Shaiva Siddhanta () (
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
: சைவ சித்தாந்தம் "Caiva cittāntam") is a form of
Shaivism
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...
that propounds a
dualistic philosophy where the ultimate and ideal goal of a being is to become an enlightened soul through
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
's grace. It draws primarily on the Tamil devotional hymns written by Shaiva saints from the 5th to the 9th century, known in their collected form as ''
Tirumurai
''Thirumurai'' (Tamil: திருமுறை, meaning holy division) is a twelve-volume compendium of songs or hymns in praise of Shiva in the Tamil language from the 6th to the 11th century CE by various poets in Tamil Nadu. Nambiyand ...
''.
Meykandadevar (13th century) was the first systematic philosopher of the school.
The normative rites, cosmology and theology of Shaiva Siddhanta draw upon a combination of
Agamas
Religion
*Āgama (Buddhism), a collection of Early Buddhist texts
*Āgama (Hinduism), scriptures of several Hindu sects
*Jain literature (Jain Āgamas), various canonical scriptures in Jainism
Other uses
* ''Agama'' (lizard), a genus of lizards ...
and
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
scriptures.
This tradition is thought to have been once practiced all over India.
However the Muslim subjugation of
North India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
restricted Shaiva Siddhanta to the south, where it merged with the Tamil Saiva movement expressed in the
bhakti
''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...
poetry of the
Nayanmars
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 de ...
.
[Flood, Gavin. D. 1996. An Introduction to Hinduism. P.168] It is in this historical context that Shaiva Siddhanta is commonly considered a "southern" tradition, one that is still very much alive.
The Tamil compendium of devotional songs known as ''
Tirumurai
''Thirumurai'' (Tamil: திருமுறை, meaning holy division) is a twelve-volume compendium of songs or hymns in praise of Shiva in the Tamil language from the 6th to the 11th century CE by various poets in Tamil Nadu. Nambiyand ...
'', the Shaiva Agamas and ''"Meykanda"'' or ''"Siddhanta"'' Shastras,
[S. Arulsamy, ''Saivism - A Perspective of Grace'', Sterling Publishers Private Limited, New Delhi, 1987, pp.1] form the scriptural canon of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta.
Today, Shaiva Siddhanta has adherents predominantly in
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
Etymology
Monier-Williams
Sir Monier Monier-Williams (; né Williams; 12 November 1819 – 11 April 1899) was a British scholar who was the second Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University, England. He studied, documented and taught Asian languages, especially S ...
gives the meaning of ''siddhanta'' as ‘any fixed or established or canonical text-book or received scientific treatise on any subject ... as .. Brahma-siddhanta ब्रह्म-सिद्धान्त,... Surya-siddhanta, etc.’ The name of the school could be translated as "the settled view of Shaiva doctrine" or "perfected Shaivism."
History
Shaiva Siddhanta's original form is uncertain. Some hold that it originated as a
monistic
Monism attributes oneness or singleness (Greek: μόνος) to a concept e.g., existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished:
* Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., i ...
doctrine, espoused by
Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to:
* People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir
* Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley
* Kashmiri language, their language
People with the name
* Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...
northern shaivites (date unknown).
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
is another theorized location of origin, where it was most prevalent. It seems likely to others, however, that the early Śaiva Siddhānta may have developed somewhere in India, as a religion built around the notion of a ritual initiation that conferred liberation. Such a notion of liberatory initiation appears to have been borrowed from a
Pashupata
Pashupata Shaivism (, sa, पाशुपत) is the oldest of the major Shaivite Hindu schools. The mainstream which follows Vedic Pasupata penance are 'Maha Pasupatas' and the schism of 'Lakula Pasupata' of Lakulisa.
There is a debate about ...
(''pāśupata'') tradition. At the time of the early development of the theology of the school, the question of monism or dualism, which became so central to later theological debates, had not yet emerged as an important issue.
Ontological Categories
Shaiva Siddhanta believes in three different categories, which are distinct from each other:
# ''pati'' ("Lord"), is Siva himself and cause of emission, maintenance, re-absorption, concealment and grace.
# ''pasu'' ("Soul"), is individual Soul, distinct from Siva, but bound because of impurities.
# ''pasa'' ("Bond"), the three impurities - ''anava'' (darkness), ''karma'' (deed) and ''maya'' (delusion).
The soul gains experience through its action (rituals), which removes the three impurities, but the liberation is realized only by the grace of Lord Siva.
Four stages
According to Shaiva Siddhanta texts, there are four progressive stages of ''Siva bhaki'' for a path to attain ''
moksha
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...
'':
# ''dāsamārga'', offering service to devotees of Siva in different ways such as cleaning temple, weaving flower garlands for the image of Siva, praising Lord Siva.
# ''satputramārga'', a true son's way, offering personal devotion by preparing ''pūjā'' and performing meditation.
# sahamārga, offering devotion by practicing yoga.
# ''sanmārga'', the way of truth and reality and the highest way, offering devotion by knowledge of God, experiencing the bliss of liberation and becoming one with God.
Tamil bhakti
From the fifth to the eighth CE Buddhism and Jainism had spread in Tamil Nadu before a forceful Shaiva
bhakti
''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...
movement arose. Between the seventh and ninth centuries, pilgrim saints such as
Sambandar
Sambandar (Tamil: சம்பந்தர்), also referred to as Tirugnana Sambandar (lit. ''Holy Sage Sambandar''), Tirujnanasambanda, Campantar or Jñāṉacampantar, was a Shaiva poet-saint of Tamil Nadu who lived sometime in the 7th cen ...
,
Appar
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 and is ...
,
Sundarar
Sundarar (Tamil: சுந்தரர்), also referred to as Chuntarar, Chuntaramurtti, Nampi Aruran or Tampiran Tolan, was an eighth-century poet-saint of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta tradition of Hinduism. He is among the Tevaram trio, and one o ...
63 nayanmars used songs of
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
’s greatness to refute concepts of Buddhism and Jainism.
Manikkavacakar's heart-melting verses, called ''
Tiruvacakam
''Thiruvasagam'' ( ta, திருவாசகம், tiruvācakam, translit-std=IAST, lit=sacred utterance) is a volume of Tamil hymns composed by the ninth century Shaivite ''bhakti'' poet Manikkavasagar. It contains 51 compositions and cons ...
'', are full of visionary experience, divine love and urgent striving for truth. The songs of these four saints are part of the compendium known as ''
Tirumurai
''Thirumurai'' (Tamil: திருமுறை, meaning holy division) is a twelve-volume compendium of songs or hymns in praise of Shiva in the Tamil language from the 6th to the 11th century CE by various poets in Tamil Nadu. Nambiyand ...
'' which, along with the
Veda
FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Co ...
s, Shaiva Agamas, and the Meykanda Shastras, are now considered to form the scriptural basis of the Śaiva Siddhānta in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
. It seems probable that the Tirumurai devotional literature was not, however, considered to belong to the Śaiva Siddhānta canon at the time when it was first composed: the hymns themselves appear to make no such claim for themselves.
The Bhakti movement should not be exaggerated as an articulation of a 'class struggle'; there is nevertheless a strong sense against rigid structures in the society.
Integration
In the twelfth century, Aghorasiva, the head of a branch monastery of the Amardaka order in
Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be of si ...
, took up the task of amalgamating Sanskrit and Tamil Siddhanta. Strongly refuting monist interpretations of Siddhanta, Aghorasiva brought a change in the understanding of Siva by reclassifying the first five principles, or
tattva
According to various Indian schools of philosophy, ''tattvas'' () are the elements or aspects of reality that constitute human experience. In some traditions, they are conceived as an aspect of deity. Although the number of ''tattvas'' varies ...
s (Nada, Bindu, Sadasiva, Isvara and Suddhavidya), into the category of pasa (bonds), stating they were effects of a cause and inherently unconscious substances, a departure from the traditional teaching in which these five were part of the divine nature of God.
Aghorasiva was successful in preserving the Sanskrit rituals of the ancient Āgamic tradition. To this day, Aghorasiva's Siddhanta philosophy is followed by almost all of the hereditary temple priests (Sivacharya), and his texts on the Āgamas have become the standard
puja manuals. His Kriyakramadyotika is a vast work covering nearly all aspects of Shaiva Siddhanta ritual, including the daily worship of Siva, occasional rituals, initiation rites, funerary rites, and festivals.
In Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta, the thirteenth century
Meykandar
Meykandar ( ta, மெய்கண்டார், Meykaṇṭār, lit. ''the truth seer''), also known as Meykanda Devar, was a 13th-century philosopher and theologian who contributed to the Shaiva Siddhanta school Shaivism. His literary work kn ...
, Arulnandi Sivacharya, and Umapati Sivacharya further spread Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta. Meykandar's twelve-verse Śivajñānabodham and subsequent works by other writers, all supposedly of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, laid the foundation of the Meykandar Sampradaya (lineage), which propounds a pluralistic realism wherein God, souls and world are coexistent and without beginning. Siva is an efficient but not material cause. They view the soul's merging in Siva as salt in water, an eternal oneness that is also twoness.
Saiva Siddhanta today
Saiva Siddhanta is practiced widely among the Saivas of southern India and Sri Lanka, especially by members of the
Brahmins
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru o ...
,
Kongu Vellalar
Kongu Vellalar is a community found in the Kongu region of Tamil Nadu, India.
Etymology
The Vellalar of the Kongu country came to be known as Kongu Vellalar. They are also known by names such as "Bupaalan", Gangavamsam, Kudiyaanavar and Vi ...
,
Vellalar
Vellalar is a generic Tamil term used primarily to refer to various castes who traditionally pursued agriculture as a profession in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka. The Vellalar are members of several ...
and
Nagarathar
The Nagarathar (also known as Nattukottai Chettiar) is a Tamil caste found native in Tamil Nadu, India. They are a mercantile community who are traditionally involved in commerce, banking and money lending.
They use the title Chettiar and ar ...
communities of
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
. It has over 5 million followers in Tamil Nadu, and is also prevalent among the Tamil diaspora around the world. It has thousands of active temples predominantly in Tamil Nadu and also in places around the world with significant tamil population and also has numerous
monastic
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...
and
ascetic
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
traditions, along with its own community of priests, the ''Adishaivas,'' who are qualified to perform Agama-based Shaiva Temple rituals.
Kumaragurupara Desikar, a Tamil Saivite poet says that Shaiva Siddhantha is the ripe fruit of the Vedanta tree.
G.U. Pope, an Anglican Tamil Scholar, mentions that Shaiva Sidhantha is the best expression of
Dravidian knowledge.
Theology
Texts
The texts revered by the southern Saiva Siddhanta are the
Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
; the twenty-eight dualist
Hindu Agamas, which form the ritual basis of the tradition; the twelve books of the Tamil Saiva canon called the Tirumurai, which contains the poetry of the
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 de ...
; and the Saiva Siddhanta Shastras.
Early theology
Siddhas such as Sadyojyoti (ca seventh century
[See Alexis Sanderson, “The Date of Sadyojyotis and Brhaspati.” In ''Cracow Indological Studies'' 8 (2006), pp.39–91. (Actual publication date 2007.)]) are credited with the systematization of the Siddhanta theology in Sanskrit. Sadyojyoti, initiated by the guru Ugrajyoti, propounded the Siddhanta philosophical views as found in the ''Rauravatantra'' and ''Svāyambhuvasūtrasaṅgraha.'' He may or may not have been from Kashmir, but the next thinkers whose works survive were those of a Kashmirian lineage active in the tenth century: Rāmakaṇṭha I, Vidyākaṇṭha I, Śrīkaṇṭha, Nārāyaṇakaṇṭha, Rāmakaṇṭha II, Vidyākaṇṭha II. Treatises by the last four of these survive. King
Bhoja
Bhoja (reigned c. 1010–1055 CE) was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty. His kingdom was centered around the Malwa region in central India, where his capital Dhara-nagara (modern Dhar) was located. Bhoja fought wars with nearly all h ...
of Gujarat (ca 1018) condensed the massive body of Siddhanta scriptural texts into one concise metaphysical treatise called the ''Tattvaprakāśa''.
Later theology
The culmination of a long period of systematisation of its
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
appears to have taken place in Kashmir in the tenth century, the exegetical works of the Kashmirian authors Bhatta Narayanakantha and Bhatta Ramakantha being the most sophisticated expressions of this school of thought.
[Alexis Sanderson, ''The Saiva Exegesis of Kashmir'', pp.242-248 (in ''Tantric Studies in Memory of Hélène Brunner'', edited by Dominic Goodall and André Padoux, Pondicherry, French Institute of Pondicherry and Ecole francaise d'Extreme-Orient, 2007.] Their works were quoted and emulated in the works of twelfth-century South Indian authors, such as Aghorasiva and Trilocanasiva.
[Dominic Goodall, ''Problems of Name and Lineage: Relationships between South Indian Authors of the Shaiva Siddhanta'', Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Series 3, 10.2 (2000).] The theology they expound is based on a canon of
Tantric scriptures called Siddhantatantras or
Shaiva
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...
Agamas
Religion
*Āgama (Buddhism), a collection of Early Buddhist texts
*Āgama (Hinduism), scriptures of several Hindu sects
*Jain literature (Jain Āgamas), various canonical scriptures in Jainism
Other uses
* ''Agama'' (lizard), a genus of lizards ...
. This canon is traditionally held to contain twenty-eight scriptures, but the lists vary,
[Extant lists are presented by Dominic Goodall in Appendix III of ''Bhatta Ramakantha's Commentary on the Kiranatantra'', Pondicherry, French Institute of Pondicherry and Ecole francaise d'Extreme-Orient, 1998, pp.402-417.] and several doctrinally significant scriptures, such as the ''Mrgendra'',
[This is one of the few demonstrably pre-tenth-century scriptures of the Shaiva Siddhanta to have been completely translated into a European language: ]Michel Hulin
Michel Hulin (born 31 January 1936) is a French philosopher, specialised in Indian philosophy. An alumn of the École normale supérieure, he obtained his doctorate in philosophy from the Paris-Sorbonne University in 1977 with a dissertation on the ...
, ''Mrgendragama. Sections de la doctrine et du yoga'', Pondicherry, French Institute of Pondicherry, 1980, and Hélène Brunner-Lachaux, ''Mrgendragama. Section des rites et sections du comportement'', Pondicherry, French Institute of Pondicherry, 1985. are not listed. In the systematisation of the ritual of the Shaiva Siddhanta, the Kashmirian thinkers appear to have exercised less influence: the treatise that had the greatest impact on Shaiva ritual, and indeed on ritual outside the Shaiva sectarian domain, for we find traces of it in such works as the Agnipurana, is a ritual manual composed in North India in the late eleventh century by a certain Somasambhu.
[This manual, called the Kriyakandakramavali or Somasambhupaddhati, has been edited, translated and richly annotated by Hélène Brunner and published in 4 volumes from the French Institute of Pondicherry in 1963, 1968, 1977 and 1998.]
Monastic orders
Three monastic orders were instrumental in Shaiva Siddhanta's diffusion through India; the Amardaka order, identified with one of Shaivism's holiest cities,
Ujjain
Ujjain (, Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Prad ...
, the Mattamayura order, in the capital of the
Chalukya dynasty
The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynast ...
, and the Madhumateya order of Central India. Each developed numerous sub-orders. (''see''
Nandinatha Sampradaya
Nandinatha Sampradaya (Sanskrit : नन्दिनाथ सम्प्रदाय) is a denomination of Shaivism sect of Hinduism that places great importance on the practice of yoga. It is related to the broader Nath Sampradaya. Living prece ...
) Siddhanta monastics used the influence of royal patrons to propagate the teachings in neighboring kingdoms, particularly in South India. From Mattamayura, they established monasteries in regions now in
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
,
Andhra
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
and
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
.
References
Sources
*
External links
Southern Schools of Śaivism, by Surendranath DasguptaSiddha Saivism - Philosophy and PracticesStudies in Saiva-siddhanta, J.M. Nallaswami Pillai, 1911K. Ganesalingam, ''Notes on Saiva Siddhanta Philosophy''Oxford Bibliographies, ''Saiva Siddhanta''ŚANKARA - SIVAISM IN SOUTHERN INDIA - KASHMIR - LINGÂYATSExcellent discussion on latest research with 2 leading scholors*
Jangam Lingayat
{{Hindu Culture and Epics
Shaiva sects
Bhakti movement
Hindu tantra
Theistic Indian philosophy
Tamil philosophy