Manikkavasagar

Depiction of Manikkavasagar, Chola bronze , Tamil Nadu , 11./12. Century ( Linden Museum )

Manikkavasagar ( Tamil : மாணிக்கவாசகர் Māṇikkavācakar [ ˈmɑːɳikːəˌʋɑːsəɡər ]) was a Shivaite saint and poet from Tamil Nadu who lived between the 6th and 9th centuries. He is considered one of the most valued Shivaite poet-saints. Although he is not among the sixty-three Nayanmar , the eighth book of Tirumurai contains his poetry.

The dating of Manikkavasagar's lifetime is uncertain, according to legend he was either a minister at the court of Varaguna II (862-885), or he lived in the 6th century as a member of a court in Madurai . He went to Chidambaram to practice meditation and devotion to Shiva . In Chidambaram, in the heart of the temple, according to tradition, he merged with Shiva, which is why he is also regarded as one of the greatest mystics in Shaiva Siddhanta .

Manikkavasagar wrote two important works, the Tirukkovaiyar and the Tiruvasagam . The first deals with the love between Shiva and the soul as a poem with four hundred stanzas . The second work consists of fifty-one hymns depicting the Shaiva Siddhanta. In this work the soul is described which is on a journey on which it passes through different forms until it becomes human. In human life it is then possible for the soul to attain moksha through Shiva appearing in the Guru . Manikkavasagar also describes Shiva himself in this work, as not male and not female, all-embracing as immanence and transcendence , creator and creation at the same time. Manikkavasagar describes the worship of Shiva as the highest of religion and Moksha as Unio mystica with Shiva himself.

The Tirumurai , of which Manikkavasagar's poems are part, is considered the canonical work of Shaiva Siddhanta.

literature

• Denise Cush, Catherine Robinson, Michael York (Eds.): Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Routledge, London et al. 2008, ISBN 978-0-7007-1267-0 .

Web links

• Manikkavachakar in 101 Mystics of India by VK Subramanian