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Saivism is a very ancient sect of
Hinduism with a known history of at least 3000 years. It is a historical
fact that though Saivism found its adherents in the early Vedic works
such as the Svetavatara Upanishad, it took shape mainly in southern
India in the remote past. Many great devotees of
Lord Siva
who hailed from the land of Tamils, enriched Saivism with their
devotional fervor and meritorious religious compositions.
They brought Hinduism out of the closed
door policy of Brahminism, and the exclusive domain of the priestly
class, into the open, by taking religion to the masses and teaching them
the path of selfless devotion as a way of salvation. They countered the
attacks from monastic religions like
Buddhism and
Jainism, and defied the social order of
their times by often initiating people from the lowest castes into
Saivism. They created a body of entirely new religious literature, of
great devotional merit and deep philosophical truths.
Just like many aspects of ancient
Indian history, there is little information about the early Saiva
saints, names like Agastya, Nakkiar and Kannappa, who shaped Saivism
into a great religious movement. They lived during post Rigvedic
and later Vedic periods. They were ardent devotees of
Lord Siva, and remembered in the
scriptures for their devotion and contribution to Saivism.
| Kannappa
- Kannappa who lived in the region
near Kalahasti in the present day Andhra Pradesh. A hunter by
profession, he was totally dedicated to
Lord Siva. He worshipped Siva
regularly every day, with intense love, sometimes offering him such
things as flowers and even meat. He was so tremendously devoted; it
was once said that he plucked out one of his eyes and offered it to
Lord Siva as a symbol of sacrifice.
He tried to pluck out the other eye also immersed totally in his
devotion, when Lord Siva said to have appeared in front of him and
prevented him from proceeding further.
Tirumular -
An ardent devotee of
Lord Siva, he lived sometime during
the sixth century A.D, was gifted with supernatural powers and
composed about 3000 poems.
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Tirumular also known as Valluvar |
Jnana Sambandha -
He was a disciple of Appar. He is
considered as the third greatest ancient teacher of Saivism, who found
the path of satputra marga or the path of the son. A precocious child,
he was dedicated to
Lord Siva and Parvathi from a very
early age. He and Appar toured many places in South India and said to
have performed many miracles. He composed many beautiful poems extolling
Siva and
Parvati. But only a few poems are
available today. If Sambandha had a great teacher in the form of Appar,
he also had a great disciple in the form of Tirunilakanda Yalpanar who
accompanied him always in his tours and sing along with him.
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Appar, Manackavasakar, Sundarar and Sambandar |
Sundaramurthi
-
He is the last among the four greatest
ancient teachers of Saivism. He founded sahamarga or the path of the
friend. He led a very unusual life. He became a renunciate just
before his marriage and thereafter traveled to many places singing
songs in praise of
Lord Siva. But strangely after
sometime, he married a beautiful non Brahmin, maiden named Paravai.
He stayed with her for sometime as she was also a great devotee of
Lord Siva. But their association
did not last for long. A few miles north of Chennai, he married
again, this time to a Brahim virgin. Subsequently he lost vision in
both of his eyes and said to have suffered greatly. But he regained
his lost vision through intense spiritual discipline and devotion.
He composed many thousands of devotional poems of which very few are
available today. |
Appar -
A contemporary of the Pallava King
Mahendra1, and reckoned as the second greatest ancient teacher of
Saivism, he lived about 7th Century A.D. He is credited with the
discovery of dasamarga or the path of the servant in Saivism. Originally
a follower of Jainism he became subsequently a great devotee of
Lord Siva and spent considerable time
rendering bodily service (dasa seva) to him. He also composed many poems
out of which only a few area available today. He is often compared to
the legendary Prahlada for his devotion to
Lord Siva.
Manikkavachaka -
First among the four greatest ancient
teachers of Saivism, he is considered as the founder of the path of
truth or 'sat marga'. Known for his intelligence from an early age, he
worked as a chief minister in the court of a Pandya king for sometime
before he became a true renunciate. Gifted with poetical abilities,
which earned him the title of Mannikkavachaka, which literally means he
whose utterances are gems, he composed many songs in honor of
Lord Siva. His work Tiruvachakam is
considered to be a pioneering work in Saivism.
| Ammaiyar from
Karikkal -
Her devotion to
Lord Siva can be compared in
someways with that of Mira Bai, the famous devotee of
Lord Krishna. Born into a princely
family, she was married to a wealthy merchant at an early age.
Seeing her devotional fervor and spiritual yearning, her husband
decided to leave her to herself and married another woman. But
Ammaiyar, though devoted to
Lord Siva from an early age, could
not overcome her traditional respect and love for her husband
initially. But seeing her husband in his new role, she overcame that
afterwards and dedicated her life completely to
Lord Siva. She also composed many
devotional poems which reflect the depth of her devotion to
Lord Siva.
Auvai -
Another famous woman saint of Saivism,
she was endowed with great literary talents and devotional fervor.
She composed many verses which immortalized her name in Tamil
religious literature. |
Ammaiyar from Karikkal |
Meypporul Nayanar -
A king by birth he sacrificed his life
out of live for
Lord Siva.
Sakya Nayanar -
Originally a Buddhist, he later embraced
Saivism and was said to have been blessed with a vision of
Lord Siva and
Parvati.
Nandanar -
An untouchable by birth, he was a great
devotee of
Lord Siva who won the recognition of
many learned people and was even admitted into the precincts of the
Chidambaram temple which at that time was not open to people from his
caste.
Meykandar -
Initiated into Saivism at the early age
of three by a sage, he is credited with the composition of the famous
work Siva-Jnana-bodham, which contains twelve famous Siva Sutras or
aphorisms. Meykandar is known in the history of Saivism as the seer of
Truth and his life is a shining example of knowledge and devotion coming
together in total dedication to God.
Arundai Sivachariar -
He became a disciple of Meykandar, after
the latter opened his eyes in a famous encounter to the world of
devotion and self-surrender. He composed Siva-Jnana-sittiyar, according
to the wishes of his guru, explaining the truths hidden in the aphorisms
of the latter.
Marai-Jnanasambandar -
Arundai Sivachariar also remembered in
Saiva tradition for his initiation of Marai-Jnanasambandar into Saivism.
The latter though hailed from an untouchable caste was blessed with
great literary talent and devotional fervor.
Umapathi Sivam -
Marai-Jnanasambandar in turn initiated
another famous Saiva saint, named Umapathi Sivam and helped him attain
self-realization. Umapathi Sivam contributed greatly to Saiva literature
in Tamil. He wrote eight philosophical treatises on Saivism, apart from
a short biographical work on the famous 63 Saiva saints.
Pattinathar -
A rich merchant by birth, he turned to spiritualism in strange
circumstances when he realized that all his wealth would not accompany
him beyond his death. He along with his princely friend Bhadragiri
composed many devotional poems, exhorting people to renounce their
worldly ways and enter the world of devotion and self-surrender. He
lived about tenth century in Tamilnadu.
Arunagiri -
He lived about fifteenth century. Early
in his life, he led a very sinful life, giving himself up entirely to
the pleasures of the world. But later a great transformation took place
in him and he became a great devotee of
Lord Murugan, the first divine child of
Lord Siva. Tiruppugal is one of his
famous compositions which known for its lyrical beauty and devotional
depths.
Tayumanavar -
He lived in the seventeenth century, and
belonged to the priestly family which was attached to the Siva temple at
Vedaranyam, in Tamilnadu. He lived and worked for some time at the court
of a Naik ruler from Tiruchinapalli, before he renounced his worldly
life and became a great devotee of
Lord Siva. He expounded the philosophy
of Saivism from a Vedantic point of view and tried to reconcile the
existing contradictions.
Lingayat Saints -
Mention may also be made
of the five famous Lingayat Saints of Virasaivism path, namely
Sivaprakasa 1, Santalinga, Kumaradeva and Sivaprakasa 2. They were men
of great religious and spiritual merit, who lived during the seventeenth
century and composed many religious songs and treatises.
Adapted from
www.hinduwebsite.com
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