A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c20.32

c20.32

Two developments in Śaivism which occurred in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in the Tamil country and in the Deccan deserve particular mention. The first is the development of the Tamil Śaiva-siddhānta philosophy based on the Āgamas. The Āgamas are first mentioned by Sundaramūrtti, and the *Tirumandiram* of Tirumūlar (ninth century) is the earliest work to reflect the theology of the Āgamas. Āgamic terminology is also found in the writing of Māṇikka-vāśagar, who frequently speaks of the Āgamas as revealed by Śiva and openly expresses his dislike of the Vedānta, by which he means the monism of Śankara. But the first definite formulation of the philosophy of the Tamil Śaiva-siddhānta was in the work of Meykaṇḍadēva, a pious Veḷḷāla who lived early in the thirteenth century on the banks of the Pennār river, south of Mādras. He is reputed to have received instruction from Parañjōtimuni who was sent down from Kailāsa specially for that purpose. His *Śiva-Ñāna-Bōdam*, a translation into Tamil verse of twelve Sanskrit Sūtras from the *Raurava-āgama*, is looked upon as the fountainhead of the dogmatics of the system. The extensive philosophic literature that sprang from this work has already been reviewed. The progress of discussion led to the growth of different schools within the fold of the Śaiva-siddhānta. But in the main the system sought, like other philosophies of religion, to determine the relations of God, matter and the soul. It declared that matter and souls were, like God, eternal. The Absolute through its ‘grace-form’ is for ever engaged in the rescue of souls from the bondage of matter and the three stains (malas) which defile their purity. ‘As body and mind together form a unity so God is the soul whose body is the Universe of nature and of man. He is not identical with either; He is not their substance but he dwells in them and they in Him. Advaita is not Oneness, but inseparability. To realize this union is the high calling of the soul.’ It is for the *guru* or the teacher to let in the light, but Śiva is the source of all enlightenment, sole embodiment of intelligence and grace, and hence the true object of all devout aspiration. The system transcends caste and ritual and calls for inner devotion. According to one writer contentment, justice and wisdom are the flowers of worship.