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Book Review
TAMIL
Devotional classics
S.N. KANDASWAMY
TAMIZHAR TIRUNERI: E.Velayudhan; 135, Mugugammai Illam, Pudupettai, Big Street, Panappakkam Post-631052. Rs. 112.
THIS BOOK is an exposition of the 12 Tirumurai classics. They were composed by 27 Saiva poets who lived during 500-1200 A.D. Among them the saints Sambandhar, Appar, Sundarar and Manickavasagar are hailed as the four apostles of Saivism. They were the vanguards of the Bhakti movement. Though the Tirumurais are not classified chronologically, there is a beautiful sequence in their collection. The first nine Tirumurais are hymns in praise of Siva with the exception of a single decade on Muruga. The 10th is the Tirumandiram which is a philosophical text on Saiva Siddhanta, though some sections deal with the Tantra, Siddhayana and Advaita Vedanta. The 11th contains 40 prabandhas mostly on Siva. Some of them are in praise of Ganesa, Muruga and also on Saiva saints like Kannappar, Sambandhar, Appar and others. The last one is Periyapuranam, being the hagiography of the Nayanmars who did yeoman service for the dissemination of Saivism.
The author has delved deep into the Tirumurais to explicate the religious life of the Tamils and will be useful to understand the essentials of Saivism.
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