Маниккавасагардың «Тирувасагам» жинағы

Volume of Tamil hymns

Thiruvasagam is a volume of Tamil hymns composed by the ninth century Shaivite bhakti poet Manikkavasagar. It contains 51 compositions and constitutes the eighth volume of the Tirumurai, the sacred anthology of the Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta. Legend has it that Manikkavasakar was appointed as minister by king Arimarttanar and sent to purchase 10,000 horses from horse traders but spent the money building a temple in Tirupperunturai. As the legend goes, Thiruvasagam is the only work which is signed as well as written by Shiva in guise of a Tamil man when narrated by Manikkavasagar. The poet chased the writer but without success but the palm leaf manuscript had been seen inside the locked sanctum sanctorum of Thillai Nataraja with the Lord's signature.

Manikkavasagar's Thiruvasagam and Thirukovayar are compiled as the eighth Thirumurai and is full of visionary experience, divine love and urgent striving for truth. Though he is not counted as one of the 63 Shaiva nayanars, he is counted as one of the Nalvars ("The Four") consisting of himself and the first three nayanars namely Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar. He is believed to be in the 10th or 11th century, but G. U. Pope places him in 7th or 8th century. Manikkavasagar was the king's prime minister and renounced his post in search of divinity. He was an orthodox saivite and represents bhakti at its highest form in his age. Tirupperunturai , also known as Avudayar Koil, is a Shiva temple where Thiruvasagam is believed to have been originated. Manikkavasagar is said to have converted the king to Shaivism and built the temple with money that had been intended for war horses.

Most of the portions in Thiruvasagam is first sung in Thillai Nataraja Temple at Chidambaram. 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 Shaiva canon. In Thailand, an annual Giant Swing ceremony known as Triyampavai Tripavai was held in major cities until 1935, when it was abolished for safety reasons. The name of the ceremony was derived from the names of Tiruvempavai and Tiruppavai (a Vaishnavite hymn by Andal). It is known that Tiruvempavai verses — poet pratu sivalai ("opening the portals of Shiva's home") — were recited at this ceremony, as well as the coronation ceremony of the Thai king. According to T. P. Meenakshisundaram, the name of the festival indicates that Thiruppavai might have been recited as well.

Raja Raja Chola I (985 1013 CE) embarked on a mission to recover the hymns after hearing short excerpts of Tevaram in his court. He sought the help of Nambi Andar Nambi, who was a priest in a temple. 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. Rajaraja thus became known as Tirumurai Kanda Cholan meaning one who saved the Tirumurai. The first seven books were later called as Tevaram, and the whole Shaiva canon, to which was added, as the 12th book, Sekkizhar's Periya Puranam (1135 CE) is wholly known as Tirumurai, the holy book.

Ramalinga Swamigal (1823 1874 CE) is believed to have taken inspiration from Thiruvasagam for his devotional work. Portions of Thiruvasagam are also read out by the Chief Brahmin Priest of Thailand during the coronation ceremony of a new Thai King. The ancestors of the Brahmins of the Thai Royal Household are thought to have emigrated from Rameswaram to Thailand centuries back.

S. No. Name of the temple Location Photo Presiding deity Notes/Beliefs1 Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram Chidambaram, Cuddalore districtTamil Nadu Sivakami and NatajarThillai Nataraja temple dedicated to Nataraja – Shiva as the lord of dance. The temple is considered the centre of Shaivism. Chidambaram, the name of the city and the temple literally means "atmosphere of wisdom" or "clothed in thought", 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 from the Natya Shastra by Bharata Muni, and these postures form a foundation of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance. The temple is one of the five elemental lingas in the Shaivism pilgrimage tradition, and considered the subtlest of all Shiva temples (Kovil) in Hinduism. It is also a site for performance arts, including the annual Natyanjali dance festival on Maha Shivaratri.2 Sattainathar Temple, Sirkazhi Sirkazhi, Nagapattinam districtTamil Nadu Periyanayagi and SattainatharThe temple has three levels with Bhramapureeswarar shrine in the lower level, Periyanakar with Periyanayaki on a Thoni in the second level and Sattainathar/Vatukanathar in the third level. Three different forms of Shiva are worshipped here, the Shivalingam (Bhrammapureeswarar), a colossal image of Uma Maheswarar (Toniappar) at the medium level, and Bhairavar (Sattanathar) at the upper level. The temple is associated with the legend of child Sambandar who is believed to have been fed by Parvati on the banks of the temple tank. The child later went on to compose Tevaram, a Shaiva canonic literature on Shiva and became one of the most revered Shaiva poets in South India.3 Annamalaiyar Temple Tiruvannamalai, Tiruvannamalai districtTamil Nadu Unnamalaiyamman and AnnamalaiyarIt is significant to the Hindu sect of Shaivism as one of the temples associated with the five elements, the Pancha Bhoota Stalas, and specifically the element of fire, or Agni. Shiva is worshiped as Arunachalesvara or Annamalaiyar, and is represented by the lingam, with his idol referred to as Agni lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Unnamalai Amman. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Shaiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam. The 9th century Shaiva saint poet Manikkavasagar composed the Tiruvempaavai here.4 Vedagiriswarar temple Thirukalukundram, Chengalpattu districtTamil Nadu Thirupurasundari and VedagiriswararThe word Thirukazhukundram comes from the Tamil words Thiru (Respectful), Kazhugu (Vulture/Eagle), Kundram (mount). It was known as "Thirukazhugukundram" in ancient times, which over time became Thirukazhukundram. The town is also known as Pakshi Theertham (Bird's Holy Lake) because of a pair of birds Most likely Egyptian vultures that are believed to have visited the site for centuries. These birds are traditionally fed by the temple priests and arrive before noon to feed on offerings made from rice, wheat, ghee and sugar.5 Thyagaraja Temple, Tiruvarur Thiruvarur, Thiruvarur districtTamil Nadu Kamalambal and ThygarajarThe main idol of worship is Tyagarajar, depicted as a Somaskanda form. The temple complex covers 30 acres, and is one of the largest in India. It houses nine gateway towers known as gopurams. The temple has the largest chariot in Asia and the annual Chariot festival is celebrated during the month of April. The temple has nine gopurams, 80 vimanas, twelve temple walls, 13 halls, fifteen large temple water bodies, three gardens, and three large precincts.6 Mangalanathaswamy temple Uthirakosamangai, Ramanathapuram districtTamil Nadu Mangalambigai and MangaleswararManickavasagar, the 9th century Tamil saivite saint poet has revered Mangalanathar and the temple in his verses in Thiruvasakam, compiled as the Eighth Tirumurai. Arunagirinathar, a 15th century Tamil poet has composed Tamil hymns glorifying Murugan in the temple. There is a 6 feet (2 m) tall ancient maragatha Nataraja idol carved out of emerald inside the temple. A hall of Saharasralingam has thousand lingams enshrined in it. At the entrance of the main precinct,the temple features exquisite stone carvings of Yali (mythological dragon), depicted with a rolling stone ball inside its mouth.7 Tirupperunturai Avudaiyarkoil, Pudukkottai districtTamil Nadu Athmanadaswamy templeOne of the sacred books of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta, Manikkavasagar's Tiruvacakam, originated from this shrine. Manikkavasagar is said to have converted the king to the religion of Shiva and built the temple with money that had been intended for war horses. Athmanathar temple is a testimony to the temple architectural skills of ancient Tamil Sculptors and engineers. The temple covers an area of over with three enclosures and faces south, constructed so that the setting sun strikes the sanctum even though it is cloistered within three circumambulatory paths. The presiding deity is formless (Atmanatar); there is no Shivalingam but only a pedestal {Avudayar} located in the sanctum, hence the name Avudayar Koil. The God faces South in this temple in Dakshinamurthy or Guru form. His consort is worshipped as Siva Yoga Nayaki(Yogambal) in iconless form. There is no Nandi bull icon as is conventional in almost all Shiva temples. There is deep spiritual significance in this. Hinduism allows deity worship for the novice. As one's devotion matures,one begins to contemplate the truth of formlessness of the Brahman. The temple has been designed to illustrate this theology. This one of the rarest Shaivite shrine in whole of India to portray the supreme truth symbolically. Since the soul (atma) has no form, the deity is called Athmanathar. There are five lamps in the sanctum indicating the five time scales and 27 lamps indicating the 27 stars.