Nakkīraṉãr

Nakkeerar was a legendary Tamil poet of the Madura college who is one of the prominent characters in the epic Tiruvilaiyadal Puranam.

Personal Life

Nakkeerar was born in a family of chank-cutters. It is not known when Nakkeerar had lived but it is widely assumed that he lived in the 9th century AD.

Confrontation with Lord Shiva

The Tiruvilaiyadal Puranam relates an incident involving Nakkeerar's confrontation with Lord Shiva. The confrontation is triggered by Nakkeerar's identification of errors in the God's poetrical composition, which was supposed to be flawless. The God confronts him in awful rage reducing the great poet to ashes. The Hindu god then resurrects him, thereby assuring the world that Nakkeerar's destruction and subsequent resurrection was just another of his pranks.

Works

Nakkeerar is the author of an epic titled Sriharnipuram which he composed at the behest of Kulachirai Nayanar, the Prime Minister of the Pandya king Gunapandiyan. He also composed a hymn Tirumurugattupadai in honor of Murugan.