Appar

Seventh century Tamil Śaiva poet saint

Appar also referred to as Tirunavukkaracar or Navukkarasar, was a seventh century Tamil Shaiva poet saint. Born in a peasant Shaiva family, raised as an orphan by his sister, he lived about 80 years and is generally placed sometime between 570 and 650 CE. Appar composed 4,900 devotional hymns to the god Shiva, out of which 313 have survived and are now canonized as the 4th to 6th volumes of Tirumurai. One of the most prominent of the sixty three revered Nayanars, he was an older contemporary of Sambandar. His images are found and revered in Tamil Shiva temples. His characteristic iconography in temples show him carrying a farmer's small hoe – a gardening tool and weed puller.

Appar is also known as Tirunavukkaracar (lit. "King of the Tongue, Lord of Language"). His birth name was Marulneekkiyar, and was renamed to Dharmasenar while he studied and later served as the head of a Jain monastery. After he returned to Shaivism and began composing devotional hymns to Shiva, he has been historically referred to as Appar (lit. "father"), after the child poet saint Sambandar lovingly called him Appar.

An outline about Appar's life, without specifics, are found in his own hymns that were preserved by an oral tradition. A written collection of his hymns as well as more details are found in texts about four centuries after he died. One of the most studied version is the Sekkizhar's Periya Puranam, the last book of the Tirumurai. There, under Thiruninrasargam and in 428 verses, Sekkizhar presents the legendary life of Appar. Appar was born in late 6th century, likely between 570 and 596 CE. His childhood name was Marunikkiyar (Marulneekiar). Orphaned, he was raised by his older sister Thilagavathiar. Thilagavathiar was betrothed to a military commander who died in war. She never married thereafter, devoted herself to Shaivism and to taking care of her little brother. He spent his childhood in Tiruvamur village near Atikai by most accounts.

Unlike his sister, Appar turned to Jainism. He left home, joined a Jain monastery, where he was renamed Dharmasena (Tarumacenar). He studied Jainism and years later became the head of the Jain monastery in Tiruppatirippuliyur. After a while, afflicted by a painful stomach illness, Dharmasena returned home. His sister gave him Tiruniru (sacred ash) and taught him the five syllable mantra "namaccivaya" (Namah Shivaya). Then they went together to a Shiva temple in Atikai, where he spontaneously composed his first hymn of Tevaram. As he sang the second verse, he was miraculously cured of his stomach illness. Thereafter, he came to be known as Navukkaracar (from Skt: Vagisa, "king of speech") or more popularly just Appar. He thus left Jainism and become a devout Shaiva. Appar's hymns are intimately devotional to Shiva, but occasionally include verses where he repents the Jain period of his life. In Tevaram hymn IV.39 and others, he criticizes the Jain monastic practice of not brushing teeth, the lack of body hygiene, their barbaric ascetic practices, the doctrine of pallurai (anekantavada) as self contradictory relativism, the hypocrisy of running away from the world and work yet begging for food in that same world, and others.

Francis Kingsbury and Godfrey Phillips selected and translated 39 out of 313 of Appar's hymns into English in 1921. These were published with small collection of Sambandar and Sundarar hymns in a book titled Hymns of the Tamil Śaivite Saints, released by the Oxford University Press. They stated that these were some of the hymns from Devaram (Tevaram) that they could hear being chanted in South Indian Shiva temples of their times. In 1959, Dorai Rangaswamy published a prose translation with commentary on about 100 Appar's hymns in Volume 3 of his collected works on Tevaram. More recent English translations of many more select hymns by Appar have been published by Indira Peterson.

Appar is traditionally credited with converting the Pallava king, Mahendravarman to Shaivism. His efforts helped expand the sacred geography of Shaivism and bring fame to smaller Shiva temples. Appar sanctified all these temples by his verses

Appar celebrated the Vedas, and connected the Vedic ritual to the temple Agamic puja that is ever since followed in Shiva temples. Appar's tradition has thrived in Tamil Shiva temples. Odhuvars, Sthanikars, or Kattalaiyars offer musical programmes in Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu by singing Tevaram after the daily rituals. These are usually carried out as chorus programme soon after the divine offering. The singing of Tevaram was followed by musicals from the music pillars in such temples like Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, Nellaiappar Temple and Suchindram. The singers of these hymns were referred as Tirupadiyam Vinnapam seyvar or Pidarar, from the inscriptions of Nandivarman III in the Tiruvallam Bilavaneswara temple records. Rajaraja deputed 48 pidarars and made liberal provisions for their maintenance and successors.

Appar's hymns provide a window into the history and culture of Tamil Hindus between the 7th and 9th century, states Paramasivanandan. They mention names of rulers, towns, villages, festivals, agriculture, trade, temples, role of temple in providing social support during famines and economic hardship, role of temples in dance, music, arts, life rituals, social conditions, literature, and the education system. Given Appar's study of Digambara Jainism prior to returning to Shaiva Hinduism, it also includes a historic view into the two traditions.