Құдай Шиваның 63 жолын жақын тұрғандарының өмірбаяны

Hindu Shaiva text

The Periya‌ Purāṇa‌m (Tamil: பெரிய‌ புராண‌ம்), that is, the great purana or epic, sometimes called Tiruttontarpuranam ("Tiru Thondar Puranam", the Purana of the Holy Devotees), is a Tamil poetic account depicting the lives of the sixty three Nayanars, the canonical poets of Tamil Shaivism. It was compiled during the 12th century by Sekkilar. The Periya Puranam is part of the corpus of Shaiva canonical works. Sekkilar compiled and wrote the Periya Puranam or the Great Purana in Tamil about the life stories of the sixty three Shaiva Nayanars, poets of the deity 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, Sekkilar's Tiruttondar Puranam or Periyapuranam, composed during the rule of Kulottunga II (1133–1150 CE) stands first.

Sekkilar was a poet and the chief minister in the court of the Chola King, Kulothunga Chola II. Kulottunga Chola II, king Anabaya Chola, was a staunch devotee of Natraja, the form of Shiva worshipped at Chidambaram. He continued the reconstruction of the center of Tamil Shaivism that was begun by his ancestors. However, Kulottunga II was also enchanted by the Jain courtly epic, Chivaka Chinthamani an epic of erotic flavour (sringara rasa) whose hero, Chivaka, combines heroics and erotics to marry eight 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 order to wean Kulottunga Chola II from the heretical Chivaka Chintamani, Sekkilar undertook the task of writing the Periyapuranam. The Periyapuranam is considered a fifth Veda in Tamil and immediately took its place as the twelfth and the last book in the Shaiva canon. It is considered one of the masterpieces of the Tamil literature and worthily commemorates the Golden age of the Cholas.

All the saints mentioned in this epic poem are historical persons and not mythical. Therefore, this is a recorded history of the 63 Shaiva saints called as Nayanars (devotees of Shiva), who attain salvation by their unflinching devotion to Siva. The Nayanmars that he talks about belonged to different communities, different occupations and lived in different times.