| Tirumurai | |
| The twelve volumes of Tamil Shaivite hymns of the sixty-three Nayanars | |
| 1, 2, 3. Tirukadaikkappu | Campantar |
|---|---|
| 4, 5, 6. Tevaram | Appar |
| 7. Tirupaatu | Cuntarar |
| 8. Tiruvacakam and Tirukkovaiyar | Manikkavacakar |
| 9. Tiruvisaippa & Tiruppallaandu | Various poets |
| 10. Tirumandhiram | Tirumular |
| 11. Prabandham | Various poets |
| 12. Periya Puranam | Sekkizhar |
Manikkavavakar (மாணிக்கவாசகர் - literally words like jewels) was a Tamil poet who wrote Tiruvacakam, a book of Shaiva hymns. Manikkavacakar was one of the Nayanar poets of the Hindu bhakti revival: his work forms one volume of the Tirumurai, the key religious text of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta. A minister to the Pandya king Varagunavarman II (c. 862 C.E. – 885 C.E.), he lived in Madurai. His work is a poetic expression of the joy of God-experience, the anguish of being separated from God.
Manikkavacakar is said to have been born in Vadhavoor, seven
miles from Madurai on the banks of river Vaigai.[1]
According to legend the king entrusted him with a large amount of money to purchase horses. On his way he met an ascetic devotee of Siva, who in fact was Siva himself. Manikkavacakar was given enlightenment, realised material things are transitory and built the temple of Siva in Tirupperunturai with the money.[2]
Thereafter Manikkavacakar moved from one place to other, singing and composing devotional songs. Finally, he settled in Chidambaram. His Tiruvacakam is placed near the image of Shiva there.
Manikkavacakar's work has several parts. The Tiruvembavai, a collection of twenty hymns om which he has imagined himself as a woman following the Paavai Nonbu and praising Shiva. The twenty songs of Tiruvembavai and ten songs of Tiruppalliezhuchi on the Tirupperunturai Lord are sung all over Tamil Nadu in the holy month of Margazhi ( The 9th month of the Tamil calendar, December and January).
His feast is celebrated in the Tamil month of Aani. Manikkavacakar's hagiography is found in the Tiruvilaiyatar Puranam (16th century AD). Sculptures illustrating the myth are found in the Minakshi-Sundaresvara temple at Madurai.[3]
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