes Sangam literature, which is predominantly secular in nature.<ref name="Shackle118"/> The entire Tirumurai is in viruttam meter or lines of four. The principal characteristics of the head-rhyming is influenced both by syllabic and moric prosody.<ref name="Shackle118">Shackle 1994, pp. 118-119</ref>

PoetsEdit

Tirumurai	Hymns	Period	Author
1,2,3	Tevaram	7th century CE	Sambandar<ref name="Cutler4">Cutler 1987, p. 4</ref><ref name="Zvelebi92">Zvelebil 1974, p. 92</ref>
4,5,6	Tevaram	7th century CE	Appar<ref name="Cutler4"/><ref name="Zvelebi92"/>
7	Tevaram	8th century CE	Sundarar<ref name="Cutler4"/><ref name="Zvelebi92"/>
8	Tiruvasakam and Tirukkovaiyar	9th century CE	Manikkavacakar
9	Tiruvicaippa	9th century CE	Thirumalikaittever
			Centanar
			Karuvurttevar
			Nampikatava nampi
			Gandaraditya
			Venattatikal
			Tiruvaliyamutanar
			Purutottama nampi
			Cetirayar
10	Tirumandiram	8th century CE	Tirumular
11	Prabandham
			Karaikkal Ammaiyar
			Ceraman Perumal Nayanar
			Pattinattu Pillaiyar
			Nakkiratevar Nayanar
			Kapilateva Nayanar
			Thiruvalaviyudaiyar
			Nampiyantarnampi
			IyyadigalkatavarkonNayanar
			Kalladateva Nayanar
			Paranateva Nayanar
			Ellamperuman Adigal
			Athiravadigal
12	Periya Puranam	12th century CE	Sekkizhar

HymnsEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Shaiva Tirumurais are twelve in number. The first seven Tirumurais are the hymns of the three great Shaivite saints, Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar. These hymns were the best musical compositions of their age.

The first three Tirumurais (meaning parts) of Tevaram are composed by Sambanthar, the next three by Appar and the seventh one is composed by Sundarar.<ref name="Zvelebil95">Zvelebil 1974, pp. 95-96</ref> Appar and Sambanthar lived around the 7th century, while Sundarar lived in the 8th century. During the Pallava period these three travelled extensively around Tamil Nadu offering discourses and songs characterised by an emotional devotion to Shiva.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Their hymns include allegations against Jain monks and criticism of Jainism.Template:Sfn

Sambanthar was a 7th-century child poet-saint who died at the age of 16 in 655 CE. His verses were set to tune by Nilakantaperumalanar who is set to have accompanied the poet on his yal or lute. The first three volumes of Tirumurai contain 383 hymns.<ref name="Zvelebil95"/> Appar (alias Tirunavukkarasar) was born in the middle of the 7th century in Tiruvamur, Tamil Nadu, and lived about 81 years. He converted to Jainism as a youth, became the head of a Jain monastery over time, but then returned to Shaivism. Tirumurai contains 313 hymns of Appar over volumes 4-7. His hymns are highly devotional, with some containing criticism of Jainism as he experienced it.<ref name="Zvelebil95"/> Sundarar (alias Sundaramurthi) was born towards the end of the 7th century.<ref name="Zvelebil95"/> He is the author of 100 hymns compiled as the 7th Tirumurai.<ref name="Zvelebil95"/>

File:Thiruthalinathar Shiva temple, Tiruppathur Tamil Nadu - 04.jpg

Saiva Siddhanta temples celebrate the Nayanars tradition behind the Tirumurai. Above Nayanars gallery at the Thiruthalinathar Shiva temple, Tiruppathur.

Manikkavasagar's Tiruvasakam and Tirukovayar are compiled as the eighth Tirumurai and is full of visionary experience, divine love and urgent striving for truth.<ref name="swami494">Subramuniyaswami 2003, p. 494</ref> Manickavasagar was the Pandya King Varaguna II's prime minister and renounced his post in search of divinity.<ref name="swami494"/>

The ninth Tirumurai has been composed by Tirumalikaittever, Sundarar, Karuvurttevar, Nambiyaandar Nambi, Gandaraditya, Venattatikal, Tiruvaliyamutanar, Purutottama Nambi and Cetirayar. Among these the notable is Gandaraditya (950-957 CE), a Chola king who later became a Saivite saint.

Tirumandiram by Tirumular unfolds siddantha (attainment) as a fourfold path - virtuous and moral living, temple worship, internal worship and union with Siva.<ref name="swami494"/> Tirumular worked out an original philosophical system, and the southern school of Saiva siddantha draws its authority from Tirumandiram, a work of 3000 verses.<ref name="Das148">Das 2005, pp. 148-149</ref> Tirumandiram represents another school of thought detailing agamic traditions, which run parallel to the bhakthi movement. It does not glorify temples or deities as in the case of other Tirumurais.<ref name="Das148"/>

The eleventh Tirumurai was composed by Karaikkal Ammaiyar, Cheraman Perumal, Pattinattu p-pillaiyar, Nakkiratevar, Kapilateva, Tiruvalavaiyudaiyar, Nampiyantarnampi, Iyyadigal katavarkon, Kalladateva, Paranateva, Ellamperuman Adigal and Athirava Adigal. Nambi's Tirutottanar Tiruvanthathi followed an exclusive style of mincing Tamil and Sanskrit verses in anthati meter similar to Tevaram of the trio.<ref name="pre111">Prentiss 1992, p. 111</ref> Karaikkal Ammaiyar (550-600 CE) is the earliest of the woman Saivite poets who introduced the kattalai-k-kali-t-turai meter, which is a complicated structural departure from the old classical Tamil meters.<ref name="Zvelebi97"/> The other meter used by Ammaiyar was an old venba and also an antathi arrangement in which the offset of one line or stanza is identical with the onset of the next line or stanza.<ref name="Zvelebi97">Zvelebil 1974, p. 97</ref>

Periya Puranam (Tamil:பெரிய‌ புராண‌ம்), the great purana or epic, sometimes also called Tiruttontarpuranam (read as "Tiru-Thondar-Puranam") (the purana of the holy devotees) is a Tamil poetic mythistory depicting the legendary lives of the sixty-three Nayanars, the canonical poets of Tamil Shaivism. It was compiled during the 12th century by Sekkizhar. It provides evidence of trade with West Asia.<ref>Glimpses of life in 12th century South India</ref> Sekkizhar compiled and wrote the Periya Puranam listing the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars, poets of the God Shiva who composed the liturgical poems of the Tirumurai, and was later himself canonised and the work became part of the sacred canon.<ref name="ADictionaryofIndianLiterature">A Dictionary of Indian Literature By Sujit Mukherjee.</ref> Sekkizhar was a poet and the chief minister in the court of the Chola King, Kulothunga Chola II.<ref name="CriminalGodsandDemonDevotees">Criminal Gods and Demon Devotees By Alf Hiltebeitel.</ref>

CompilationEdit

Raja Raja Chola I (985-1013 CE) embarked on a mission to recover the hymns after hearing short excerpts of Tevaram in his court.<ref name="Culter 50">Culter 1987, p. 50</ref> He sought the help of Nambi Andar Nambi, who was a priest in a temple.<ref name ="Cort178">Cort 1998, p. 178</ref> It is believed that by divine intervention Nambi found the presence of scripts, in the form of cadijam leaves half eaten by white ants in a chamber inside the second precinct in Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram.<ref name="Culter 50">Culter 1987, p. 50</ref><ref name ="Cort178"/> The brahmanas (Dikshitars) in the temple informed the king about the tradition that only when all three poets come together, that the chamber can be opened, and Rajaraja found a worakaround by consecrating the images of the saint-poets through the streets of Chidambaram.<ref name="Culter 50"/><ref name="Vasu">Vasudevan 2003, pp. 109-110</ref> Rajaraja thus became known as Tirumurai Kanda Cholan meaning one who (re)discovered the Tirumurai.<ref name="Vasu"/> Thus far Shiva temples only had images of god forms, but after the advent of Rajaraja, the images of the Nayanar saints were also placed inside the temple.<ref name="Vasu"/> Nambi arranged the hymns of three saint poets Sampantar, Appar and Sundarar as the first seven books, Manickavasagar's Tirukovayar and Tiruvacakam as the 8th book, the 28 hymns of nine other saints as the 9th book, the Tirumandiram of Tirumular as the 10th book, 40 hymns by 12 other poets as the 10th book, Tirutotanar Tiruvanthathi - the sacred anthathi of the labours of the 63 Nayanar saints, and added his own hymns as the 11th book.<ref name="Zvelebil91">Zvelebil 1974, p. 191</ref> The first seven books were later called Tevaram, and the whole Saiva canon, to which was added, as the 12th book, Sekkizhar's Periya Puranam (1135 CE) is wholly known as Tirumurai, the holy book. Thus Saiva literature which covers about 600 years of religious, philosophical and literary development.<ref name="Zvelebil91"/>

Temples reveredEdit

Paadal Petra Sthalams are 276<ref name="templenet.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> temples that are revered in the verses of Tevaram and are amongst the greatest Shiva temples of the continent. Vaippu Sthalangal are places that were mentioned casually in the songs in Tevaram.<ref>International review for the history of religions, Volumes 15-17. International Association for the History of Religions, CatchWord (Online service)</ref> The focus of the moovarsTemplate:' (first three poets) hymns suggests darshan (seeing and being seen by God) within the puja (worship) offering.<ref name="pre51"/> The hymnists made classificatory lists of places like katu (for forest), turai (port or refuge), kulam (water tank) and kalam (field) being used - thus both structured and unstructured places in the religious context find a mention in Tevaram.<ref name="pre51">Prentiss 1992, pp. 51-52</ref> The temples mentioned in the works of the 9th Tirumarai, Thiruvisaippa, are in turn referred to as Tiruvisaipa Thalangal. The shrine of Gangaikonda Cholapuram are revered as under
" He of the Shrine of Gangaikonda Choleswaram takes whatever forms that his worship visualize" - 131,5.<ref>Coward 1987, p. 151</ref>

In cultureEdit

Tirumurai was one of the reasons for converting Vedic ritual to Agamic puja followed in Shiva temples.<ref name="Cort176"/> Though these two systems are overlapping, Agamic tradition ensures the perpetuation of the Vedic religion's emphasis on the efficacy of ritual as per Davis.<ref name="Cort176">Cort 1998, p. 176</ref> Odhuvars, Sthanikars, or Kattalaiyars offer musical programmes in Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu by singing Tevaram after the daily rituals.<ref>Ghose 1996, p. 239</ref> These are usually carried out as a chorus programme soon after the divine offering. There are records from Kulothunga Chola III from Nallanyanar temple in South Arcot indicating singing of Tiruvempavai and Tiruvalam of Manickavasagar during special occasions in the temple.<ref name="Vasu"/> From the 13th century, the texts were passed on to the Odhuvars by the Adheenams or mathas and there was no more control by the kings or the brahmanas.<ref name="K1">Khanna 2007, p. xxii</ref> The Odhuvars were from the vellala community and were trained in ritual singing in Tevaram schools.<ref name="K1"/>

Periya Puranam, the eleventh-century Tamil book on the Nayanars that forms the last volume of the Tirumurai, primarily had references only to Tevaram and subsequently expanded to 12 parts and is one of the first anthologies of Tirumurai.<ref name="pre140">Prentiss 1992, p. 140</ref> One of the first anthologies of moovarsTemplate:' hymns called the Tevara Arulmuraitirattu is linked to Tamil Saiva siddhantha philosophy by grouping ninety-nine verses into 10 categories.<ref name="pre140"/> The category headings are God, soul, bond, grace, guru, methodology, enlightenment, bliss, mantra and liberation - corresponding to Umapthi's work, Tiruvarutpayan.<ref name="pre144"/> Tirumurai kanda puranam is another anthology for Tirumurai as a whole, but primarily focuses on Tevaram. It is the first of the works to refer the collection of volumes as Tirumurai.<ref name="pre144">Prentiss 1992, p. 144</ref>

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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