Tirumurai- Glimpses into Tamil Saiva Poetry

About the Book Tirumurai is the sacred poetry in the Saiva tradition of ancient Tamilnadu. Sung to the rhythm of percussion, string and reed instruments, the devotional outpouring of saints and poets known as Nayanars of the fifth to the twelfth century CE reflect the religious and cultural mores of the people.

This book attempts to capture the grandeur of this vast, fascinating subject by presenting a detailed overview of the salient features.

Beginning with an introduction to Nataraja Tartvam and Tamil Iasi, all twelve Tirumurai is explained. Each chapter begins with the life story of the Nayanar followed by an analysis of the poetry with explanation of pan (raga) and sthala puranam. A few select songs from each Tirumurai are presented in the original Tamil with Reorganized transliteration as well as English translation, made available in an online audio album complementing this book.

Foreword by Lakshmi Viswanathan Sharda Narayanan holds Ph D in Sanskrit from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Master's Degrees in Physics and Sanskrit from Bangalore University. She has been active in Sanskrit theatre and Literature Quiz. Currently teaching Indian Philosophy, Narya Sastra and Literary Theory at Dr MGR Janaki College, Chennai, she has a number of research papers, seminar presentations and books to her credit.

Madhangi Rathnavel is an IT engineer currently working as a Consultant. A keen scholar of Tamil and Sanskrit, she has specialized in Sivadvaita, Kashmir Saivism and Meikanda Satiram. Along with several IT projects, she has many research papers and seminar presentations in philosophy as well as Tirumurai to her credit. She presents lectures on Vedanta and Saiva philosophy and is an accomplished singer of Tevaram.

About the Authors Sharda Narayanan holds Doctorate in Sanskrit studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, as also M.Sc. (Physics) and M.A. (Sanskrit) from Bangalore University. She currently teaches Indian Philosophy, Natya Sastra and Literary Theory at Dr. M.G.R. Janaki College for Women, Chennai. She has a large number of seminar presentations and published papers to her credit, in national and international forums such as World Sanskrit Conferences in Edinburgh, Bangkok and Vancouver. Her Doctoral thesis is published as a book, 'Vakyapadiya: Sphota, Jeti & Dravya '. She collaborated with Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. R. Mani Dravid Sastri on 'Sestredipike: Tarka Pede' which was published in 2016 and co-authored 'Gitagovinda of J (1yadeva: Study in Sahitya & Natya' with Dr Sujatha Mohan. In addition, she has assisted in editing two volumes of papers presented at Swadeshi Indology Conference 3: 'Studies in Tamil Civilization: Land of Dharma' and 'Fount of Culture' in 2019. She is currently working on a critical study of Slokavartika of Kumarila Bhatta.

Madhangi Rathnavel is an IT engineer with over ten years experience in major IT companies, currently working as a Consultant. She is a keen scholar of Tamil and Sanskrit, having traditionally learnt the Siva Shastras - Kashmiri Saivism, Nyaya and Sivadvaita texts from her Guru Brahmasri Goda Venkateshwara Sastry. Immersed in Saiva tradition from a young age, she is an accomplished singer, having learnt Tevaram traditionally from Odhuvamurti Sri Naganathan, Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Chennai. She has several research papers and seminar presentations in philosophy as well as Tirumurai to her credit. Author of Brahma sutra Chatusutri - Srikanta Bhashya Vilakkam, with translation and notes on the Sanskrit text Brahma sutra Bhashya of Srikantashivacharya, she has contributed towards Shastryji's translation and commentary works. She participates in Vakyartha Sadas conducted in Sanskrit annually by disciples of Sri Goda Shastry ji on the occasion of Paramaguru's birth anniversary. She gives special lectures on Agama and Saiva Sastra.

Preface We acknowledge our deep gratitude to Kalaimamani Dr Sudha Sashaying, Vice-Chancellor, The T.N.Dr.M.G.R. Medical University and Board Member, Tamil Nadu Italy Iasi Natakam Manram, Nritya Kalanidbi Smt Lakshmi Viswanathan and: Odbuvamurti Mayilai Sri Pa Sargurunathan, also Board Member of Tamil adiyal Iasi atakam Manram, for their invaluable assistance, suggestions and inputs for this book. They have greatly inspired us in this endeavor by their stellar achievements in Tamil culture. We owe special thanks to Sri M. Kotilingam for his invaluable inputs and guidance especially with the Eleventh Tirumurai.

The sacred subject of Tirumurai is vast, expressing the finest of human sentiments. The deeper one delves into it, the more fascinated and enriched one becomes and it requires many years of study to gain expertise. This book can by no. means offer a comprehensive account but aspires to initiate a long and rewarding journey into the Saiva tradition for the reader. The main concepts and features of the Tamil Saiva poetic tradition are brought together here. As Sri Kotilingam quips, while standing before a mountain of sugar crystals, need one ask where to grab a handful to taste the sweetness!

The first chapter gives an introduction to Nataraja Tattvam and an overview of the cultural and philosophical aspects of Saivism. The second chapter briefly explains the remarkably advanced music and literary traditions of ancient Tamilnadu in order to understand technical aspects of Tirumurai better. The third chapter on Tirujnanasambandhar addresses the first three books of Tirumurai while the fourth chapter on Tirinavukkarasar addresses the next three. The fifth chapter studies the Seventh Tirumurai, comprising the hymns of Sundarar. The following five chapters then address one Tirumurai each, going up to the Periya Puranam which is counted as the last of the Panniru (twelve) Tirumurai.

Each chapter is organized with the hagiography at the beginning, followed by a critical appraisal of the poetry which is then completed with a few select hymns presented in Tamil font, Romanized transliteration, English translation and notes where suitable. In preparing translations for the Tevaram hymns, the Tamil commentaries published by Dharmapuram Adheenam, English renditions of Digital Tevaram (of the French Institute, Pondicherry) and Shaiv8:m.org websites have been consulted. A few hymns have been presented with the translation of eminent stalwarts such as Padma Bhushan Kalaimamani R. Agawam, G. Vanmikanathan, Tiruvacakamani K.M. Balasubramaniam, and T.N. Ramachandran. An audio album of Tirumurai Pannisai has been provided to complement the book, available in compact disc as well 'as online.

Diacritic marks for Romanized transliteration of Tamil and Sanskrit words have been sparingly used, preferring various popular spellings in order to keep it simple for the general reader. However, diacritic marks are used as per international standards in technical terms and phrases to avoid ambiguity, typically in the first instance a word is used and in the lyrics of the hymns: A glossary of commonly used English spelling with their equivalent words in Tamil and Sanskrit is given in the Appendix.

Foreword by Nritya Kslenidlu Guru Lakshmi Vishwanathan

(Bharatanatyam Danseuse, Scholar, Writer & Editor, Kalakshetra Journal)

Tamil is the ancient language spoken by around eighty million people today in South India as well as in Sri Lanka and a large diaspora in Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, Australia, South Africa, cities like Paris and Toronto, and more. The roots of Tamil go back to the first century B.C. and perhaps even earlier. It is the only ancient South Asian language which continues as the mother tongue of millions. For Tamil speaking people everywhere it is not merely a language but a way of life. It defines a civilization which from ancient times has been rich in a myriad ways, projecting itself in literature, poetry, song, spirituality, philosophy, Art and more. It shared a pride of place for centuries with other ancient languages yet created a special identity for itself by being a radiant form of formal [removed]Chen Tamil) as well as an intimate form of communication (Tan Tamil).

Undoubtedly Tamil reached its zenith during the Chola period (850-1200 AD) after running through a wide river-like course during which poets be- came saints and their songs became worship. The four great saint-poets who stand tall among the Shaivaite congregation known as the sixty three Nayanars are: Tirunavukkarasar also known as Appar, Tirugnanasambandar who was a mere child when he started singing, and Sundarar who was a passionate devotee with a regal mien and the later philosopher - poet Manickavasagar. They are the soul force of what is collectively known as the Tirumurai (anthology of poetry). They traversed the length and breadth of the land and stopped at every Shiva shrine to extol its greatness. Tamil Bhakti grew from those roots to remain like a perennial flowering tree, showering those petals of life lessons on all succeeding generations. Today we need to take that legacy to a new generation which should not miss the elixir of a nourishing language in which the gods themselves speak.

From time immemorial Man has had the urge to speak to his chosen god in a language best known to him. Whether he uses Latin or Hebrew, as in the old religions of the world, the power of the word always mattered.

Tamil has played the classic role in expressing devotion to a superior power, attracting devotees to follow that path of personalized communication. It is a fact that the Vaishnavite counterparts of the Nayanars known as the Alvars went one step further, making some of their four thousand songs (Nalayira Divya Prabhandam) the Tamil Vedas, used widely in shrines for worship in the sanctums of the deities.

Human beings can pray in silence or meditate in a wordless void. But that is for highly evolved philosophical minds. What does the common devotee get attached to? A prayer that is sung, in a language he knows, appealing to the ear and moving to the heart. The Moovar (threesome) and Manickavasagar were the pied pipers of the Bhakti movement of the Tamil country and had a big band of followers in their own lifetime. They were the leaders, whose passion was like honey to the followers who were like bees hovering over a lotus pond. The impact of their aspirations to be one with Lord Shiva resonated in every century and continues to this day. Their hagiographies tell us that they performed miracles wherever they went. Those encounters are lessons in life. They instill in the minds of people certain great values like humaneness, unshakeable faith, the goodness of truth, as well as tolerance. People understood the divine power of the unknown.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages