Tirumular (Tamil: திருமூலர், romanized: Tirumūlar), also known as Suntaranāthar, was a TamilShaivite mystic and writer, considered one of the sixty-three poet-saints called the Nayanars, and is listed among a group of 18 sages called the Siddhars. His magnum opus, the Tirumantiram, consisting of over 3000 verses, forms a part of the key text of the Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta compilation called the Tirumurai.
The dates of Tirumular's life are controversial, and because his work makes reference to so many currents of religious thought, the dates that different scholars assign are often appealed to for anchoring the relative chronology of other literature in Tamil and Sanskrit. Verse 74 of the Tirumantiram makes the claim that Tirumular lived for 7 yugas (ages) before composing the Tirumantiram.[1]
Some are therefore inclined to place his composition well before the Common Era. The scholar and lexicographer S. Vaiyapuripillai, however, suggested that he probably belonged to the beginning of the eighth-century CE, pointing out that Tirumular could not very well be placed earlier given that he appears to refer to the Tevaram hymns of Sambandar, Appar, and Sundarar, that he used "very late words" and that he made mention of the weekdays.[2]
Others wish to push the date still later: Dominic Goodall, for instance, appears to suggest, on the grounds of religious notions that appear in the work with Tamil labels for which a certain historical development can be traced in other datable works, that the Tirumantiram cannot be placed before the 11th- or 12th-century CED.[3] Yet another view, alluded to for instance by Vaiyapuripillai (ibid.), is that the text may contain an ancient core, but with "a good number of interpolated stanzas" of later date. Whatever the case, allusions to works and ideas in the Tirumantiram cannot, at least for the moment, be used as useful indicators of their chronology.[citation needed]
Legendedit
Suntaranāthar,[4] as the saint was known, was a yogi originally from then Madurai. According to legend, he is believed to have travelled to Mount Kailash, where he was initiated by the deity Shiva. After spending 5 years at Mount Kailash, he undertook a journey under the order of Shiva to Tamilakam to meet his contemporary, the sage Agastya in Pothigai Hills. After meeting Agastya, he went to Chidambaram, and after worshiping Shiva at the Nataraja Temple, he was about to return to Mount Kailash. During his journey, near Sathanur village (a village near Aaduthurai), he saw a group of cows crying. He discovered that their cowherd, Mulan, was dead, having been bitten by a snake. Touched by the sight of the cows, he decided to use his yogic powers and move his soul from his body to that of the dead cowherd's, leaving his own body inside a log. On waking up in the body of the cowherd, the cows became happy; he then motioned them towards the village. When the saint wished to return to his own body, he was surprised to find that it was nowhere to be found. At this moment, he heard a divine voice from the sky, that of Shiva, who told him that he had been behind the disappearance of the body. The deity told him that he wished the saint to spread his teachings through the body of Mulan, allowing him to preach to the common folk in the vernacular Tamil spoken by the cowherd, as opposed to the literary Tamil in which the saint was well-versed. Suntaranāthar was henceforth called Tirumular, tiru meaning an epithet indicating respect. The saint is regarded to have engaged in meditation under a peepal tree in Thiruvavaduthurai, receiving holy hymns in Tamil. These three thousand holy hymns were compiled to become the book called the Tirumantiram.
^Tirumantiram A Tamil scriptural Classic. By Tirumular. Tamil Text with English Translation and Notes, B. Natarajan. Madras, Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1991, p.12.
^Vaiyapuripillai's History of Tamil Language and Literature (From the Beginning to 1000 A.D.), Madras, New Century Book House, 1988 (after the first edition of 1956), particularly footnote 1 on p.78.
^See pp.xxix-xxx in a Preface (entitled Explanatory remarks about the Śaiva Siddhānta and its treatment in modern secondary literature) to The Parākhyatantra. A Scripture of the Śaiva Siddhānta, Dominic Goodall, Pondicherry, French Institute of Pondicherry and Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient, 2004.
^Tirumular (19 October 2016). Tirumantiram - A Tamil Scriptural Classic. ISBN9781365471681.
External linksedit
Thirumanthiram with Tamil explanation — Tamil version of Thirumanthiram
Tirumantiram — English version of Thirumanthiram
January 09, 2024
tirumular, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 2013, le. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Tirumular news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Tirumular Tamil த ர ம லர romanized Tirumular also known as Suntaranathar was a Tamil Shaivite mystic and writer considered one of the sixty three poet saints called the Nayanars and is listed among a group of 18 sages called the Siddhars His magnum opus the Tirumantiram consisting of over 3000 verses forms a part of the key text of the Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta compilation called the Tirumurai Murti of TirumularOm symbol Tirumurai Om symbol in TamilThe twelve volumes of Tamil Saiva hymns of the sixty three NayanarsParts Name Author1 2 3 Thirukadaikkappu Sambandar4 5 6 Thevaram Thirunavukkarasar7 Thirupaatu Sundarar8 Thiruvasakam amp Thirukkovaiyar Manickavasagar9 Thiruvisaippa amp Tiruppallaandu Various10 Thirumandhiram Thirumular11 Various12 Periya Puranam SekkizharPaadal Petra SthalamPaadal Petra SthalamRajaraja INambiyandar Nambi Contents 1 Chronology 2 Legend 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksChronology editThe dates of Tirumular s life are controversial and because his work makes reference to so many currents of religious thought the dates that different scholars assign are often appealed to for anchoring the relative chronology of other literature in Tamil and Sanskrit Verse 74 of the Tirumantiram makes the claim that Tirumular lived for 7 yugas ages before composing the Tirumantiram 1 Some are therefore inclined to place his composition well before the Common Era The scholar and lexicographer S Vaiyapuripillai however suggested that he probably belonged to the beginning of the eighth century CE pointing out that Tirumular could not very well be placed earlier given that he appears to refer to the Tevaram hymns of Sambandar Appar and Sundarar that he used very late words and that he made mention of the weekdays 2 Others wish to push the date still later Dominic Goodall for instance appears to suggest on the grounds of religious notions that appear in the work with Tamil labels for which a certain historical development can be traced in other datable works that the Tirumantiram cannot be placed before the 11th or 12th century CED 3 Yet another view alluded to for instance by Vaiyapuripillai ibid is that the text may contain an ancient core but with a good number of interpolated stanzas of later date Whatever the case allusions to works and ideas in the Tirumantiram cannot at least for the moment be used as useful indicators of their chronology citation needed Legend editSuntaranathar 4 as the saint was known was a yogi originally from then Madurai According to legend he is believed to have travelled to Mount Kailash where he was initiated by the deity Shiva After spending 5 years at Mount Kailash he undertook a journey under the order of Shiva to Tamilakam to meet his contemporary the sage Agastya in Pothigai Hills After meeting Agastya he went to Chidambaram and after worshiping Shiva at the Nataraja Temple he was about to return to Mount Kailash During his journey near Sathanur village a village near Aaduthurai he saw a group of cows crying He discovered that their cowherd Mulan was dead having been bitten by a snake Touched by the sight of the cows he decided to use his yogic powers and move his soul from his body to that of the dead cowherd s leaving his own body inside a log On waking up in the body of the cowherd the cows became happy he then motioned them towards the village When the saint wished to return to his own body he was surprised to find that it was nowhere to be found At this moment he heard a divine voice from the sky that of Shiva who told him that he had been behind the disappearance of the body The deity told him that he wished the saint to spread his teachings through the body of Mulan allowing him to preach to the common folk in the vernacular Tamil spoken by the cowherd as opposed to the literary Tamil in which the saint was well versed Suntaranathar was henceforth called Tirumular tiru meaning an epithet indicating respect The saint is regarded to have engaged in meditation under a peepal tree in Thiruvavaduthurai receiving holy hymns in Tamil These three thousand holy hymns were compiled to become the book called the Tirumantiram See also editAgastya Kalangi Nathar Bogar Patanjali ThirumandhiramReferences edit Tirumantiram A Tamil scriptural Classic By Tirumular Tamil Text with English Translation and Notes B Natarajan Madras Sri Ramakrishna Math 1991 p 12 Vaiyapuripillai s History of Tamil Language and Literature From the Beginning to 1000 A D Madras New Century Book House 1988 after the first edition of 1956 particularly footnote 1 on p 78 See pp xxix xxx in a Preface entitled Explanatory remarks about the Saiva Siddhanta and its treatment in modern secondary literature to The Parakhyatantra A Scripture of the Saiva Siddhanta Dominic Goodall Pondicherry French Institute of Pondicherry and Ecole francaise d Extreme Orient 2004 Tirumular 19 October 2016 Tirumantiram A Tamil Scriptural Classic ISBN 9781365471681 External links editThirumanthiram with Tamil explanation Tamil version of Thirumanthiram Tirumantiram English version of Thirumanthiram Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tirumular amp oldid 1187646452, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
