Iraiyanar
Iraiyanar (Tamil: இறையனார்), literally meaning "the Lord" and also a common name of Shiva, was a legendary poet of the Sangam period who is believed to have composed verse 2 of Kurunthogai.[1] He is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Shiva of the temple at Madurai, known as 'Aalavaai Sokkar' or 'Sokkanathar'.[1] Verse 3 of the Tiruvalluva Maalai, praising Valluvar, is also attributed to him.[2]
Legend
Iraiyanar is said to be the human incarnation of Lord Somasundarar at the temple at Madurai.[3] Iraiyanar appears in the Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam, where he confronts poet Nakkirar II. He is also said to have given the work Iraiyanar Akapporul.[3][4] Some claim that Iraiyanar was a mortal poet who lived during the Sangam era.[3]
Views on Valluvar and the Kural
Iraiyanar opines about Valluvar and the Kural text thus:[5]
The Cural which has proceeded from the mouth of Valluvar, the king of poets, will never lose its beauty by the lapse of time: it will be always in its bloom, shedding honey like the flower of the tree in Indra's paradise. [Emphasis in original]
Citations
- Kowmareeshwari 2012.
- Vedanayagam 2017, pp. 44–45.
- Gopalan 1957, pp. 30–31.
- Zvelebil 1973, pp. 112–113.
- Robinson 2001, p. 24.
References
- Gopalan, P. V. (1957). புலவர் அகராதி [Dictionary of Poets] (in Tamil) (1 ed.). Chennai: M. Duraisami Mudaliyar and Company. pp. 30–31.
- Kowmareeshwari, S., ed. (August 2012). Kurunthogai, Paripaadal, Kalitthogai. Sanga Ilakkiyam (in Tamil). 2 (1 ed.). Chennai: Saradha Pathippagam.
- Robinson, Edward Jewitt (2001). Tamil Wisdom: Traditions Concerning Hindu Sages and Selections from Their Writings. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services.
- Vedanayagam, Rama (2017). Tiruvalluva Maalai: Moolamum Eliya Urai Vilakkamum (in Tamil) (1 ed.). Chennai: Manimekalai Prasuram. pp. 44–45.
- Zvelebil, Kamil (1973). "The Earliest Account of the Tamil Academies". Indo-Iranian Journal. 15 (2). doi:10.1007/BF00157289.