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Nataraja, also known as Adalvallan, is a depiction of Shiva, one of the main deities in Hinduism, as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is called the tandava. The pose and artwork are described in many Hindu texts such as the Tevaram and Thiruvasagam in Tamil and the Amshumadagama and Uttarakamika agama in Sanskrit and the Grantha texts. The dance murti is featured in all major Hindu temples of Shaivism, and is a well-known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture, as one of the finest illustrations of Hindu art. This form is also referred to as Kuththan, Sabesan, and Ambalavanan in various Tamil texts.
Tirumurai 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. 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. 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. Sekkilar's Periya Puranam, composed a century later, contains the life depiction of all the 63 Nayanmars. The response for the work was so tremendous among Shaiva scholars and Kulothunga Chola II that it was included as the 12th Tirumurai. Tirumurai along with Vedas and Shaiva agamas form the basis of Shaiva Siddantha philosophy in South India and Sri Lanka.
Sundarar, also referred to as Chuntarar, Chuntaramurtti, Nampi Aruran or Tampiran Tolan, was an eighth-century poet-saint of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta tradition of Hinduism. He is among the Tevaram trio, and one of the most prominent Nayanars, the Shaiva bhakti (devotional) poets of Tamil Nadu.
Thillai Nataraja Temple, also referred as the Chidambaram Nataraja Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Nataraja, the form of Shiva as the lord of dance. This temple is located in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. This temple has ancient roots and a Shiva shrine existed at the site when the town was known as Thillai. Chidambaram, the name of the city literally means "stage of consciousness". The temple architecture symbolizes the connection between the arts and spirituality, creative activity and the divine. The temple wall carvings display all the 108 karanas and these postures form a foundation of Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance derived from Sathirattam.
Nandanar, also known as Thirunaallaippovaar and Tirunallaipovar Nayanar, was a Nayanar saint, who is venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism. He is the only Dalit saint in the Nayanars. He is generally counted as the eighteenth in the list of 63 Nayanars. Like the other Nayanars, he was a devout devotee of the god Shiva.
Ekambareswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva, located in the town of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, India. It is significant to the Hindu sect of Saivism as one of the temples associated with the five elements, the Pancha Bhoota Stalas, and specifically the element of earth, or Prithvi. Shiva is worshiped as Ekambareswarar or Ekambaranathar or Rajlingeswaram, and is represented by the lingam as Prithvi lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Elavarkuzhali.
The Tevaram, also spelled Thevaram, denotes the first seven volumes of the twelve-volume collection Tirumurai, a Shaiva narrative of epic and Puranic heroes, as well as a hagiographic account of early Shaiva saints set in devotional poetry. The Tevaram volumes contain the works of the three most prominent Shaiva Tamil saints of the 7th and 8th centuries: Sambandar, Appar, and Sundarar. The three saints were not only involved in portraying their personal devotion to Shiva, but also engaged a community of believers through their songs. Their work is an important source for understanding the Shaiva Bhakti movement in the early medieval South India.
Pazhayarai or Pazhaiyarai or Palayarai was an ancient capital of the medieval Chola dynasty in Tamil Nadu. The place is located around 7 km (4.3 mi) from Kumbakonam, a city in Thanjavur district, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of T.Patnam river, one of the distributaries of the river Kaveri. There are a number of villages within the area of historic Pazhaiyarai. The place was called Ayiratalli, meaning a land of thousand temples. The place is referred under various names like Ayiratalli, Pazhayar, Ahavamallakulakalapuram and Minavanaivenkadasolapuram.
Narasimhavarman II, popularly known as Rajasimha and as Rajamalla, was a Pallava monarch who reigned from 695 CE to 728 CE. He is credited with the construction of the Shore Temple Complex, the Isvara and Mukunda Temples in Mamallapuram, the Talagirisvara Temple in Panamalai and the Kailasanathar Temple in Kanchi. He is further credited with the construction of a Buddhist Vihara at Nagipattinam, which is commonly known as ‘China-pagoda'.
Pusalar is an eighth-century Nayanar saint, venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism. He is generally counted as the fifty-eighth in the list of 63 Nayanars. His hagiography speaks how he created a grand temple for Shiva in his mind and how his patron god Shiva preferred attending the consecration of his mind temple, instead of a grand temple created by a Pallava king.
Thiruvathigai Veerateswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is situated in Thiruvathigai village which is about 2 kilometres east from the town of Panruti in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, India. Shiva is worshiped as Veerattaaneswarar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Thiripurasundari. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th-century-CE Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam. The temple is considered the place where the Saiva saint poet Appar (Thirunavukkarasar) converted back to Saivism, and attained final salvation.
Iconography of Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu is governed by the Shaiva Agamas (IAST:Āgama) that revere the ultimate reality as the Hindu deity, Shiva. Āgama in the Hindu religious context means a traditional doctrine or system which commands faith. Temple worship according to Āgamic rules can be said to have started during the Pallava dynasty in South India, but they were fully under establishment during the Chola dynasty The temples during the Chola period expanded to Sri Lanka and islands in South East Asia. The temple complex was expanding with niches for various deities on the stipulated sides of the sanctum. Lingam was universalised and prakarams (precincts) with subsequent deities came up. The temple parivara expanded considerably during the Chola period. The niches of following Āgamic rules for building Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu, a South Indian state continues even in the modern era. Some of the prime images like that of lingam, Vinayagar and Parvati are present in all the Shiva temples. Almost all the temples follow the same custom during festivals and worship methods with minor exceptions. Most of the Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka are built in Dravidian architecture.
Hinduism in Tamil Nadu finds its earliest literary mention in the Sangam literature dated to the 5th century BCE. The total number of Tamil Hindus as per 2011 Indian census is 63,188,168 which forms 87.58% of the total population of Tamil Nadu. Hinduism is the largest religion in Tamil Nadu.
Tiru Kurippu Thonda Nayanar or Thiru Kurippu Thonda Nayanar is one of the Nayanars, 63 devotees to the Hindu god Shiva who are revered as saints in Shaivism. His life is recorded in traditional hagiographies like Periya Puranam, Tirutoṇṭar Antādi and Thiruthondar Thogai. The saint was serving the Shiva devotees by reading their facial expressions and understanding their actual needs. This service earned him the name Tiru Kurippu Thonda Nayanar: Thiru is an honorific term in Tamil; Kurippu means "expressions" in general, and "facial expressions" in particular; and Thondar means "voluntary servant".
Sakkiya Nayanar was a Nayanar saint, venerated in the Shaiva sect of Hinduism. He is generally counted as the thirty-fourth in the list of 63 Nayanars. He was a Buddhist, who converted to Shaivism.
Kungiliya Kalaya Nayanar, also known as Kungiliya Kalaya, Kalayar, Kunguliya and Kalaya Nayanar, is a Nayanar saint, venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism. He is generally counted as the eleventh in the list of 63 Nayanars.
Seruthunai Nayanar, also known as Seruthunai, Seruthunaiyar and Seruttunai Nayanar, was a Nayanar saint, venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism. He is generally counted as the 55th in the list of 63 Nayanars.
Kutruva Nayanar, also known as Kootruva , Kutruva, Kutruvar, Kootruvar, Kurruva Nayanar, Kurruvar, Kurruvan, Kutruvanar, Kurrrruvar and Kalappalar, was a chieftain of Kalandai and a Nayanar saint, venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism. He is generally counted as the 39th in the list of 63 Nayanars. Kutruva is often described as a Jain, who became a devotee of Shiva, the patron god of Shaivism.
Kalarsinga Nayanar, also known as Kalarsinga, Kazharsinga, Kalarcinkan, Kalarsingan, Kalarsinganar, Kalarsingar, Kalarcingar and Kalar-chingar (Kalar-singar), was a Nayanar saint, venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism. He is generally counted as the fifty-fifth in the list of 63 Nayanars. While his identity remains a matter of debate, many scholars identity Kalarsinga Nayanar as the Pallava king Narasimhavarman II (Rajasimha), who reigned between 700 and 728 CE.
Tiru Nilakanta Yazhpanar was a Nayanar saint, venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism. He is generally counted as the sixty-first in the list of 63 Nayanars. While the first part of his name can be spelt as Tirunilakanta, Tirunilakantha, Tiru Neelakanta, Tiru Nilakanta, Nilakantan and Thiruneelakanda, Yazhpanar is spelt as variously as Yalppanar, Yalapannar, Yalpanar and Yazhpaanar. He is described as a companion of Sambandar, one of the most prominent Nayanars.
References
- ↑ A Dictionary of Indian Literature: Beginnings 1850 by Sujit Mukherjee Orient Blackswan, 01-Jan-1999. 434 pages. p.9
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Saivism By Swami Parmeshwaranand. Sarup & Sons. ISBN 8176254274, 9788176254274 p.97
- ↑ aiyadikaL kAdavarkOn nAyanAr Shaivam.com
- ↑ Aiyadigal Kadavarkon Nayanar Sixty-three Nayanar Saints By Sri Swami Sivananda. Divine Life Society Publication