Periya Puranam
Encyclopedia
Periya Puranam that is, the great purana or epic, sometimes also called Tiruttontarpuranam (the purana of the holy devotees) is a Tamil
poetic account depicting the legendary lives of the sixty-three Nayanar
s, the canonical poets of Tamil Shaivism
. It was compiled during the 12th century by Sekkizhar
. It provides evidence of trade with West Asia The Periya Puranam is part of the corpus of Shaiva canonical works.
Sekkizhar
compiled and wrote the Periya Puranam or the Great Purana, (the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars
, poets of the God Shiva
) who composed the liturgical poems of the Tirumurai
, and was later himself canonised and the work became part of the sacred canon. Among all the hagiographic Puranas in Tamil
, Sekkizhar's Tiruttondar Puranam or Periyapuranam, composed during the rule of Kullottonga Chola II (1133-1150) stands first.
. Kullottonga Chola II was a staunch devotee of Lord Siva
Natraja at Chidambaram
. He continued the reconstruction of the center of Tamil Saivism that was begun by his ancestors. However Kullottonga II was also enchanted by the Jain
courtly epic, Jivaka Cintamani an epic of erotic flavour (sringara rasa) whose hero, Jivaka, combines heroics and erotics to marry seven damsels and gain a kingdom. In the end he realises the transiency of possessions, renounces his kingship and finally attains Nirvana by prolonged austerity (tapas).
In to order to wean Kullonttonga Chola II from the heretical Jivaka Cintamani, Sekkizhar undertook the task of writing the Periyapuranam.
. The king thereupon invited Sekkizhar to expound the lives of the Saiva saints in a great poem. As a minister of the state Sekkizhar had access to the lives of the saints and after he collected the data, he wrote the poem in the Thousand Pillared Hall of the Chidambaram
temple. Legend has it that the Lord himself provided Sekkizhar with the first feet of the first verse as a divine voice from the sky declaring "உலகெலாம்" (ulakelam: All the world).
This work is considered the most important initiative of Kullottonga Chola II's reign. Although, it is only a literary embellishment of earlier hagiographies of the Saiva saints composed by Sundarar and Nambiyandar Nambi
, it came to be seen as the epitome of high standards of the Chola culture, because of the highest order of the literary style. The Periyapuranam is considered as a veritable fifth Veda
in Tamil
and immediately took its place as the twelfth and the last book in the Saiva canon. It is considered as one of the masterpieces of the Tamil literature
and worthily commemorates the Golden age of the Cholas.
. The Nayanmars that he talks about belonged to different caste
s, different occupations and lived in different times.
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
poetic account depicting the legendary lives of the sixty-three Nayanar
Nayanar
Nayanar can refer to:*Nayanars, Shaivite saints from Tamil Nadu, India.*Nayanar , an honorific title used by certain clans of Nair caste from the north Malabar region of Kerala, India.*Nayanar, title used by Isai Vellalar of Tamil Nadu...
s, the canonical poets of Tamil Shaivism
Shaivism
Shaivism is one of the four major sects of Hinduism, the others being Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas," and also "Saivas" or "Saivites," revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer,...
. It was compiled during the 12th century by Sekkizhar
Sekkizhar
Sekkizhar was a poet and scholar of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta, a Saiva saint contemporary with the reign of Kulothunga Chola II. He compiled and wrote the Periya Puranam , 4253 verses long,recounting the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars, the poets of Shiva who composed the liturgical...
. It provides evidence of trade with West Asia The Periya Puranam is part of the corpus of Shaiva canonical works.
Sekkizhar
Sekkizhar
Sekkizhar was a poet and scholar of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta, a Saiva saint contemporary with the reign of Kulothunga Chola II. He compiled and wrote the Periya Puranam , 4253 verses long,recounting the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars, the poets of Shiva who composed the liturgical...
compiled and wrote the Periya Puranam or the Great Purana, (the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars
Nayanars
The Nayanars or Nayanmars were Shaivite devotional poets of Tamil Nadu, active between the fifth and the tenth centuries CE...
, poets of the God Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
) who composed the liturgical poems of the Tirumurai
Tirumurai
The word Thirumurai literally means the sacred book. It is a compendium of songs or hymns in the praise of Shiva in the Tamil language...
, and was later himself canonised and the work became part of the sacred canon. Among all the hagiographic Puranas in Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, Sekkizhar's Tiruttondar Puranam or Periyapuranam, composed during the rule of Kullottonga Chola II (1133-1150) stands first.
Background
Sekkizhar was a poet and the chief minister in the court of the Chola King, Kulothunga Chola IIKulothunga Chola II
Kulothunga Chola II was a 12th century king of the Chola Dynasty of the Tamil people of South India. He succeeded his father Vikrama Chola to the throne in 1135 CE. Vikrama Chola made Kulothunga his heir apparent and coregent in 1133 CE, so the inscriptions of Kulothunga II count his reign from...
. Kullottonga Chola II was a staunch devotee of Lord Siva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
Natraja at Chidambaram
Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a fast growing industrial city in Eastern part of Tamil Nadu and the taluk headquarters of the Cuddalore district. It is located in 58 km from Pondicherry, 60 km from Karaikal, and 240 km south of Chennai by rail...
. He continued the reconstruction of the center of Tamil Saivism that was begun by his ancestors. However Kullottonga II was also enchanted by the Jain
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
courtly epic, Jivaka Cintamani an epic of erotic flavour (sringara rasa) whose hero, Jivaka, combines heroics and erotics to marry seven damsels and gain a kingdom. In the end he realises the transiency of possessions, renounces his kingship and finally attains Nirvana by prolonged austerity (tapas).
In to order to wean Kullonttonga Chola II from the heretical Jivaka Cintamani, Sekkizhar undertook the task of writing the Periyapuranam.
Periyapuranam
The study of Jivaka Cintamani by Kullottonga Chola II, deeply affected Sekkizhar who was very religious in nature. He exhorted the king to abandon the pursuit of impious erotic literature and turn instead to the life of the Saiva saints celebrated by Sundaramurti Nayanar and Nambiyandar NambiNambiyandar Nambi
Tirunarayur Nambiyandar Nambi was an eleventh-century Shaiva scholar of Tamil Nadu in South India who compiled the hymns of Sampantar, Appar and Sundarar and was himself one of the authors of the eleventh volume of the canon of the Tamil liturgical poetry of Shiva, the Tirumurai.Nambiyandar was...
. The king thereupon invited Sekkizhar to expound the lives of the Saiva saints in a great poem. As a minister of the state Sekkizhar had access to the lives of the saints and after he collected the data, he wrote the poem in the Thousand Pillared Hall of the Chidambaram
Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a fast growing industrial city in Eastern part of Tamil Nadu and the taluk headquarters of the Cuddalore district. It is located in 58 km from Pondicherry, 60 km from Karaikal, and 240 km south of Chennai by rail...
temple. Legend has it that the Lord himself provided Sekkizhar with the first feet of the first verse as a divine voice from the sky declaring "உலகெலாம்" (ulakelam: All the world).
This work is considered the most important initiative of Kullottonga Chola II's reign. Although, it is only a literary embellishment of earlier hagiographies of the Saiva saints composed by Sundarar and Nambiyandar Nambi
Nambiyandar Nambi
Tirunarayur Nambiyandar Nambi was an eleventh-century Shaiva scholar of Tamil Nadu in South India who compiled the hymns of Sampantar, Appar and Sundarar and was himself one of the authors of the eleventh volume of the canon of the Tamil liturgical poetry of Shiva, the Tirumurai.Nambiyandar was...
, it came to be seen as the epitome of high standards of the Chola culture, because of the highest order of the literary style. The Periyapuranam is considered as a veritable fifth Veda
Fifth Veda
The notion of a fifth veda , that is, of a text which lies outside than the four canonical Vedas but nonetheless has the status of a Veda, is one that has been advanced in a number of post-Vedic Hindu texts, in order to accord a particular text or texts and their doctrines with the timelessness and...
in Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
and immediately took its place as the twelfth and the last book in the Saiva canon. It is considered as one of the masterpieces of the Tamil literature
Tamil literature
Tamil literature refers to the literature in the Tamil language. Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution...
and worthily commemorates the Golden age of the Cholas.
Significance
All the saints mentioned in this epic poem are historical persons and not mythical. Therefore, this is a recorded history of the 63 Saiva saints called as Nayanmars (devotees of Lord Siva), who attain salvation by their unflinching devotion to SivaShiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. The Nayanmars that he talks about belonged to different caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
s, different occupations and lived in different times.
See also
- South India's 75 Apostles of BhaktiSouth India's 75 Apostles of BhaktiSouthern India's 75 Apostles of Bhakti are the twelve Alvars and sixty-three Nayanmars . They are regarded as the greatest exponents of the bhakti tradition of Hinduism. Most of them came from the Tamil region...
- Karaikkal AmmeiyarKaraikkal AmmeiyarKaraikkal Ammaiyar , one of the three women amongst the sixty three Nayanmars, is one of the greatest figures of early Tamil literature. Her birth name was Punithavati. She was born at Karaikkal, South India, and probably lived during the 6th century...
- Sampandar
- Cheraman PerumalCheraman PerumalRama Varman Kulashekhara was the last King of the Later Chera Dynasty and the first ruler of the independent Venad state from 1102 A.D to 1122 A.D, according to the Rameswarathukoil Inscription. Kotha Varman Marthandam succeeded him as the ruler of Venad.-The end of the Chera dynasty:Rama Varman...
- Iyarpahai
- Kannappa NayanarKannappa NayanarKannappa Nayanar or Kannappan was one of the 63 Nayanmars or holy Saivite saints, the staunch devotees of Lord Shiva...
- KotpuliKotpuliKotpuli was a Nayanar saint of South India. He was one of the 63 Nayanars hailing from Nattiyantankuti. He was so attached to Lord Siva that he allotted a heap of paddy in the form of huge hill in each of the Siva temples to feed the Saiva devotees....
- Manikkavacakar
- NandanarNandanarNandanar was a Nayanar saint born in South India who became a great devotee of Lord Shiva.Nandanar was born in a village called Adhanurin a poor family. He was born at the cruel time where untouchability was being practised, as he belonged to Paraiyar community, which was considered as an...
- Chandeshvara Nayanar
- Manakkanychaara NayanarManakkanychaara NayanarManakkanychaara Nayanar was one of the 63 Nayanmars of the Saivite faith of South India. He lived in the village of Kancharur in the Chola kingdom during the eighth century CE. He belonged to the Vellala cast and was a hereditory commander in the Chola Military of Chola Raajym to day referred as...
- Tirunavukkarasar
External links
- Periya Puranam in Tamil.
- Periya Puranam in English.
- Nayanar temples locations explained in Periya puranam