Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976-299X) : Vol. IX : Issue: 4 (October, 2018) wwwliteraryendewourorg 292 64 MAPPING THE ILLUSTRATION OF LORD SIVA AS A HEROIC TAMIL KING AND GOD IN APPAR'S HYMNS Anusndha RS, Assistant Professor, DepartmentofEng (Deemed to he University) Amritapuricampus, Kollam, Kerala Anwita Vishwa Vidvapee Abstract: Appar Tirnavukkarasar Nayanar wasone ofthe four Saivite spiritual reachers\ fedin conjuring up a tangible or substantial image of Siva in the devotee’ mind through poetry. This paper attempts fo present acritical reading of the Iymnsof Appar Saivitesaint by evaluating the representation of the popular Hindu deity Lond Siva inthe hyimasin relation to the Bhakthi poctty of theseventh centur. The characteristic of nligion often transposingonto literature andit’s soundnessin the case of Saivism, which animates Bhakthi poetry is another aspect explored in the paper Even though Saivism, refersto the iradition which follows the teachings of Siva and which follows the deity Siva, or sometimes his consort and power Sakti, the hynms of Appar ave not just about religion, bucare also vehement expressions of a culture and societvastheyare ina participatorymediumandestablisha contact hetween the devoreesand Siva, Analysing the hymns in terms of the socio political situation in the backdrop, render concretenessto theimage of Siva, who could be read asa powerfil King loved by his subjects and praised bythe bardsin his court. The central ain of the paper is to demonstrate how the realistic iconography of the hymns fucilitaies thedepiction of Sivaasa Tamilheroic Kingand God, an ideal celebrated during the politicall volatilePallava period. o.succeed Keywords: Religionand Literanue, Saivism, Lord Siva, Bhakthi Poets Excruciation ofa region's history informsthe readers how religion has occupieda majorrolein the developmentand evolution of its civilization and culture. Religious history of India isnot anexception as thethen dominant religion Hinduismenrichedthe culturaland humandevelopmentasa whole. Saivism,a sect of Hinduism has had an elongated and incessant tradition which transcended the lives of people aivism refers to the traditions which follow the teachings of Sivaand which focus onthedeity Siva, or sometimes his eonsortand power, Sakti" Flood 149). Literature and religion are intertwined ina way that the latter often transposes onto the firstand itis the same with Saivism too, which invigorates Bhakthi poetry, The fundamental aim ofthis paper is to exemplify how the Tamil poet Apparcarved the image of Siva asa Tamil heroic chieftain and a God in the hymns by providing a close reading of the poems in relation totheBhakthi poetry of 7 century. TheBhaktimovementhad itsoriginsin Tamil Nadu in 6" century C,Ebeforeit spread toother parts ofthe country, A.K, Ramanujan describes Bhakti asa great, many-sidedshifl [which] occurred in Hindu culture and sensibility between the sixth and ninth century” (103), Romila Thapar explains the possible reasons forthe widespread admiration that Bhakthireceived. Sheobserves,"Itmay havebeenareaction to theformalistie Sanskritic cultureand religious practiceintroduced intoclite circles, and areluctanceto be subordinated tothisculture” (335). Among the firstcultsdevotedto Bhakti were the Tamil Vaishnayaand Saiva sects popularly Known as Alwars and Nayanars. These saints wrote devotional hymns in Tamil which were “the first literary expression ofemotional Bhakti” and the “first Hindusectarian scripture ina, vernacular language” (Peterson 4), These cults identified themselves as the true advocates of the Hindu tradition and denounced the two unorthodox religions of Jainism and Buddhism, They travelled withMAPPING TIE ILLUSTRATION OF LORD SIVAAS A HEROICTAMLKINGAND GOD INAPNRS HYMNS 293 fellow devoteesto worshipand sing songs in praiseofLord Siva and Vishnuat temples and shrinesacross thelengthand breadthot Tamil Nadu This enquiry has been narrowed toa study of the hymns of Saivite saints (Nayanmars), with the focusonthe Zevaram poet Appar Tirunavukkarasu).796hymns werecollected by NambiyandarNambi inthe 10° century during the reign of Rajaraja I to constitute the Tevaram corpus, the Saivite canonical literature. This massive volume encompasses 383 hymns (padikams) written by Campumtar, 313 songs (paattu)by Apparand 100hymns of Sundarar. The songs combine theessenee of classical Tamil poems or loveand war, Vedic hymns, folk songs and Sanskrit Stotras, Their songs were associated with particular templesand were laterincorporatedintothe ritualsoftempleworship. In the Tamil literature that preceded the Tevaram authors, “Siva has no indigenous persona comparable to Vishnu as Mayon, the pastoral God of the late classical Tamil poems”. In books like Tolkappivam, there is no mention of Siva but the classical works like Narrina’ and Paripadal provide descriptions of his physical features. In 6"century, theNayanmars visualised and celebrated the cosmic dimension of theimageor Sivausingiconographieandrealisticimageriesin theirhymnsand songs. Appar who lived in the 7" century spent some yearsas @ Jain monk before he re-embraced Saivism. His poems reflect theremorseat having paid heed to the “mean Jains” (Nagaswamy 16). Appar'spoetry conjures upa onerete image of Siva” inthedevotee’smind Peterson 29), Forexample. See the lord: see him, who danees, holding fire, In the wildemessoftheburningground Onstrongshoulderslikecoral hills Liecoilsotmatted hair Like branching sea coral Around the hair ahooded snake Winds like a streak of coral. With the snake my father bearsThecoralredeye Andtheyoungmoon Isawhite floweronhiserest. ApparlV, 114.1) Inthis verse, Apparpresents the image of Sivaas Nat raja, the cosmic dancer, He doesn't employ clever conceits oF fanciful imagery to enrich the aesthetic of the stanza, Simplicity of expression and realistic iconography makethe poem diflerent from theSanskritcourt poetry. Apparcreatesastraightforward, solid image of Lord Siva in the hearer’s mind when he says, “on strong shoulders like coral hills lig coils of matted hair” (3-4), Headds sensory detail-“around thehaira hooded snake winds like a streakoteoral”= tocomplete the word-picture(6-7). Thisresemblesa “heroic praise poetry, in whicha loyal poet will not praiseanyone otherthanhismaster: but thepoemalsorejectstheclassical panegyricmodes(“bounteousas therain”. etc, jusedin praiseofkingsandchiefiains.”(Sastri 164) Similarly in thesong ttled“Portrait in Silver”, ApparpresentstheimageofSivaas Bhikshataka. “He bearsa skull Like asilver conch shell / His twisted white sacred thread /Shines like a strandofsilverrope"( 1-4). ‘The“skull"islikea”silverconchshell”and hehasa “twisted” “white” sacred thread, No complex figures’ poeticdevicesareutilized. Thisdeseriptionmight beconsidered asthe poetic counterpart of the iconographic depiction of Sivaas Bhikshataka that wesee inSouth Indian Sivatemples The figuresofspeechare derived fromnature andtheireverydayexperience.*Thecharacteristicgeniusor this poetry isin its luck of metaphysical abstraction; even its most complex thinking is done in terms of physical detail” (Ramanujan 28) Inverse IV.8. 10, Apparinvokes the popularimageofSivaas drdhanaiveswara, He singsaboutthe “earring (cur! of brightnew gold” that “glows on one ear” and the “coiled conch shell (kutaiam) that swaysonthe other”. Heshowsthereaderhow the Lord comeswith"matted hairadomedwithsweetkonra blossoms on onehalforhis head’ and awoman'scurls on the other”. In the Vedas, Siva is represented as Rudra-Siva, whomanifests himselinaill elements ofnature, Apparporecives Sivas “thesproutandroot true friend to his devotees” (V1.229) and as discernible in“the wildaspeets of nature and in all forms of Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976-299X) : Vol. IX : Issue: 4 (October, 2018)MAPPING TIE ILLUSTRATION OF LORD SIVAAS A HEROICTAMLKINGAND GOD INAPNRS HYMNS 294 life"( Peterson 95). So Appar triesto depict Sivaas the mighty God of Dance whose stage is thecosmos: as thedivine power who does miraculous deeds to save the universe and takes up multiple forms, He offers “a suggestive, sharply detined descriptive vignette” (Peterson27) of Lord Siva, The God is perceived by the devotee himself, through his own eyes. There are no poetic intermediaries to“steer™ himaway from the experience. thustendering the imagcof Sivaasa familiarfigure, moreorless ikea popular Familehiehain (87), This mode of praise seems tobe a deliberate act from thepartof the poet to graft thehymnsontothe socio political reality of theage. Thistakesus to thenex! partof ourenquiry, Siva isdescribedas™Lord”, “chieftain” and“King” in many of Appar's poems. Forexample, in the verseTVA8, he sings, “The lord of Appatiiwho wears the blooming konraé in his hair” (1-2); verse 1V.121.1 shows"*The Lord of Aruriavho wearsthe aksabeads”(1-2):verseTV.20, lOcalls upon “that ord of Tiruvarur” andverseTV.3 | 4speaksor “Katavur Virattam's Lord”. Thereare references toSivaas™ The King of Pacur”’ “The King in Alappur™ (VILA7); and “the king of the Himalayan gods” (1.69). [V.30,2hails Sivaas the “chieftain of Kalippalai's seashore traet®, Throughout the hymns, Siva ispraised as the Lord who presidesovera particularplice or theK ing! dwellerofa particular South Indianshrine The Nayanar's model forthe image of Sivawasthe™Tamilking/ruler”.whowastheembodimentol all idealsand was the hero who saved his land from invadersand performed miraculous deeds for thesake ofhiscountrymen. Verse IV. 114.1 can be studied asa Purrampoem, Therelerences to wilderness, fireand redness enlist war imagery to praise ahero of war, possibly the King who won the battle, rescuing the subjects aherowho iscomparedtoa god and is unequivocally praised. I would be instructive tocompare thestructureorAppar'shymnsandthatota pura poem, translated byA. K, Ramanujan My lordhasgreatshoulders Though he now eats rice pap in prison. And I. outside his prison GrowsallowasgoldForwantofhim Whenheenters thebattlefieldAndtakes on those warriors Who bragat the festivals Inthe greatresoundingei Heistheswellandebbofthesea Inthe harbor Thattervifiessellersofsalt (Nakkanaiyar: Prrananuru84) ra Thepointof thispoem is theexiolling of the hero's strengthand power. Hehas“great shoulders” and isthe “swell and ebb of the sea”, Thisis thesame tone that Appar's culogy of Sivaembodies. Apparaddresses Siva as “My lord” in most of his hymns. In a similar vein, Appar too praises Lord Siva who “shot at the citadels” and “swiftly subdued thedemon “and isthe leaderar the ganas” (Peterson 127). The Nayanars seem toassumethe persona ofthedevoted bardsat the Tamil courtswho sang songsin praiseoriheK ing to win favours fromhim. “The Kingin Tamil literatureisseento controlthe forcesofnatureand whenhegoes to the battlefields it becomes a ground for the unleashing of sacred forces” (Paul and Yandell 246). This, magical aura which surrounded the battle resulted in the deeds of individual heroes taking on heightened importance, Hero stones were erected in Tamil Nadu notsimply to honour the hero but “to provide a place forhispowertulspirittoinhabit”(Sast Fora period of over 300 years from themiddleof the 6" century A.D.,thehistory of South Indias “virtually the story of mutual conflict among three powers seeking constantly to extend its empire at the expense of its neighbours. The three powers were the Chalukyas, the Pallavas and the Pandyas” (Sastri 132). It was the time of constant wars, raging battles and shifling boundaries. ‘The Pallavas under Malendravarma I foughta numberof battleswith the Chalukyas. Ifwe interpretthehymnswiththissocio Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976-299X) : Vol. IX : Issue: 4 (October, 2018)win political situation inthe backdrop, theimageof Siva couldbereadas that ofthepowerful Kinglovedby his subjcetsand praised by the bardsin hiseourt, Mahendravarma I wasa great patronofart and architecture. Interestingly. Appar’s Siva “listens and takes delight in their songs” (11.424). The fact that “queens occupied a position of equal importance with the King” could be soen reflected in the glorification of ‘Ardhanareeswara” (Sastri45), Todd to tthe process of localisation takes place in Appar's hymns, thus “merging his cosmic persona with his local identity” (Peterson 34). He sets the Lord's gallant acts of destruction = burning ofthe three cities, execution of the Love God Kama and the cosmic Dance ot Nata raja in Tamil rural areas, possibly equating them to the heroic acts of the Kings in their exploits. For example, Apparexplainsthe legend of Ravana’selfort to uproot Kaikasa in verse1V.39, 1D asset in Aiyaru shrine NCTE ILLUSTRATION OF LORD SAAS AHEROICTAMIL KINGAND GOD INAPIAR'S ITVMINS 295 Thedemon waserushed, And felldown on the earth; Yet when he gained wisdom, The Lordwhodwellsashoneyindivaru Blessedhimwithhisgrace.(5-10) Lord Sivais well known fora multiplicity of representations; as Flood observes, Sivaisa “god af ambiguity and paradox” (150), In Appa's poems, we see two distinet images of Siva emenging simultaneously; One isthatof L ordSiva,themost powerfulamong the tripartite, according tothe Saivists There is a self-conscious love for the deity expressed in the poems peculiar to Bhakthi tradition. The diverse imagesconverge ata single point Sivaasthe “god whodelivershisdevotees Irom fear” (Peterson 38), Another picture isalso articulated in the poems that of a quintessentially Tamil king-hero-zod who dwvells in Tamil landscapes. In several ways he manifesisas he true heroot Puram poetry, the Tamil King orchiefiaininAppar'spoems. Thus, with the detailed and expansive images of Siva that Appar brings in the poem, heevokes a callective voice: the voice of a whole land. In what ean be called a unique accomplishment, Siva is presented as theall-embracing God andthe bravechicfiainof Tamil land in thehymns. The hymns acquire the formota participatory medium-establishinga contact between the devotee and Siva, Butthey arenot justaboutreligion, butarealsovehementexpressions of aculture and society, Sucha study ofthe context and meaning of the Zevaram poems helpsusto learnnotonly thehistory of the religion but alsothe values andethicsofa whole generation. Practising Saivitesin Tamil Naduattachasymbolic valucto Tevaramand even today. thereare templesdedicated to Siva in nearly every village where devotees meetand chant the hymns and celebrate festivals associated with the saints. This reminds one of what A. K, Ramanujan remarked about Tevaram poems, “The Tamils, in all their 2000 years of literary effort, wrote nothi better”. (115) References 1. Chakravarthy, Mahadev, The Concept of Rudra Siva Through Ages. Motilal Banarassidas: New Delhi, 1986. Print 2. Murphy, Paul E.. Triadic Mysticism: The Mystical Theology of the Saivism of Kashi Motilal Banarassidas: New Delhi, 1986. Print 3. Nagaswamy. R., Sivahhakthi,. Navrang: New Delhi, 1989. Print. 4. Paul, John J.. and Yandell, Keith E., eds. Religion and Public Cultures Encounters and Identities in Modern South India. Curzon Press: Surrey, 2000, Print Peterson, Indira Viswanathan. Poems to Siva: The Hymns of the kami! Press: NewDelhi, 1991. Print. 6. Ramanujan. A. K.. Poenis of Love and War: From the Eight Anthologies and the Ten Long Poems of ts, Princeton University Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976-299X) : Vol. IX : Issue: 4 (October, 2018){APPING/THE ILLUSTRATION OF LORD SIVAAS AHERO(CTAMILKING AND GOD INAPRAR'S HYMNS. 296 Classical Tamil. Oxford University Press: New York, 2006. Print 7. Sastri, Nilakanta, K.A., 4 Historyof South India: From Pre historic Times to the Fall ofVijavanagar Oxford University Press: NewDelhi, 1999. Print 8. Stietencron. Von Ileinrich. /findu Myth Hindu History: Religion, Artand Politics, Permanent Black: Ranikhet. 2007. Print 9. Thapar Romila. The Penguin Historvof Early India: Fron the Origins to A.D. 300, Penguin Books New Delhi, 2002. Print Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976-299X) : Vol. IX : Issue: 4 (October, 2018)