|
Nandanar
Nandanar (also spelt as Nantanar), also known as Tirunalaippovar (Thirunaallaippovaar (The one who will go tomorrow)) and Tiru Nalai Povar Nayanar,Other names include: Nandan (Nanda, Nantan), Tirunalaipovanar, Nalaippovar, Nalaippovan was a Nayanar saint, who is venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism. He is the only Dalit (" untouchable") saint in the Nayanars. He is generally counted as the eighteenth in the list of 63 Nayanars. Like the other Nayanars, he was a devout devotee of the god Shiva. The tale of Nandanar is retold numerous times in folk tales, folk music, plays, films and literature in Tamil society. While Nandanar is included in Nayanar list since the 8th century CE, the 12th century CE ''Periya Puranam'' gives a full hagiographical account of his life. The tale focuses on two miracles attributed to him. In Sivalokanathar Temple, Tirupunkur; his prayers are said to have moved a giant stone bull, which still appears in the moved position in the temple. Nandanar i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gopalakrishna Bharati
Gopalakrishna Bharathi ( ta, கோபாலகிருஷ்ண பாரதி) (1810–1896) was a Tamil poet and a composer of Carnatic music. He composed the K''athakalakshepam'' ( ta, கதாகாலக்ஷேபம் ) Nandanar Charitram, two other works in this genre, and many independent ''kritis''. Bharathi was a contemporary of Thyagaraja whom he is said to have met, and who asked him whether he had composed anything in the ''raga AbhOgi''; Bharathi composed overnight one of his most popular ''kriti''s in ''rUpaka tALa'', ''Sabhaapatikku vERu''. The great Tamil literary figure, U. V. Swaminatha Iyer wrote two sources for Bhaarati's life: a biography of the composer and his own autobiography, which contains references to Bharathi, who was his ''guru'' in music. Early life Gopalakrishna Bharathi was born at Narimanam, near Nagapattinam. He spent his early days in Mudikondan, near Thiruvarur. A few years later he moved to Anandathandavapuram village, near Mayavar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paraiyar
Paraiyar, or Parayar or Maraiyar (formerly anglicised as Pariah and Paree), is a caste group found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and Sri Lanka. Etymology Robert Caldwell, a nineteenth-century missionary and grammarian who worked in South India, was in agreement with some Indian writers of the same period who considered the name to derive from the Tamil word '' parai'' (''drum''). According to this hypothesis, the Paraiyars were originally a community of drummers who performed at auspicious events like weddings and funerals. M. Srinivasa Aiyangar, writing a little later, found this etymology unsatisfactory, arguing that beating of drums could not have been an occupation of so many people. Some other writers, such as Gustav Solomon Oppert, have derived the name from the Tamil word ''poraian'', the name of a regional subdivision mentioned by ancient Tamil grammarians, or the Sanskrit ''pahariya'', meaning "hill man". More recently, George L. Hart's textual a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sivalokanathar Temple, Tirupunkur
Sivalokanathar Temple (சிவலோகநாதர் கோயில்) :ta:திருப்புன்கூர் சிவலோகநாதர் கோயில் is a Hindu temple in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is dedicated to the god Shiva. The temple is situated in the village of Tirupunkur or Thirupunkur which lies about 3 miles west of Vaitheeswaran Koil. The temple is associated with the legend of the Saivite saint Nandanar who was one of the 63 Nayanmars. While being a Dalit, Nandanar was not allowed inside the temple, the idol of ''Nandi'' within the temple precincts moved a few inches at the command of Shiva so as not to obstruct Nandanar's view from the gate of the shrine. Literary mention Tirunavukkarasar Appar, also referred to as ( ta, திருநாவுக்கரசர்) or Navukkarasar, was a seventh-century Tamil Śaiva poet-saint. Born in a peasant Śaiva family, raised as an orphan by his sister, he lived about 80 years an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nayanars
The Nayanars (or Nayanmars; ta, நாயன்மார், translit=Nāyaṉmār, translit-std=ISO, lit=hounds of Siva, and later 'teachers of Shiva ) were a group of 63 Tamil Hindu saints living during the 6th to 8th centuries CE who were devoted to the Hindu god Shiva. Along with the Alvars, their contemporaries who were devoted to Vishnu, they influenced the Bhakti movement in early medieval South India. The names of the Nayanars were first compiled by Sundarar. The list was expanded by Nambiyandar Nambi during his compilation of material by the poets for the ''Tirumurai'' collection, and would include Sundarar himself and Sundarar's parents. The Nalvar () are the four foremost Nayanars Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar and Manikkavaasagar. History The list of the Nayanars was initially compiled by Sundarar (Sundararmurthi). In his poem ''Tiruthonda Thogai'' he sings, in eleven verses, the names of the Nayanar saints up to Karaikkal Ammaiyar, and refers to himself as "the serv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulayar
The Pulayar (also Pulaya, Pulayas, Cherumar, Cheramar, and Cheraman) is a caste group mostly found in the southern part of India, forming one of the main social groups in modern-day Kerala, Karnataka and historically in Tamil Nadu. Traditions Pulayars are noted for their music, craftsmanship, and for certain dances which include ''Kōlam-thullal'', a mask dance which is part of their exorcism rituals, as well as the Mudi-āttam or hair-dance which has its origins in a fertility ritual. Demography According to the 2011 Census, the Pulayan population in Kerala was 1,338,008. They are a Scheduled Caste under India's reservation system in the state of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Notable people * Nandanar, a Nayanar saint, venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism * Ayyankali (1863–1941), social reformer * K. P. Vallon (1894–1940), social reformer * P. K. Rosy (1903–1988), first heroine of the Malayalam film industry * Dakshayani Velayudhan (1912–1978), former member of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as '' Sanātana Dharma'' ( sa, सनातन धर्म, lit='the Eternal Dharma'), a modern usage, which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. Another endonym is ''Vaidika dharma'', the dharma related to the Vedas. Hinduism is a diverse system of thought marked by a range of philosophies and shared concepts, rituals, cosmological systems, pilgrimage sites, and shared textual sources that discuss theology, metaphysics, mythology, Vedic yajna, yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamil Language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Puducherry. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in the four other South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is also spoken by the Tamil diaspora found in many countries, including Malaysia, Myanmar, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and Mauritius. Tamil is also natively spoken by Sri Lankan Moors. One of 22 scheduled languages in the Constitution of India, Tamil was the first to be classified as a classical language of India. Tamil is one of the longest-surviving classical languages of India.. "Tamil is one of the two longest-surviving classical languages in India" (p. 7). A. K. Ramanujan described it as "the on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sekkizhar
Sēkkilān Mādēvadigal Rāmadēva (12th century CE), known popularly by his family name as Sekkizhar, was a saint and a contemporary of Kulottunga Chola II. He compiled and wrote the ''Periya Puranam'' (Great Story or Narrative) in 4253 verses, recounting the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars, the devotees of Shiva. Sekkizhar himself was later canonised and his work, the Periyapuranam became the twelfth and final book of the sacred Saiva canon. Life Sekkizhar was born as Arulmozhithevan, meaning ''the one of the divine language''. He was a native of Kundrathur village (a suburb of the present-day Chennai), a sub-division of Puliyur-kottam in Thondaimandalam. Sekkizhar was a child of precious genius and having noticed this, king Anapaya, that is Kulothunga Chola II appointed him as his Prime Minister on account of his talents. His life is celebrated by Umapati Sivacharya in his fourteenth century work (1313 CE) called Sekkizhar Nayanar Puranam. Sekkizhar had the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might consist of a biography or ', a description of the saint's deeds or miracles (from Latin ''vita'', life, which begins the title of most medieval biographies), an account of the saint's martyrdom (called a ), or be a combination of these. Christian hagiographies focus on the lives, and notably the miracles, ascribed to men and women canonized by the Roman Catholic church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Church of the East. Other religious traditions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Islam, Sikhism and Jainism also create and maintain hagiographical texts (such as the Sikh Janamsakhis) concerning saints, gurus and other individuals believed to be imbued with sacred power. Hagiographic works, especi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chola
The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE during the reign of Ashoka of the Maurya Empire. As one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, along with the Chera dynasty, Chera and Pandya dynasty, Pandya, the dynasty continued to govern over varying territories until the 13th century CE. The Chola Empire was at its peak under the Medieval Cholas in the mid-9th century CE. The heartland of the Cholas was the fertile valley of the Kaveri River. They ruled a significantly larger area at the height of their power from the later half of the 9th century till the beginning of the 13th century. They unified peninsular India south of the Tungabhadra River, and held the territory as one state for three centuries between 907 and 1215 CE.K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, ''A Histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dalits
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a fifth varna, also known by the name of ''Panchama''. Dalits now profess various religious beliefs, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, Islam. Scheduled Castes is the official term for Dalits as per the Constitution of India. History The term ''Dalit'' is a self-applied concept for those called the "untouchables" and others that were outside of the traditional Hindu caste hierarchy. Economist and reformer B. R. Ambedkar (1891–1956) said that untouchability came into Indian society around 400 CE, due to the struggle for supremacy between Buddhism and Brahmanism (an ancient term for Brahmanical Hinduism). Some Hindu priests befriended untouchables and were demoted to low-caste ranks. Eknath, another excommunicated Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thanjavur District
Thanjavur District is one of the Districts of Tamil Nadu, 38 districts of the States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur. The district is located in the delta of the Cauvery River and is mostly agrarian. As of 2011, Thanjavur district had a population of 2,405,890 with a sex-ratio of 1,035 females for every 1,000 males. Geography The district is located at in Central Tamil Nadu bounded on the northeast by Mayiladuthurai district, on the east by Tiruvarur District, on the south by the Palk Strait of Bay of Bengal on the west by Pudukkottai District and Tiruchirappalli District, Tiruchirappalli, small border with Cuddalore district, Cuddalore on the northeast and on the north by the river Kollidam, across which lie part of Tiruchirappalli District, Tiruchirappalli, and Ariyalur district, Ariyalur districts. Demographics According to 2011 census of India, 2011 census, Thanjavur district had a population of 2,4 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_according_to_Indian_Caste_System_-_1942.jpg "Click for more on -> Dalits")
