Hymns of the Tamil Saivite Saints (1921)

THE HERITAGE OF INDIA SERIES HYMNS OF THE TAMIL SAIVITE SAINTS BY F. KINGSBURY, B. A. Madras United Theological College t Bangalore AND G. E. PHILLIPS, B. A. Lo...nd., M. A. Oxon. United Theological College, Bangalore ASSOCIATION PRESS 5, RUSSELL STREET, CALCUTTA LONDON OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK, TORONTO, MELBOURNE, BOMBAY, CALCUTTA AND MADRAS 1921 By permission of the Director, Colombo M SIVA NAT A RAJ A AUTHORS NOTE THIS book has gone through the Press under un usually difficult circumstances. During most of the time one of the authors has been in Mesopotamia, the other in India. Partly from this cause, and partly through practical difficulties of printing, there are a few minor inconsistencies in the application of the system of transliteration. The authors would have wished, had it been possible, to alter the note on stanza 17 p. 27, which is there treated as a case of intercession for others. Fuller comparison of this hymn with other similar ones in Tamil religious poetry convinces them that the she -in the hymn is none other than the devotee, who compares himself to a love-sick women, as in stanza 19. They would also like to acknowledge their indebted ness to Dr. Farquhar, General Editor of the Series, for much hard work done in the interests of this book also to Mrs. Phillips, Mr. G. S. Duraiswarny, B. A., and the Rev. F. Goodwill, for valuable help given with proof reading. The Wesleyan Mission Press, Mysore, which does not usually print Tamil, has been good enough for the sake of this book to undertake an unfamiliar task, which it has carried through with unwearied patience. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . CHAP. PAGE I. SAMBANDAR AND HIS HYMNS STANZAS 124 .. 10 II. APPARSWAMIAND HIS HYMNS STANZAS 25 64 .. 35 III. SUNDARAMURTI AND HIS HYMNS STANZAS 65 79. . 70 IV. MANIKKA VASAHAR AND HIS HYMNS STANZAS 80136 . . . . . . . . . . 84 APPENDIX I SHRINES MENTIONED IN THE POEMS 128 APPENDIX II SYSTEM OF TRANSLITERATION AND PRONUNCIATION . . . . . . . . 129 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . 131 ILLUSTRATIONS 1. SIVA NATARIJA . . . . . . Frontispiece 2. SAMBANDAR . . . . . . . . Following page 8 3. APPARSWAMI . . . . . . ., 34 4. SUNDARAR .. .... .. .. 68 5. MXNIKKA VASAHAR .. .. .. 84 NOTE. The bronze statuettes of the poets reproduced in this volume are not historical portraits but imaginative figures, created in accordance with popular traditions and used in the worship of the temple and the home. INTRODUCTION A The Hymns and their Significance THE voice of chanting and song, to the accompani ment of unfamiliar instruments, floats out over the high wall of the temple in the coolness of the evening or the dawn, making the Western passer-by wonder what it is that is being chanted and sung. If only he had a Hindu hymn-book he thinks he could learn from it. the spirit of Hinduism as well as a non-Christian could learn Christianity from Christian hymns. For the Tamil country at any rate there is such a hymn book, and our present aim is to give enough specimens from it for readers to know what the hymns are like. Englishmen are wanting to understand India more than they ever wanted before, for their debt to India is heavy. Indians are wanting more than ever before to know the wonderful past of their own country, and the wonder of it is all bound up with its religion. At such a time these hymns are worth looking into, for they are being sung in temples and homes throughout theTamil country, and Tamil is the mother-tongue of more than eighteen millions of people. For pious Saivites they equal in authority the Sanskrit Vedas the mere learn ing of them by rote is held to be a virtue, and devout Tamil parents compel their children to memorize them in much the same way as Christian parents make children learn the Psalms, 2 HYMNS OF TAMIL SAIVITE SAINTS The hymns here given are specimens from the Devaram and the Tiruvachakam. The Devaram is the first of the collections of works held as canonical by Tamil Saivites...Detailed info »« Brief info