Tirumantiram

TheTirumantiram(Tamil:திருமந்திரம்) orThirumantiramis aTamilpoetic work, written either in the 2nd century BCE and 4th century CE byTirumular.It is the tenth of the twelve volumes of theTirumurai,the key texts ofShaiva Siddhantaand the first known Tamil work to use the term. TheTirumantiramis the earliest known exposition of the ShaivaAgamasin Tamil. It consists of over three thousand verses dealing with various aspects of spirituality, ethics and praise ofShiva.But it is more spiritual than religious and one can see the difference betweenVedantaandSiddhantafrom Tirumular's interpretation of theMahavakyas.According to historian Venkatraman, the work covers almost every feature of thesiddharof theTamils.According to another historian, Madhavan, the work stresses on the fundamentals ofSiddha medicineand its healing powers.It deals with a wide array of subjects including astronomy and physical culture.

Etymology

Tirumantiram's literal meaning is "sacred mantra" or "holy incantation."

Content

Om symbol Tirumurai Om symbol in Tamil
The twelve volumes ofTamilŚaivahymns of the sixty-threeNayanars
Parts	Name	Author
1,2,3	Thirukadaikkappu	Sambandar
4,5,6	Thevaram	Thirunavukkarasar
7	Thirupaatu	Sundarar
8	Thiruvasakam& Thirukkovaiyar	Manickavasagar
9	Thiruvisaippa& Tiruppallaandu	Various
10	Thirumandhiram	Thirumular
11	Various
12	Periya Puranam	Sekkizhar
Paadal Petra Sthalam
Paadal Petra Sthalam
Rajaraja I
Nambiyandar Nambi

TheTirumantiramis divided into nine chapters, 9 tantras (tantirams):

• 1. Philosophical views and divine experience, impermanency of the physical body, love, education etc.
• 2. Shiva's glory, His divine acts, classification of souls etc.
• 3.Yogapractices according to the eight-angled way of Patanjali. Also refers toVasi Yoga
• 4.Mantra,tantra,etc.
• 5. Various branches of Saiva religion; the four elements ofShaiva Siddhanta.
• 6. Shiva asgurubestowing grace and the devotee's responsibility.
• 7. Shivalinga,Shiva worship, self-control.
• 8. The stages of soul experience.
• 9.Panchadsara manthiram,Shiva's dance, the state of samadhi.

The poems have a unique metrical structure, each line consisting of 11 or 12 syllables depending on the initial syllable. Tirumular discusses the four steps of spiritual progress;Charya,Kriya,YogaandGnana,theShaiva Siddhantaconcept ofPati,PasuandPasawhere Pati stands for Shiva, Pasu stands for the humankind and Pasa stands for Maya (the desire),sadhana,Vedanta,theUpanishadicTat tvam asiand otherVedanticconcepts, the transcendental reality as emptiness(Sunya)devoid of any attribute andTantrasastra(Shaktiworship),chakras,magic spells and their accessories.

The section onYoga,called "Shiva yoga", offers details not found in theSanskrittext ofPatanjali.TheTirumantiramdescribes means of attaining an immortal body(kaya siddhi),advocating a theory of preserving the body so that the soul would continue its existence (Udambai valarthen uyir valarthenae).

Tirumular is not only one of the 63 Nayanmars (Nayanars) but also a significant one among the 18 Siddhars. Tirumular has been referred to as "Nampiran" (meaning: nam-Our, piran-God, thus thirumular has been called as a leader or god to all the remaining Nayanars) bySundararin his thiru thondar thogai (the earliest song which mentions the names of 63 Nayanars). Tirumular as a moral philosopher teaches the ethics of non-violence (ahimsa), abstinence from slaughtering, meat and alcohol. He condemns coveting another man's wife. He declares that "love is God", proclaims the unity of mankind and God and stresses the acquisition of knowledge.

The final section of the Tirumantiram, namedSunya Sambhashana( "Colloquy on the Void" ), is full of metaphorical sayings communicating mystical and speculative thoughts, for example;

பார்ப்பான் அகத்திலே பாற்பசு ஐந்துண்டு
மேய்பாருமின்றி வெறித்து திரிவன
மேய்ப்பாரும் உண்டாய் வெறியும் அடங்கினால்
பார்ப்பான் பசுஅய்ந்தும் பாலாய்ச் சொரியுமே Tirumantiram 2883.

"There are 5 wandering cows, without a cowherd and impossible to milk them"
But if a cowherd, controls all five (cows), then it's possible to milk the 5 cows.

See also

• Arutprakasa Vallalar Chidambaram Ramalinga Swamigal(Vallalar)
• Tirumular
• Agastyar

Sources

• A Short Introduction: The Tamil Siddhas and the Siddha Medicine of Tamil Nadu By Marion Zimmermann
• The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature (Volume Five (Sasay To Zorgot), Volume 5 By Mohan Lal
• The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature (Volume Two) (Devraj To Jyoti), Volume 2 By Amaresh Datta
• Saivism in Philosophical Perspective: A Study of the Formative Concepts, Problems and Methods of Saiva Siddhanta By K. Sivaraman
• A dictionary of Indian literature, Volume 1 By Sujit Mukherjee
• The Tirumandiram,ISBN9781895383614(set of 10 volumes) English translation with commentary, 2010, T.N. Ganapathy et al.
• The Yoga of Tirumular: Essays on the Tirumandiram, by T.N. Ganapathy and K.R. Arumugam,ISBN9781895383218

External links

• Tirumantiram in English,translated by Dr. B. Natarajan
• Tirumantiram in TamilUnicodeformat:Tirumantiram
• Shavism Homepage
• Thirumandhiram
• Thirumandiram informationbyMarshall Govindan
• The Tirumandiram in English and Tamil with verse by verse commentary, in 10 volumes, by T.N. Ganapathy et al