Hindu Scriptures

[Susanth]

Have you ever heard of the term, "Thirumurai" before?
What about "Thevaaram"?
Do you know what exactly they are?

Do these belong to the "Shaivite" or "Vaishnavite" portion of Hinduism?
And what exactly does these 2 terms("Shaivite" & "Vaishnavite") mean?!!

How many "Thirumuraigal" are there?
Who were the "Nayanmars"?
Who were the "Nalvar" then?
What are their contribution to the world?

Is it true that the "Thirumurai" can be regarded as the Tamil form of Mantras?

Get your queries answered and more here..
Let's start our discuss on the "Thirumuraigal"..

[viki]

Hi guys,

Who are the Saivaites ?
Saivaism forms a major section of Hinduism. It is practised mainly in South India. The followers of Saivaism are called Saivaites and these people regard Lord Shiva as their supreme deity. Saivaism regards Lord Shiva as Pathy or the Supreme under whose control are the souls (Pasu) and 111111111 (Paasam) which binds the souls towards worldly enjoyments thus preventing the souls of individuals from realizing divinity; also known as Moksha or Liberation.

What is Thirumuraigal and how many do we have?
Saivaism contains as its scriptures the 12 thirumuraigal and 14 Siddhantha Shastras. The Thirumuraigal and the Shastras are considered the equivalent of Vedas and Agamas and they describe the paths and methods, using rituals and worships, for attaining Moksha.

Saivaism - believes in the concept of the Law of Karma (the phenomenon of cause and effect). In simple terms, this means "as you sow, so will you reap." So one's happiness and misery are the result of one's own creation and not the result of some intervention by others.

Saivaism also upholds the theory of reincarnation which is said to be determined by the sum total of the good and evil we do in this world.

Saivaism maintains that one can attain Moksha by Devotion or Bhakthi, in which the devotee worships God as his master, father, friend or by adopting the path of Sanmarga. These attitudes or paths are described as Sariyai, Kiriyai , Yoga and Gnana

The path of Sariyai was adopted by Thirunavukkarasar whose devotion to Lord Shiva was that of a servant to the master or Dasya.

The attitude of a son to father (Vatsalya) - Kiriyai was the path taken by Thurugnana-sambander who started singing in praise of Lord Shiva at Sirkali at the age of three.

Sundara-moorthy Nayanar regarded Lord Shiva as his friend and even requested him to go as a messenger to Paravaiyar whose wrath was roused when she heard that Sundara-moorthy Nayanar had got married to Sankiliyar without her knowledge. This attitude of Sundaramoorthy Nayanar towards Lord Shiva is the Yoga or Sakhya relationship.

The path of Gnana or the path of virtuous was the one followed by Manicavasagar who was ordained by Lord Shiva himself under the guruntha tree at Thiruperunthurai. So God himself becomes the Guru if only one has single pointed love and devotion towards Him. Therefore, love is the instrument through which we can approach God most easily.

Viki -  ?God is love and love is God?.

[viki]

Hi .
   The Pallava period in the history of Tamil land is a period of religious revival of Hinduism by the Saiva Nayanmars who by their bhakti-cult captured the minds of people.  They made a tremendous impression on the people by singing the praise of Lord Siva in soul-stirring devotional hymns.  There are 12 Saiva Thirumurais. The word "Thirumurai" means 'sacred book'. 

The first seven Thirumurais are the hymns of the three great Saivite saints.  These hymns were the best musical composition of their age.

1- THEVARAM by Thirugnana Sambanthar
2- THEVARAM by Thirugnana Sambanthar
3- THEVARAM by Thirugnana Sambanthar
4- THEVARAM by Thirunavukkaracar
5- THEVARAM by Thirunavukkaracar
6- THEVARAM by Thirunavukkaracar
7- THEVARAM by Thirunavukkaracar
8- THIRUVACAKAM THIRUKKOVAIYAR by Manikkavacakar
9- THIRUVICAIPPA THIRUPPALLANTU by Tirumalikaittever, Centanar, Karuvurttevar, Nampikatava nampi, Kantaratittar, Venattatikal, Tiruvaliyamutanar, Purutottama nampi, Cetirayar .
10- THIRUMANTIRAM by Thirumullar
11- FOURTY ONE WORKS by Karaikkal Ammaiyar, Ceraman Perumal Nayanar , Pattinattu p-pillaiyar, Nakkiratevar Nayanar, Kapilateva Nayanar ,Thiruvalavaiyudaiyar,Nampiyantarnampi, IyyadigalkatavarkonNayanar , Kalladateva Nayana, Paranateva Nayanar,Ellamperuman Adigal and Athiravadigal.
12- PERIYA PURANAM by Chekkilar


Cheers 

[Priya J]

Hi ppl!!

Can I know where I can learn Thirumurai or Devaram? I would like to learn more about them and what they actually mean. The significance behind the songs of praises written for Lord Shiva... Thanks.

~Priya~

[Arularasi]

Hi Priya,

Well, Yishun Balasubramaniar Temple offers Thevaram classes. You can contact them. The Othuvaar there is really well versed in these stuff ya.

arul

[Susanth]

hmmm, quite a number of temples have Thevaram/Thirumurai classes.

If I am not wrong, Sri Rudra Kaliamman Temple, Sri Thendayuthapani Temple, and all should have as well, along with other temples..

The Thirumurai Maanadu Group is organizing their annual competition very soon. You might get more info about classes and all if you attend their competitions, talks etc.

Learning Thevaram is like a 2 in 1 thing actually cos you would learn music and Thirumurai together.. haha.

[Susanth]

You could visit www.singaithirumurai.org to get latest details of all Singapore-based Temples conducting Thirumurai classes at their premises..