Nilakantha Diksita was a minister in the 17th century court of King

Thirumalai Nayak Tirumala Nayaka ( Tamil: ''"Thirumalai Nayakar"''; 1623–1659) was the ruler of Madurai Nayak Dynasty in the 17th century. He ruled Madurai between A.D 1623 and 1659. His contributions are found in the many splendid buildings and temples of M ...

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

. He composed several poems and literary works, including Ananda Sagara Stavam.

Biography

Mahakavi Sri Neelakanta Deekshithar was born near the end of the 16 th century on 23rd May, 1594, born in the Tamil month of Vaigasi in the Jaya Varusha of Tamil Panchangam. He is of the Bharadwaja Gotra and a Sama Vedi. He was an ardent devotee of Goddess Meenakshi. He was from the lineage of the great advaitic saint

Appaya Dikshita Appayya Dikshita ( IAST ', often "Dikshitar"), 1520–1593 CE, was a performer of yajñas as well as an expositor and practitioner of the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy but with a focus on Shiva or Shiva Advaita. Life Appayy ...

. During his ministerial job in the royal court of Tirumalai Nayaka King of Madurai (current day Tamil Nadu, India) under his supervision the Vasantha Mantapam or now known as Pudu Mandapa, at

Meenakshi Amman Temple was built.He also dug Vandiyur Theppakulam a big Pond. During excavatory work for the Pond a Vinayagar Idol was found and named as Mukkuruni Vinayagar placed now in Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple. During his old age he settled at

Palamadai Sankar Nagar or Thalaiyuthu is a panchayat town in Tirunelveli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located about 8 km north of Tirunelveli on the way to Madurai on highway NH 44. The town is popularly called as Sankar Nagar ( ...

Village in Tirunelveli District and place further south of Madurai. Palamadai village was actually gifted to him by Thirumalai Nayaka King for this archaeological evidence is in the form of Copper plaques which was used in those periods and it is also published in the Madura Manual by Archives of India. This is also engraved in the entrance wall of mangalankureswarar Sannidhi facing North. The copy of the engravings can be had from the epigraphy section of ASI.

Writings

His works are regularly published by the Mahakavi Neelakanta Deekshithar Trust at Chennai. Besides they are also published in spiritual magazines like Amman Darshanam published from Chennai. His works in the language are literary classics, viz., gaṅgāvataraṇam, vairāgyaśatakam, naḻacaritram, kaliviḍambanam, ānandasāgarastavaḥ, śāntivilāsaḥ, śivotkarṣamañjarī, mukundavilāsaḥ, raghuvīrastavaḥ, caṇḍīrahasyam, anyāpadeśaśatakam, nīlakaṇṭhavijayacampūḥ, kaiyaṭavyākhyānam, sabhārañjanaśatakam, gururājastavaḥ, śivatattvarahasyam, and śivalīlārṇavaḥ.

References

Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Indian male poets 17th-century Indian poets Poets from Tamil Nadu 17th-century male writers {{India-poet-stub