Tiruvacakam
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|---|---|---|
| The twelve volumes of Tamil Shaivite hymns of the sixty-three Nayanars | ||
| Parts | Name | Author |
| 1,2,3 | Tirukadaikkappu | Thirugnana Sambandar |
| 4,5,6 | Tevaram | Appar |
| 7 | Tirupaatu | Sundarar |
| 8 | Tiruvasakam & Tirukkovaiyar |
Manikkavacakar |
| 9 | Tiruvisaippa & Tiruppallaandu |
Various |
| 10 | Tirumandhiram | Tirumular |
| 11 | Various | |
| 12 | Periya Puranam | Sekkizhar |
| Padal petra stalam | ||
| Padal Petra Stalam | ||
| Raja Raja Chola I | ||
| Nambiyandar Nambi | ||
Thiruvasagam (Tamil: திருவாசகம் lit. "sacred utterance") is a volume of Tamil hymns composed by the ninth century Shaivite bhakti poet Manikkavacakar. It contains 51 compositions and constitutes the eighth volume of the Tirumurai, the sacred anthology of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta.
The main message of the hymns is that the body is temporary and worldly comforts are the root cause of pain and sorrow. One should rather pray to leave the body and attain liberation (moksha). Soul should have control over the body: the ultimate highness in one's life is to reach Lord Shiva's feet.
Legend has it that Manikkavacakar was appointed as minister by king Arimarttanar and sent to purchase 10,000 horses from Arab traders[1] but spent the money building a temple in Tirupperunturai.
Contents |
[edit] Poet
Manikkavasagar's Tiruvacakam and Tirukovayar are compiled as the eighth Tirumurai and is full of visionary experience, divine love and urgent striving for truth.[2] Though he is not counted as one of the 63 Saiva nayanars, he is counted as Nalvars consisting of the first three nayanars namely Appar, Campantar and Cuntarar.[3] He was born in an orthodox brahmin fmaily in Tiruvatavur near Madurai. His father was an adivsor to the Pandya king and he followed his father's footsteps in becoming the king's minister.[3] He is believed to be in the 10th or 11th century, but Dr. Pope places him in 7th or 8th century. Manickavasgar was the king's prime minister and renounced his post in search of divinity.[2] The king bestowed his minister to buy horses, but he was taken to divinity by the vision of Siva with his saints.[4] The minister spent his entire sum of money in building the temple at Tiruperunturai, considered an architectural marvel among Hindu temples. From the time, the saint poet wandered to various temples and devoted hymns on Siva. His conversion is attributed to Sivagnana bodham, an saivite work by Meykandar.[4] He was an orthodox saivite and represents bhakti at its highest form in his age.[5]
Tirupperunturai (Tamil: திருபெருந்துறை), known as Avudayar Koil), a Shiva temple where Tiruvacakam is believed to have been originated. Manikkavacakar is said to have converted the king to the cult of Shiva and built the temple with money that had been intended for war-horses.[6]
[edit] Work
Most of the portions in Tiruvacakam is first sung in Thillai Nataraja Temple at Chidambaram.[3] It is considered one of the profound works of Tamil literature and it discusses every phase of spiritual path from doubt and anguish to perfect faith in Shiva, from earthly experience to teacher-disciple relationship and ultimately freedom from rebirth.[7] There are 658 poems in the work and along with 400 poems in Tirukovayar by the same author make it the 8th volume of Tirumarai - the 12 volume Saiva canon.[7] The author finds both theistic and pantheistic ideas corresponding to medieval India, but identifies God with the universe.[8] As a devotional literature, it finds alternatives between joy and sorrow.[9]
[edit] Compilation
Raja Raja Chola I (985-1013 CE) embarked on a mission to recover the hymns after hearing short excerpts of Tevaram in his court.[10] He sought the help of Nambi Andar Nambi, who was a priest in a temple.[11] 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.[11][10] The brahmanas (Dikshitars) in the temple opposed the mission, but Rajaraja intervened by consecrating the images of the saint-poets through the streets of Chidambaram.[10][12] Rajaraja thus became to be known as Tirumurai Kanda Cholan meaning one who saved the Tirumurai.[12] 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.[12] Nambi arranged the hymns of three saint poets Campantar, 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.[13] The first seven books were later called as 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.
[edit] Other works on Tiruvasagam
There is a famous saying
| “ | " திருவாசகத்துக்கு உருகார் ஒரு வாசகத்திற்கும் உருகார்" | ” |
translating to "He whose heart is not melted by Tiruvasagam must have a heart of stone".[8] George Uglow Pope was born on 24 April 1820 on Prince Edward Island in Canada. He became interested in Tamil and learned the language during a six-month ship voyage to India. His magnum opus, an English translation of Tiruvacakam, appeared in 1900. Dr. Pope found a close affinity to the utterances of sincere devotion in such verses as 'Longing for devotion alone', 'Without thy presence I pine', 'Deadness of soul', 'God all in all', 'I am thine, save me', 'His love demands my all'.[14] He also compared Manickavasgar to the likes of St. Paul and St. Francis of Assisi.[8]
[edit] Criticism
With all of the mythology that weaves across the poems, and the truly ethical theistic treatment, the poems are often perplexing to western audiences.[14]
[edit] In culture
Ramalinga Swamigal (1823-1874 CE) is believed to have taken inspiration from Tiruvacakam for his devotional work.[9]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Thiruvasagam proves existence of horse trade with West Asia in 9th century
- ^ a b Subramuniyaswami 2003, p. 494
- ^ a b c Jones 2007, p. 276
- ^ a b Macnicol 1915, pp. 171-172
- ^ Macnicol 1915, p. 176
- ^ Das 1991, p. 574
- ^ a b Subramuniyaswami 2003, p. 840
- ^ a b c Macdonell 1994, p. 219
- ^ a b K.R. 2003, pp. 261-262
- ^ a b c Culter 1987, p. 50
- ^ a b Cort 1998, p. 178
- ^ a b c Vasudevan 2003, pp. 109-110
- ^ Zvelebil 1974, p. 191
- ^ a b Macnicol 1915, pp. 173
[edit] References
- Cort, John E. (1998). Open boundaries: Jain communities and culture in Indian history. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0=7914-3786-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=WWfnXbVWjKcC&pg=PA178&dq=tevaram&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sy3-TsnyCIy5twfq64TQDQ&ved=0CGAQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- Cutler, Norman (1987). Songs of experience: the poetics of Tamil devotion. USA: Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication-Data. ISBN 0-253-35334-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=veSItWingx8C&pg=PA4&dq=tevaram&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gfX8Tq-SJo_1gAfEydSuAg&ved=0CEoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=tevaram&f=false.
- Das, Sisir Kumar; Akademi, Sahitya (1991). A History of Indian Literature. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 574. ISBN 8172010060. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=sHklK65TKQ0C&pg=PA574&dq=Tirupperunturai&as_brr=3&sig=3GuR0HdexmWNtoQ-z3ZBmnraoUk. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- K.R., Sundararajan; Bithika Mukerji (2003). Hindu spirituality: Postclassical and modern. Cross Road Publishing Company. ISBN 81-208-1937-3. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=UUWIEfAY-mMC&pg=PA261&dq=tiruvacakam&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AF0nT_XPEMjq2AWijs3rAg&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=tiruvacakam&f=false.
- Jones, Constance; James D. Ryan (2007), Encyclopedia of Hinduism, New York: Facts On File, Inc., ISBN 0-8160-5458-4, http://books.google.co.in/books?id=hZET2sSUVsgC&pg=PA276&dq=tiruvacakam&hl=en&sa=X&ei=M2InT6j_IYq42wXIlpnWAg&ved=0CEkQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=tiruvacakam&f=false.
- Macnicol, Satguru Nicol (1915), Indian theism: from the Vedic to the Muhammadan period, Oxford University Press, http://books.google.com/books?id=e7M1QJsrHwIC&pg=PA173&dq=tiruvasagam&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hsQQT56lJtCTtweDpN3pAQ&ved=0CD8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=tiruvasagam&f=false.
- Macdonell, Arthur Anthony (1994), India's past: a survey of her literatures, religions, languages and antiquities, Asian Educational Services, ISBN 81-206-0570-5, http://books.google.com/books?id=ff0BJXzeADcC&pg=PA219&dq=tiruvasagam&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1OoQT9H-DsOEtgecxPiCAg&ved=0CEUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=tiruvasagam&f=false.
- Subramuniyaswami, Satguru Sivaya (2003), Dancing With Siva : Hinduism's Contemporary Catechism, Himalayan Academy, ISBN 0-945497-89-x, http://books.google.com/books?id=EWlHPAkjBKUC&pg=PA840&dq=tiruvasagam&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Jb8QT4nOLMuutweguZSHAg&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=tiruvasagam&f=false.
- Vasudevan, Geetha (2003), The royal temple of Rajaraja: an instrument of imperial Cola power, New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, ISBN 81-7017-383-3, http://books.google.com/books?id=O1b1N_Dx0jsC&pg=RA1-PA109&dq=tevaram&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sy3-TsnyCIy5twfq64TQDQ&ved=0CFsQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=tevaram&f=false
- Zvelebil, Kamil (1974). A History of Indian literature Vol.10 (Tamil Literature). Otto Harrasowitz. ISBN 3-447-01582-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=OQ33i496MsIC&pg=PA130&dq=five+epics+of+tamil+literature&hl=en&ei=nZLmTrmaIsmXtwf1kaWfAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CEEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=five%20epics%20of%20tamil%20literature&f=false.
