Tirumantiram: A Tamil Scriptural Classic

Tirumantiram is the seminal text of Saiva-Siddhanta which has produced a galaxy of saints and has powerfully influenced the day-to-day life of millions in South India, generation after generation. Its author, Tirumular, was according to legend a yogi who took compassion on a herd of cattle whose shepherd had died. Entering the body of the shepherd by his yogic power, he continued to look after the flock. So when we find in this great classic such splendid gems as Anbe Sivam (God is Love), we realize that the great yogi preached only what he lived. His fervent message that the ultimate Reality is One, and all of us belong to the same family, has special relevance to us moderns, who have lost our moorings of faith and are "wandering between two worlds, one dead, the other powerless to be born."

Apart from the literary merits, Tirumantiram blazes a number of spiritual trails any of which the aspirant can follow with the full confidence that the Goal Supreme is within reach.

Besides the tenets found in Saiva Siddhanta, we find in the book doctrines common to Tantras. On the whole, the vision of the book is liberal and is as relevant today as when the work was first composed. It equates love with the Godhead in the famous mantra Anbe Sivam. The English translation and part of the notes are by the late Dr. B. Natarajan, a noted Tamil scholar.

The book has the original Tamil verse with English translation.