The ''Tirumantiram or Thirumantiram'' is a

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 ...

poetic work, written either in the 6th century CE or post 10th century CE by

Tirumular Tirumular (also spelt Thirumoolar etc., originally known as Suntaranāthar) was a Tamil Shaivite mystic and writer, considered one of the sixty-three Nayanmars and one of the 18 Siddhars. His main work, the ''Tirumantiram'' (also sometimes wri ...

and is the tenth of the twelve volumes of the ''Tirumurai'', the key texts of

Saiva Siddhanta Shaiva Siddhanta () (Tamil: சைவ சித்தாந்தம் "Caiva cittāntam") is a form of Shaivism that propounds a dualistic philosophy where the ultimate and ideal goal of a being is to become an enlightened soul through Shiv ...

and the first known Tamil work to use the term. Tirumantiram's literal meaning is "Sacred mantra" or "Holy incantation". The ''Tirumantiram'' is the earliest known exposition of the Shaiva

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 ...

in Tamil. It consists of over three thousand verses dealing with various aspects of spirituality, ethics and praise of Siva. But it is more spiritual than religious and one can see the difference between

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

and

Siddhanta ''Siddhānta'' is a Sanskrit term denoting the established and accepted view of any particular school within Indian philosophy; literally "settled opinion or doctrine, dogma, axiom, received or admitted truth; any fixed or established or canonica ...

from Tirumular's interpretation of the Mahavakyas.''The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature'' (Volume Two) (Devraj To Jyoti), Volume 2, page 1625''Saivism in Philosophical Perspective'', page 31 According to historian Venkatraman, the work covers almost every feature of the

siddhar The Siddhar (Tamil: சித்தர் ''cittar'', from Sanskrit: ''siddha'') in Tamils, Tamil tradition is a perfected individual, who has attained spiritual powers called ''siddhi''. Historically, Siddhar also refers to the people who we ...

of the

Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

. According to another historian, Madhavan, the work stresses on the fundamentals of

Siddha medicine Siddha medicine is a form of traditional medicine originating in southern India. It is one of the oldest systems of medicine in India. In rural India, have learned methods traditionally through master-disciple relationships to become loca ...

and its healing powers.''A Short Introduction: The Tamil Siddhas and the Siddha Medicine of Tamil Nadu'', page 7 It deals with a wide array of subjects including astronomy and physical culture.''A dictionary of Indian literature'', Volume 1, page 393

Analysis

The ''Tirumandiram'' strongly emphasizes on ''Love is God'' (''Anbey Sivam'').''The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature (Volume Five (Sasay To Zorgot), Volume 5, page 3954'' The ''Tirumantiram'' is divided into nine chapters, 9 tantras (): * 1. Philosophical views and divine experience, impermanency of the physical body, love, education etc. * 2. Shiva's glory, His divine acts, classification of souls etc. * 3.

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

practices according to the eight-angled way of Patanjali. Also refers to Vaasi Yoga * 4.

Mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

, etc. * 5. Various branches of Saiva religion; the four elements of

Shaiva Siddhanta Shaiva Siddhanta () (Tamil: சைவ சித்தாந்தம் "Caiva cittāntam") is a form of Shaivism that propounds a dualistic philosophy where the ultimate and ideal goal of a being is to become an enlightened soul through Shiv ...

. * 6. Shiva as ''guru'' bestowing grace and the devotee's responsibility. * 7. Shiva

linga A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...

, Shiva worship, self-control. * 8. The stages of soul experience. * 9. ''Panchadsara manthiram'', Shiva's dance, the state of samadhi. The poems have a unique metrical structure, each line consisting of 11 or 12 syllables depending on the initial syllable. Tirumular discusses the four steps of spiritual progress; ''Charya'', '' Kriya'', ''

'' and ''Gnana'', the

concept of ''Pati'', ''Pasu'' and ''Pasa'' where Pati stands for Lord shiva, Pasu stands for the human kind and Pasa stands for Maya (the desire), ''sadhana'', ''

'', the

Upanishad The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

ic ''

Tat tvam asi Tat or TAT may refer to: Geography *Tát, a Hungarian village *Tat Ali, an Ethiopian volcano People *Tat, a son and disciple of Hermes Trismegistus * Tiffani Amber Thiessen, initials T.A.T. * Tat Wood, a British author Arts, entertainment, and ...

'' and other

Vedantic ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

concepts, the transcendental reality as emptiness ''( Sunya)'' devoid of any attribute and ''Tantrasastra'' (

Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...

worship), ''

chakras Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...

'', magic spells and their accessories. The section on

, called "Shiva yoga", offers details not found in the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

text of

Patanjali Patanjali ( sa, पतञ्जलि, Patañjali), also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic and philosopher. Very little is known about him, and while no one knows exactly when he lived; from analysis of his works it i ...

. The ''Tirumantiram'' describes means of attaining an immortal body ''(kaya siddhi)'', advocating a theory of preserving the body so that the soul would continue its existence (). Tirumular is not only one of the 63 Nayanmars (

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 ...

) but also a significant one among the 18 Siddhars. Tirumular has been referred to as "Nampiran" (meaning: nam-Our, piran-God, thus thirumular has been called as a leader or god to all the remaining nayanars) by

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 ...

in his thiru thondar thogai (the earliest song which mentions the names of 63 nayanars). Tirumular as a moral philosopher teaches the ethics of non-violence (

ahimsa Ahimsa (, IAST: ''ahiṃsā'', ) is the ancient Indian principle of nonviolence which applies to all living beings. It is a key virtue in most Indian religions: Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.Bajpai, Shiva (2011). The History of India � ...

), abstinence from slaughtering, meat and alcohol. He condemns coveting another man's wife. He declares that "love is God", proclaims the unity of mankind and God and stresses the acquisition of knowledge. The final section of the Tirumantiram, named ''Sunya Sambhashana'' ("Colloquy on the Void"), is full of metaphorical sayings communicating mystical and speculative thoughts, for example; That's the superficial meaning. There is another meaning which should be understood. 1st Line: Says that in a seer's house there are five cows (Pancha budha's). The second word 'Agathiley' means, not inside the house; but inside a person (Agam-inside; Puram-outside) the house is compared to a person here. The five 'cows' are the five "" the five "senses" (sensory organs and its functions:- eyes - vision, reflexes - feel/touch, ears - hear, tongue - taste and nose - smell). So within a person exists the five senses. 2nd Line: There is no cattleman to control the animal. Because there is nobody (or nothing) to control them, they just roam "uncontrollably", here the five senses untamed, lead us to temptations! The five senses are untamed and roam uncontrollably. The five senses untamed is no less than a ferocious animal 3rd Line: If you know 'how to control' and if the 'rage' settles down, 4th Line: When the cows are tended by a cattleman all those five 'cows' will yield milk. Here the verses say that if all the five senses are controlled by a person it help one to get the "" which means "divine grace" (The five are meant to be controlled to realise God) This is the actual meaning of the song. If the five control us it means it is untamed whereas if we control the five senses it means it is tamed. If these 'cows' are controlled then they yield 'milk'. Or if one can control the five ""/ 'senses', then that will lead one to God's Anuboodhi (being with God).

Notes

References

* A Short Introduction: The Tamil Siddhas and the Siddha Medicine of Tamil Nadu By Marion Zimmermann * The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature (Volume Five (Sasay To Zorgot), Volume 5 By Mohan Lal * The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature (Volume Two) (Devraj To Jyoti), Volume 2 By Amaresh Datta * Saivism in Philosophical Perspective: A Study of the Formative Concepts, Problems and Methods of Saiva Siddhanta By K. Sivaraman * A dictionary of Indian literature, Volume 1 By Sujit Mukherjee * The Tirumandiram, (set of 10 volumes) English translation with commentary, 2010, T.N. Ganapathy et al. * The Yoga of Tirumular: Essays on the Tirumandiram, by T.N. Ganapathy and K.R. Arumugam, {{ISBN, 9781895383218

External links

Tirumantiram in English
translated by Dr. B. Natarajan * Tirumantiram in Tamil

Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology Technical standard, standard for the consistent character encoding, encoding, representation, and handling of Character (computing), text expre ...

format
Tirumantiram

Shavism Homepage

Thirumandhiram

Thirumandiram information
by

Marshall Govindan Marshall Govindan (or Yogacharya M. Govindan Satchidananda) is a Kriya Yogi, author, scholar and publisher of literary works related to classical Yoga and Tantra and teacher of Kriya Yoga. He is the President of Babaji's Kriya Yoga and Publicat ...

The Tirumandiram in English and Tamil with verse by verse commentary, in 10 volumes, by T.N. Ganapathy et al
Tamil-language literature Texts related to Nayanar saints Tamil Hindu literature

Analysis

See also

Notes

References

External links