The 63 Saivite Saints

The 63 Saivite Saints
Author: S. Raman
Publisher: Pustaka Digital Media
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2022-07-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Every year in the Tamil month of Panguni (March-April), Arupaththumoovar festival is celebrated in Sri Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore, Chennai. There is no such thing as a single day for these 63-saints. Actually it is the anniversary day of the miraculous resurrection of Angam Poompavai from her ashes by the Saint Thiru Gnana Sambandhar. This work is the narration about the 63-Saivite devotees, to write about whom Lord Shiva ordered Alala Sundarar, who was his attendant in Mount Kailash, to be born in Tamil Nadu. The life span of Sundarar was only 18 years, and he had accomplished this task in his last 2 years. These 63 devotees are known as Nayanmars, and their icons can be seen in major Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu, mainly in the outer circuit around the main Shiva Lingam deity. Interestingly all these icons will be in standing position, except one. That exception is a woman devotee by name Karaikal Ammaiyar. Translated it would mean ‘the lady from the town Karaikal’. Only she will be in the sitting position, for special reasons. The original abridged Sundarar’s work was elaborately written in the 12th century by Sekkizhar as “Periya Puranam” which is famous for one other reason. Whereas Ramayana and Maha Bharatha were translated from Sanskrit into Tamil, Periya Puranam is the only epic work translated from Tamil into Sanskrit, as “Sivabhakta Vilasam”. Some call it also as “Upamanyu Bhakta Vilasam”. Some say that Sundarar wrote only about 60 devotees, but the later writers added him as well as his parents to make up the total of 63. Some of the narrations may contain logically unacceptable incidents, bizarre events, and the like, especially for people of the present generation. It is upto the reader to understand the moral behind or the affectionate emotions that had led to those events rather than the bare details themselves. Narration of each of the Nayanmars ends with their “Videha Mukthi” days, with details on the Tamil month and the Star of that day. To remind us that we are their devotees, significantly they are called the “Guru Puja” days.

Periya Puranam

Periya Puranam
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2008
Genre: Nayanars
ISBN: 9788182880863

Tamil classic on the great 63 Saiva saints of South India.

Devaram

Devaram
Author: Francis Kingsbury
Publisher:
Total Pages: 158
Release: 1921
Genre: ?Saivism
ISBN:

Sekkizhar’s Periya Puranam

Sekkizhar’s Periya Puranam
Author: S.Ponnuswamy
Publisher: Giri Trading Agency Private Limited
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2015-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 8179506851

Sekkilar's Periya Puranam deals with the lives and times of 63 Naayanmaars who dedicated their lives in the service of alord Shiva and His devotees. The trials and tribulations faced by these saints leaves us wonder-struck. These tales also shows that the Lord is beyong the clutches of caste and creed as these Naayanmaars belonged to various castes and a few were even women. This makes the Puranam's appeal universal. This is rendered in a simple readable English prose form by an engineer turned scholar, Sri. S. Ponnuswamy. This work is sure to introduce the epic to and enthuse the readers of the present day generation to learn more about it.

Historical Dictionary of the Tamils

Historical Dictionary of the Tamils
Author: Vijaya Ramaswamy
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 519
Release: 2017-08-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 1538106868

The Tamils have an unbroken history of more than two thousand years. Tamil, the language they speak, is one of the oldest living languages in the world. The only people comparable to the Tamils in terms of their hoary past and vibrant present would be the Jews with one marked difference. The Tamils have always had their homeland 'Tamilaham' (alternately pronounced and spelt 'Tamizhaham') known today as Tamil Nadu which to them represents their mother and is revered by them as 'Tamizh Tai' literally ‘Tamil Mother’. This is in striking contrast to the Jews who have been through a long and arduous struggle to gain their homeland, a deeply contested site to this day with Hebrewisation of Israel being a key marker of Jewish identity in the region. Tamils, by contrast have a clear numerical majority in the region that now comprises Tamil Nadu and the language unites rather than divides adherents of different faiths. The second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Tamils contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Tamils.

Songs of the Saints of India

Songs of the Saints of India
Author: John Stratton Hawley
Publisher: Oxford India Paperbacks
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2004
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 9780195694208

In this volume the authors present the life stories and works of Ravidas, Kabir, Nanak, Surdas, Mirabai, and Tulsidas - six well-known 'saint-poets' of northern India who have contributed more to the religious vocabulary of Hinduism in the region today than any voices before or since.

Slaves of the Lord

Slaves of the Lord
Author: Vidya Dehejia
Publisher:
Total Pages: 278
Release: 1988
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Lives and poetry of Tamil saints.

Open Boundaries

Open Boundaries
Author: John E. Cort
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 278
Release: 1998-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780791437858

Open Boundaries provides a new perspective on Jainism, one of the oldest yet least-studied of the world's living religions. Ten closely-focused studies investigate the interactions between Jains and non-Jains in South Asian society, with detailed studies of yoga, tantra, aesthetic theory, erotic poetry, theories of kingship, goddess worship, temple ritual, polemical poetry, religious women, and historiography. Viewing the Jains within a South Asian context results in a strikingly different portrait from the standard models represented in both traditional Western and Indian scholarship.