![]() The ‘arangetram ‘of Peria Puranam was held at Thillai Natarajar Temple between the 4th April 1139 and 22nd April 1140. ![]() Coupled with his own knowledge of Saivism and temple rituals and traditions as also the political history of the Tamil Kingdoms and Sangam literature and the Thevaram, he put in great efforts and, with divine blessings, produced this great epic to the delight of the king and his subjects. The Administrator- Scholar, coming 300 years after saint Sundarar went round the Southern Kingdom, gathered information by local enquires, examined epigraphs and copper plates, perused local literature and gathered much authentic information on these saints. Sekkizhar (1113- 1173 CE) was the Chief Minister of the great Chozha Emperor Kulothunga II who requested and encouraged Sekkizhar to undertake this difficult work. The other 56 did not say or record anything about themselves – they were ardent devotees and that is about it all. Of these 63, only 7 had left (poetic) records of their own search for God. It is not as if information on these were readily available. It is to the lasting credit of Sekkizhar that he went into great detail in narrating the histories of these saints. This was followed by a slightly longer version of 100 verses (of which 89 are available) by Nambiandar Nambi which included Sundaramurthy Nayanar also. The original work of Sundaramurthy Nayanar had only 11 verses mentioning the names of 62 saints. This great work, authored by the Minister turned Saint Sekkizhar, runs to 4286 verses dealing with the lives and times of 63 Saiva Saints who served Man and God during the 3rd century BCE to the 9th century CE. Of these, Peria Puranam is the 12th, the last one. Sri G.Vanmikanathan who has rendered the highlights of the original epic from Tamil to English with a racy running commentary is an experienced litterateur who has a number of other devotional works to his credit.The Tamil Saiva Canon comprises of 12 Thirumurais authored by 26 saints, consisting of more than 20,000 verses. To pursue their stories is to inhale the air of sanctity and blessedness. The trials and tribulations they cheerfully undergo and the incredible sacrifices they make for the Lord’s sake take our breath away. Caste, community, wealth, and status do not count with them even as they do not with the Lord. These Nayanmars consists of devoted men and women of all ages and range from tribal hunters to emperors of vast domains. Lord Shiva whom these Saiva-Siddhantins worshiped is not a sectarian deity but the supreme creator preserver and destroyer of the Universe who comes in human form from time to time and ‘plays’ with these servitors when their devotion gets incandescent. The Tamil Devotional Classic Periya Puranam or “The Great Epic” by Sekkizhaar is the saga of the sixty-three Nayanmars or servitors of the Lord who not only lived for Him, on the other hand, adored Him in delightfully distinct ways. ![]()
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