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Book Review
Canons of Saivism
S. N. KANDASWAMY
TWO SAIVA TEACHERS OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY:
T. Ganesan, French Institute of Pondicherry, 11, St. Louis Street, Pondicherry-605001. Rs. 600.
Saiva Siddhantha, a living system of Indian philosophy, very popular in Tamil Nadu, is based on the Agamas and hence known as Agmanta, as opposed to Vedanta, which is based on the ‘Prasthana Traya.’ The earliest known exposition of this system is enshrined in the ‘Sarvamata samgraha’ section, the 27th canto of the Buddhist Tamil epic, Manimekalai (AD 450). Though Tirumoolar (AD 500) is considered to be the first systematiser, the process attained perfection only in the Fourteen Meykanda Sastras, authored by Meykandar, Arulnandisivam, Umapatisivam and others (AD 1150-1350). These texts were richly annotated by learned commentators, among whom Sivagra Yogi and Sivagnana Munivar deserve special mention.
Doctrine
The system of Saiva Siddhantha was further nurtured by two proponents, Nigamajnana-I and his nephew-cum-disciple, Nigamajnana-II, who belonged to the16th century. In this book, the author has made an extensive survey of the contributions of these two savants to the revival and renewal of the Saiva theological and metaphysical doctrines. The author ably identifies the name Nigamajnana-I with Maraignanasambanda, since ‘Nigama’ meant ‘Marai’ (Veda) in Tamil. However, he explains that the former should not be misunderstood with the latter who was the preceptor of Umapatisivam of the 14th century. Nigamajnana-I and Nigamajnana-II were proficient in both Sanskrit and Tamil and wrote many texts on the essentials of Saiva rites and precepts. The first part of this book contains a brief study of all the 15 texts composed by Nigamajnana-I. Among them, the ‘Patipasupaasapanuval’, written in Kuralvenpaa is a manual on the triple realities, namely God, soul, and matter. In the first chapter of this text, a detailed discussion on the sources of knowledge has been made. In the ‘Sankarpanirakaranam’, the views of eight inner schools of Saivism are refuted in order to establish the paramount place of Saiva Siddhanta. Some texts deal with the significance of the rosary of ‘rudraksha’ and observance of some ‘vratas’ such as Mahasivaratri. Some sthalapuranas associated with Tiruvannamalai and Tiruvarur expound the doctrines and rituals of Saivism. The ‘Siva Dharmottiram’ is his magnum opus. The second part covers the works of Nigamajnana-II. They include the compilation of verses from various Saiva agamas and related texts, dealing with the modes of worship, rituals, precepts, and ethics. He has written an elaborate commentary on the ‘Sivagnana Siddhiyar’. He quotes parallels from Saiva agamas to all the verses of the ‘Svapaksa’ of Sivagnana Siddhiyar. His works also deal with the different types of temple renovation, installation of images, and related subjects. Since the book projects some fresh views, contrary to the traditional ones, it would definitely evoke the reader’s interest in the subject.
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