1. Introduction

Hinduism is a loose cover term for many religious manifestations which originated in different regions and different ages in the South Asian subcontinent. The assertion of a Hindu identity is a modern phenomenon which tries to distance itself from other religious identities, mainly Islamic and Christian in India. There are some modern attempts to include religions like Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism (which also originated in South Asia) within the Hindu fold, but Buddhism which has become an international religion and Sikhism are successfully asserting their individuality. The origin of Hinduism is sometimes sought to be traced from the Indus Valley Civilization but the matter remains speculative as the study of that civilization has not progressed sufficiently to draw definite conclusions. The Vedic Civilization is a definite milestone in the development of Hinduism. The early phase in the development of Hinduism is the Brahmanical religion. Religions like Jainism and Buddhism arose as anti-Brahmanical movements. There were also philosophical movements like the Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta. These religions and philosophical movements were competing to win adherents but they were not exclusive in their approaches. There was some form of interaction among these groups and by the end of the Gupta period, the Brāhmaṇical religion had become dominant in North India.

1The Tamils in the Far South of India have been able to have an identity of their own, in relation to North Indian religious developments. Along with Sanskrit, Tamil is also a classical language of India. Independent of classical Sanskrit literature, it developed a classical literature which is more than two millennia old. The description of this classical Tamil literature as ’secular’ by some modern scholars is not entirely correct; but it helps to emphasize its distinctive nature when compared to Vedic and Sanskrit literature which was mainly religious. When North Indian religious developments reached Tamilnadu, they had to undergo some form of acculturation or indigenization to become acceptable to the Tamils. They had to assimilate some indigenous forms of worship and religious practices of a vibrant Tamil culture. Brāhmaṇism, Jainism and Buddhism, each in its own way, appear to have engaged in this process. Brāhmaṇism embraced emotional bhakti and put forth two off-shoots, monotheistic devotion to either Śiva or Viṣṇu. Both of them emerged victorious at the expense of Jainism and Buddhism. Of the two, Śaivism appears to have emerged as the dominant creed among the Tamils. The three outstanding leaders of the Śaiva bhakti movement were Campantar, Appar and Cuntarar. The family background1 of these three appear to indicate clearly the social background of the Śaiva bhakti movement. Campantar was a Vedic Brahmin of Kaundinya gotra, who praised Vedic sacrifices and who glorified Śaiva worship. Appar belonged to the land-owning peasant class, representing the vast majority of non-Brahmin Tamils. As a pious non-Brahmin, he was first attracted to Jainism which promised salvation, even to those outside Brāhmaṇism. The new Śaiva bhakti movement could bring together both Campantar and Appar under the same umbrella. Both of them were contemporaries in the seventh century; the first was credited with converting the Pandya king from Jainism to Śaivism and the second was credited with converting the Pallava king from Jainism to Śaivism. Both of them were promoting temple worship in the Tamil country and outside, undertaking pilgrimage, criss-crossing South India. Campantar helped his father to perform Vedic sacrifices and on his own was praising, in many poems, Brahmins engaged in Vedic sacrifices as well as in Śiva temple worship. Appar was praising Śiva temple worship in most of his hymns, occasionally referring to the Brahmins and the Vedas, but propagating also the maintenance of Śiva temples, and worship of Siva, in the hearts and the homes of the devotees, not necessarily with Brāhmaṇic rituals2. Cuntarar was an Ādi-Śaiva, a group or rather a sub-caste of hereditary temple priests of Śiva temples, who claimed to be Brahmins.

2Of these three, Saint Appar seems to represent also one strand in Tamil Śaivism which does not give total authority to Brāhmaṇical rituals in Śaiva temples. Appar seems to be faithful here to Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār, the pioneer of the Tamil Śaiva bhakti poetry3. She was worshipping Śiva in her heart at the beginning. Lord Śiva directs her to go to Tiruvālaṅkāṭu (sacred cremation ground under a banyan tree) to enjoy his dance4. She has praised Śiva’s dance at the cremation ground, but there is no mention of any temple or Brahmin ritual in her poems5. It is interesting to note that two other Śaiva nāyaṉmārs were also said to have worshipped in their hearts only and attained salvation6. Vāyilār, a peasant like Appar, had a vision of a Śiva temple in his heart, to which he continued to offer worship. Pucalār, a Brahmin, was said to have built a Śiva temple in his heart because he had no funds to build a temple, consecrated it with rituals in his heart, and then attained salvation.

2. Distinctive Features of Appar’s Tamil Śaivism

Though there were a number of Brahmin nāyaṉmārs, Tamil Śaivism could not be said to be dominated and led by the Brahmin community. Appūtiyaṭikaḷ7, a Tamil Brahmin, almost hero-worshipped Appar, a peasant and a Śaiva convert from Jainism. He worshipped Appar in place of Śiva; he was so concerned that Appar should eat at his home that he ignored the death of his eldest son through snake-bite and hid this information from Appar. appar in Tamil means ’father’ and Śaiva hagiography records that it was Campantar who addressed him as Appar first. Campantar was also known as piḷḷaiyār "son". The role of Appar and Campantar in the establishment of Tamil Śaivism looks like that of a father and son --- a vēḷāḷar "peasant" father and a brahmin son. Nampiyāṇṭār Nampi, a Brahmin, who compiled the Tamil Śaiva canon, wanted to give the foremost place to Campantar. In order to justify his stand, he wanted to glorify Campantar as the violent persecutor and exterminator of the Jains in Maturai8. While it is highly probable that Campantar respected Appar and addressed the elder as "father", Nampiyāṇṭār Nampi creates a supernatural story to make Śiva and Umā as "father" and "mother" of Campantar. Campantar’s hymns, compiled by him in the first three tirumuṟai "sacred canon" get precedence over Appar’s hymns, compiled by him in the next three tirumuṟai9. Besides the Tiruttoṇṭar Tiruvantāti where Nampi praises all sixty-three individual nāyaṉār, and other devotees as nine groups, he has authored seven books10, six on Campantar and one on Appar — an obvious indication of how he was shaping Tamil Śaiva hagiography.

3There is reason to suppose that Brahmin reluctance to educate peasants in Sanskrit and religious studies was of long standing. Buddhism and Jainism were more liberal; some peasants studied in their monasteries, became erudite scholars in Pali/Prakrit and Sanskrit, and became monks; later, they were attracted to Śaivism, may be from their knowledge of Śaivism from Sanskrit sources. Appar was an admirer of Cākkiyanāyaṉār, a vēḷāḷar "peasant", who was said to have become a Buddhist monk, who later ended up as a Śaiva saint. Appar mentions him with respect while Campantar does not. As Appar has stayed long at Tiruvārūr, he might have been responsible for instituting worship for him as a Śaiva saint there. So Cākkiyanāyaṉār was able to find a place in Cuntarar’s Tiruttoṇṭattokai and later in Cēkkiḻār’s Periyapurāṇam. Cēkkiḻār does not explain how and when Appar learnt about Śaivism. With the name Tarumacēṉar, as a Jain monk, Appar is said to have engaged the Buddhists in debate and defeated them. This is an indication that the study of other religions for the purpose of proselytization might have been a part of the curriculum in leading Buddhist and Jain monasteries. Cākkiyar from Buddhism and Appar from Jainism might have been introduced to Sanskrit texts in Śaivism in their monasteries. What was happening in their life-story was apparently their straying from their folds to Śaivism, another fold which attracted them.

4Among the Śaiva saints, Appar is the only one to point out the name of one Tamilnadu city and of one harbour, associating them with learned scholars in his time. Maturai, which had been associated with classical Tamil scholars, seems to have faded in his time. Appar refers to Nākai (Nākappaṭṭiṉam) as kaṟṟavar payilum nākai11 "Nākai where scholars abound", and kaṟṟār payil kaṭal nākai12 "Sea (port) Nākai where scholars abound". Nākai13 in his time has replaced Kāvirippūmpaṭṭiṉam/ Pukār of the classical times as the major port and commercial center of the Cōḻas and their overlords, the Pallavas. Pukār probably lost its importance gradually and not swallowed by the sea, as mentioned in the Maṇimēkalai. Appar mentions a Śiva temple there14. Campantar has a hymn on a Pallava Śiva temple there15. Appar refers to kalviyai kkarai ilāta kāñci mānakar16 "the city of Kāñci where there are no limits to learning". As the capital of the extensive Pallava kingdom which comprised Tamilnadu minus the Pandyan kingdom, as well as the southern parts of Andhra, it must have attracted scholars, especially religious scholars and philosophers from the North.

5Even though the tradition of calling the first seven sacred books of the Śaivas as Tēvāram "garland to god" is now well established in Tamil, it was the hymns of Appar which were designated as Tēvāram first. There is also a tradition that the entire text of Appar’s Tēvāram was inscribed in copper plates and preserved in Citamparam temple at first and then later at Tiruvārūr temple.17 Neither the Tēvāram of the other two saints nor the hymns of any other saint has been so honoured. A big temple has come into being at Tiruvāmūr, the village of his nativity, in the present day South Arcot district in the latter half of the last century18. His anniversary is celebrated as a grand kuru pūcai, "guru pūjā", every year19. The distinctiveness of Appar’s Tēvāram should be studied to understand its great appeal to the Tamil populace.

6Though both Campantar and Appar try to identify Śaivism with Tamil, Campantar was very keen to identify himself with Tamil, as his Vedic Brahmin background might have made his Tamil background suspect. He was claiming to be an expert in both Sanskrit and Tamil. Appar, as a Tamil peasant, has no need to project his Tamil identity. He probably cannot claim to be an expert in Sanskrit. So he makes Śiva an expert in Sanskrit and Tamil and an embodiment in three divisions of Tamil and four Vedas. Appar seems to equate here both Sanskrit and Tamil languages and cultures and make Śiva the expert. The lines, āriyaṉ kaṇṭāy tamiḻaṉ kaṇṭāy "See him as an Aryan, see him as a Tamilian", muttamiḻum nāṉmaṟaiyum āṉāṉ kaṇṭāy "See that he has become the three Tamil and the four Vedas", make Śiva a Tamil God (along with a Sanskrit God also)20. This is a big step in the indigenization of Śaivism among the Tamils. There is a big difference between what Campantar was saying and what Appar was saying, and Appar has scored a point here in making Śiva attractive to the Tamil people. What Campantar achieves is gaining acceptance for himself from the non-Brahmin Tamils.

2.1. The Dancing Śiva.

The cult of the Dancing Śiva has become very popular among the Tamil Śaivites and Citamparam temple was gaining pre-eminence among the Tamilnadu Śaivite temples. All the three saintly authors of Tēvāram visit this temple and sing hymns. Campantar and Cuntarar appear to be proponents of a form of restrained bhakti. Appar has eight hymns on this shrine. It is remarkable that it was only Appar who was enamoured of Śiva’s dance. He refers to Śiva’s performance and to his own deep appreciation, almost reaching infatuation of that dance. All the Śaiva saints, including Appar, dreaded rebirth. In fact Appar could be said to have been more keen to escape from rebirth as he was living as a Jain monk, performing rigorous austerities, because at one time he thought that it was the best way to escape from rebirth. But Appar makes an exception here - if it were possible to witness Śiva’s dance again, it is worth being reborn again in this world as a human being. This statement is unique in these devotional poems. Even Kāraikkālammaiyār has not praised Śiva’s dance in such words. But she has many poems appreciating Śiva’s dance in the cremation ground. According to Cēkkiḻār, she who reached Śiva’s abode in Mount Kailās, came back to Tiruvālaṅkāṭu to be a perpetual spectator of his dance. Campantar has appreciated people, especially women, dance. Ammaiyār and Appar appreciate Śiva’s dance. One has to recollect here the importance of dances in classical Tamil society as reflected in Caṅkam literature. Jainism and Buddhism could not give importance to dance in their religious schemes. The indigenization of Śaivism in Tamil was taken a step forward when Śiva appeared as an attractive expert dancer. It is probably Appar’s devotional praise poems on the dance of Śiva that leads to the production of bronze sculptures of the dancing Śiva in large numbers in the later Cōḻa period. It is in these bronzes that one can see the emergence of dancing Śiva as the king of dance (Naṭarāja in Sanskrit and Āṭavallāṉ in Tamil). Modern scholars of Hinduism, both within and outside India, are fascinated by these sculptures.

2.2. Murukaṉ’s father claims Tamil loyalty.

The shrine of Tiruvārūr also becomes very important in Tamil Śaivism. Two of the three Tēvāram saints — Appar and Cuntarar — become very closely associated with this shrine. This shrine is associated with Somāskanda worship — Śiva with Umā and Skanda. There is a mythic story to explain the importance of Somāskanda worship in Tiruvārūr — the particular icon was worshipped first by Viṣṇu, later by Indra and then gifted by the latter with great reluctance to Mucukuntaṉ, his Cōḻa ally for worship at Tiruvārūr21. But it is possible to explain the importance of the icon without recourse to myth. Murukaṉ was the popular God of the Tamils in the classical age. One characteristic of this God is youthfulness. This enabled the Śaivites to portray him as Śiva’s son. Both the Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai and the Paripāṭal refer to him as Śiva’s son. According to the latter, he was the son of god under the banyan tree, with no biological mother. The former seems to be wavering in assigning a mother to him. He was the son of Pārvatī, Śiva’s consort, the young boy of Koṟṟavai "the Goddess of victory", of the ancient Tamils, and the baby of Paḻaiyōḷ "Ancient Goddess". During the Śaiva bhakti movement, Murukaṉ was identified with Skanda, Śiva’s mythical son. Even the Skanda myth, both in Sanskrit and Tamil, do not make Umā his biological mother. But an affectionate family of father-mother-son came into being during the Pallava period. This development seems to be peculiar to South India. Many Somāskanda sculptures of the Pallava period have been identified. The myth may be trying to trace the origin of the icon to Tiruvārūr, one time capital of the Cōḻas. The incorporation of Murukaṉ in the Śiva family must have facilitated the acceptance of Śaivism as Tamil religion. Appar made Tiruvārūr almost his second home and composed twenty-one hymns on this shrine alone. Appar seems to be utilizing a brilliant strategem, making Śiva, the Tamil God, by referring to his pedigree through Murukaṉ and Vaḷḷi, his indigenous Tamil consort, belonging to perhaps the most famous Murukaṉ shrine in the Tamil country. Appar says, "nam centil mēya vaḷḷi maṇāḻaṟku ttātai kaṇṭāy",22 "See [that He (Śiva) is] the Father of the Husband of Vaḷḷi, of our Tiruccentur". So much of sentimental stuff is condensed in this cryptic clause. The first word nam "our", is inclusive plural, including the second person (those who are addressed), but excluding the third person (people far away, outsiders) in contradistinction to em "our", an exclusive plural — a peculiarity of the Dravidian languages. Appar sings in Tamil language and so includes Tamils in his range. Centil, the modern Tiruccentur, carries other names like Cīr Alaivāy also. This is the only Murukaṉ shrine mentioned in early Caṅkam poetry; it also finds prominence in Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai. This could have been a prehistoric shrine, as it was located near Koṟkai, the port located in the famous Pearl Fishery Coast, and the probable capital of the Pandyas before they shifted their capital to Maturai. Centil is also situated very close to Adiccanallur where archaeological findings, some of them pointing to possible Murukaṉ worship in about 1200 BCE, have been located. Murukaṉ has been identified with Skanda and so his Tamilness in Somāskanda could be contestable. But Vaḷḷi, his consort, could not be identified with any goddess in the northern Sanskrit tradition. So Vaḷḷi is certainly a Tamil goddess and, according to Tamil tradition, her consort is Murukaṉ, a Tamil god. According to Appar, Śiva is the father of this Tamil god of great antiquity. Śiva thus becomes the father figure in a revived form of Tamil religion. According to Tamil grammar, the possessive form nam in this statement could qualify either Centil, Vaḷḷi, or maṇāḷar. His message is the same, whatever the interpretation.

7Appar reinforces the sentiment in another hymn when he uses the expression nam kaṭampaṉai ppeṟṟavaḷ paṅkiṉaṉ23 "consort of goddess who gave birth to our Kaṭampaṉ."

8He was worshipping Śiva at Kaṭampūr shrine; probably he remembered that the kaṭampu tree is closely associated with Murukaṉ. The title kaṭampaṉ refers to Murukaṉ in this stanza. What is of special interest here is the usage of "nam" again as inclusive plural to refer to his Tamil indigenous identity. Of the two sons of Śiva, Murukaṉ, the younger son alone, is considered a Tamil god while the elder son is considered to be a North Indian god. Appar mentions both sons in a stanza. He mentions Murukaṉ first and uses the Tamil word tantai "father" to denote Śiva; he mentions the elephant-faced elder son then and uses the tamilised form of Sanskrit tātā "father", to denote Śiva. The Somaśkanda icon at Tiruvārūr might have had mass appeal among the Tamils; so it was adopted and introduced in different parts of the Pallava kingdom. There is a tradition that Tiruvārūr was, at one time, a capital of the early Cōḻas. The Periyapurāṇam refers to Tiruvārūr as the capital of Maṉu Nīti Kaṇṭa Cōḻaṉ. According to the myth, the Somaśkanda icon worship was instituted by Mucukuntacōḻaṉ in his capital at Tiruvārūr. During the heyday of the Pallava kingdom from the seventh to the ninth centuries, the Cōḻas appear to have been the subordinates of the Pallavas. The Pallavas patronised Skanda worship; there was even a Pallava king with the name of Skandavarman. There was among the Pallavas even a Kaṭampavarman, in whose reign a large number of Tamil inscriptions were issued. So a popular innovation introduced at Tiruvārūr could be widely adopted throughout the Pallava kingdom.

2.3. Refinement of Śaiva sects.

There were many sects among Śiva worshippers in Appar’s age and Appar seems to have noticed them, moved among them and most probably tried to propagate his version of Śaivism among them. Apart from epigraphical evidence, it is only in Appar’s Tēvāram that we find references to other Śaiva sects like pācupatar, kāpālikar and māviratikaḷ even in Tiruvārūr24. One of the reasons which might have prompted him to stay long in Tiruvārūr, might have been the chance to live and work among these groups to unify them as the Tamil Śaivas. This speculation is further strengthened when we note that he had also spent long periods of time and sang many hymns in shrines where other evidence points out that the pāśupatas were strong as in Nākaikkārōṇam which was praised by him in four hymns, and where māviratikaḷ (kāḷāmukar) were strong as in Tiruvoṟṟiyur which was praised by him in five hymns. The pācupatar "worshippers of Paśupati", were an influential sect both in Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Peruntēvaṉār’s commentary on Vīracōḻiyam of about the twelfth century mentions the śaivas and the pāśupatas separately as two different sects25. Appar, alone among the Śaiva devotional poets, has a separate hymn praising Paśupati26.

9He has described Śiva as Paśupati in some of his other hymns27. Likewise, he has described Śiva as Kapāli "skull- carrier", in other hymns28.

10Saint Cuntarar probably owes much to the spade work already done in Tiruvārūr by Appar. One of the reasons why Tiruvārūr became famous might have been due to Appar’s long stay there and his twenty-one hymns on the shrine. Appar praises Śiva as Ārūraṉ "Lord of Ārūr "; Ārūraṉ becomes the name of Cuntarar who was born far away in Tirumuṉaippāṭināṭu/ Naṭunāṭu which was also Appar’s native region. Cuntarar gets married in Ārūr and stays long in Ārūr. According to some scholars, Cuntarar’s greatest contribution to Tamil Śaivism is his Tiruttoṇṭattokai, the pioneer work for the later Śaiva hagiology of the Periyapurāṇam. Cuntarar names his contemporary and earlier Śaiva devotees and pays homage to each of them. Appar seems to be a fore-runner to Cuntarar here as he pays homage to Śaiva devotees in a Tiruvārūr hymn29. Appar’s hymn might have led to the institutionalization of the worship of individual nāyaṉmārs in Tiruvārūr. This must have given Cuntarar the chance to name each and to pay homage to each in his Tiruttoṇṭattokai. The worship of the devotees of Śiva, inaugurated by Appar, led to the creation of a new top layer transcending caste divisions in the hierarchy of Śaivism, distinct from the Brahmins and temple priests. Later Śaiva Siddhānta gives much importance to this layer and advises the jīvanmuktās (those who have attained liberation while alive) to move in the company of Śaiva devotees30, so that they would not relapse into their former state of impurity.

2.4. Assimilation of an old form of worship.

Appar has addressed Śiva as kaṟpakam in many poems31. This seems to have been an adaptation of the kalpa daru (kaṟpakam) worship, belonging to earlier Indra worship in Appar’s Tamil Śaivism. Indra, the Vedic god, found early acceptance in the Tamil country; the Tolkāppiyam, the earliest grammatical work in Tamil, mentions Vēntaṉ (identified with Indra) as the god of the agricultural tract. The Cilappatikāram refers to temples of Indra, in some of which either Vajra, Indra’s weapon or the wish-fulfilling tree were worshipped32. The worship of Indra, along with that of Vajra, disappears, but the worship of the wish-fulfilling tree, identified with Śiva, gains a new lease of life. This also could have given the Tamil people the feeling that the new Śaiva bhakti movement was a continuation of the earlier religion prevalent among the Tamils.

3. Appar and Jainism

According to the Periyapurāṇam, the Śaiva hagiology, Appar, a born Śaivite, was attracted to Jainism because of its professed lofty principles and he joined the Pāṭalipuram (= Pāṭaliputra/Tiruppātirippuliyūr, near Kaṭalūr) monastery and became a leading Jain monk and defeated the Buddhists in debate. However he was soon disillusioned with the Jain monkhood and he returned to Śaivism. The Jain monks at Pāṭalipuram were scared that his apostasy might ruin their popularity and they appealed to the Jain Pallava ruler (unnamed) to punish Appar for his bad example. The Pallava ruler, on the advice of Jain monks, attempted to harm Appar, first by feeding poisoned milk rice, then by locking him up in a lime kiln, then by getting his royal elephant to trample down Appar, and finally tying him to a heavy stone and throwing him into the sea. Appar’s Śiva bhakti enabled him to escape from all these ordeals unscathed. At this point the Pallava king became a convert to Śaivism and persecuted the Jain monks whom he thought purveyors of false doctrines. He demolished the Pāṭalipuram monastery and built Kuṇapara Īccaram33.

11Appar was very bitter about Jain monks and Jain monastic life. Unlike Campantar who was a complete outsider criticising Jain monks, Appar was an insider from Jainism, and most of his polemical comments against Jains appear as autobiographical references. He was devastating in his comments against Jain monks and this appears to have clouded the vision of many scholars on his attitude to Jainism as a whole. There is only one hymn at the Northern Shrine of Paḻaiyāṟai34 where his references to the Jains are very uncharacteristic, almost reminding Campantar’s references against the Jains at Tiruvālavāy in Maturai. The complete texts of Appar’s Tēvāram which could add up to 3066 stanzas have not yet been translated into English or any other Western language and the critical scholarship of western scholars could not go beyond secondary sources of indigenous scholars who could not do a penetrative study of Appar’s texts.

12The book, entitled Open Boundaries, -- Jain Communities and Cultures in Indian History opens a new approach to the study of the relationship between Jainism and Śaivism within the Tamil country35. Two articles in that volume have some very relevant points from which one can peer through Appar’s hymns.

13Indira Viswanathan Peterson, in her article "Śramaṇas Against the Tamil Way", makes the following comment:

"Appar focuses his critique on Jain monks, castigating them and their religion, and laments his own wasted years as a Jain monk (Peterson 1989, 283-301). His poetry is pervaded by a sense of sin and guilt, and he views his earlier faith in Jainism as his greatest sin. "36

Richard H. Davis, in his article "The Story of the Disappearing Jains", makes the following comment:

"Even among those who called themselves Śaiva Siddhānta, or who were later labeled as such, there was a division between the devotional orientation of the Nāyaṉmārs and the more ritual orientation of the "Śaiva Brāhmaṇas". […] While these Śaiva Siddhāntins surely shared in, and profited from, the Nāyaṉmār project of placing the devotional cult of Śiva at the center of Tamil society, their formulation of Śaivism tended towards the ascetic and ritualistic (like Jains), while the Nāyaṉmārs (along with the Vaiṣṇava Āḻvārs) were pioneering "emotional bhakti" and seeking to reformulate Tamil cultural identity. Their outlook (like the Jains) was primarily pan-Indian and universalizing, in contrast to the more local and regional perspective of the Nāyaṉmārs".37

Peterson, who could use Appar’s sources in the original, appears to come very close to understanding Appar’s relationship with Jainism but still the picture is not very complete. Davis’s use of secondary sources in Tamil appears to lead him to miss the point. Coupling the nāyaṉār along with the āḻvār as pioneers of "emotional bhakti", he seems to have entirely missed Appar’s individuality. He could find the influence of Jainism only in the Sanskritic Śaiva Siddhāntins. What both these scholars missed was that Appar, who was first attracted to Jainism by its lofty principles to become a convert to Jainism and then to become a Jain monk, had not given up his past entirely. He had brought in some elements of Jainism into Śaivism to give it a more humanistic face. Compared to many other Śaiva sects, Tamil Śaivism, the precursor of Śaiva Siddhānta, appears to be a very "mild" form. Campantar and Cuntarar did not seem to have brought into Śaivism similar ideas.

3.1. Impact of Jainism.

Appar, even according to Cēkkiḻār, was attracted to Jainism because of its lofty principles like compassion and non-violence. When Appar says, tayā mūla taṉmavaḻi eṉakku nalki maṉam tiruttum38 "having gracefully shown to me the path of virtue based on compassion to refine (my) mind", he seems to be incorporating the Jain teaching within Śaivism. Appar refers to self-refinement of his mind here, through the path of virtue based on compassion. There does not appear to be any early Śaiva text teaching dharma based on compassion and stressing refinement of the mind. When he says, tayā mūla tattuvattiṉvaḻi niṉṟu tāḻntōrkku ellām nalam koṭukkum nampiyai39 "the Lord who benefits all the downtrodden through following the philosophy based on compassion", Appar appears to identify the Jina with Śiva. Śiva appears to be getting transformed when Appar refers to him as pal uyirkkum parivōṉtaṉṉai40 "he who pities all living beings". Appar also admires Śiva’s tirukkaruṇai41 "sacred compassion", which manifests itself deeply in Śiva putting up with the whole gamut of Appar’s failures.

14Tamil Śaivism is generally considered a very tolerant religion. It is again to Appar one has to go for the broad outlook. virivu ilā aṟiviṉārkaḷ vēṟu oru camayam ceytu eriviṉāl coṉṉārēṉum empirāṟkuēṟṟatu ākum "It will be acceptable for our lord even if those with narrow vision establish a religion out of jealousy "42. This outlook is the product of the Jain anēkāntavātam which advocates the many-sided nature of truth. Appar himself claims again and again that he had conquered ārva cceṟṟa kurōtam "love, anger, and hatred "43. He brings in a refined mind to Tamil Śaivism.

15Even though Appar was in the thick of the bhakti movement, he seems to have still carried on his aversion to Brahmin orthodoxy and rituals. He finds the recitation of the Vedas, performance of Vedic sacrifices, functioning as temple priests, studying śāstras, pilgrimages to the Ganges and the Kāviri, etc. as of no merit when compared to the supreme virtue of bhakti44. Campantar and Cuntarar could not be expected to subscribe to some of these ideas. One of the two reasons which Campantar gives for defeating the Jains in Maturai was their condemnation of the Vedas and the Vedic sacrifices. Probably because he belonged to the sub-caste of temple priests, Cuntarar was privileged to touch the Śiva icon and be near it; he claimed that Śiva was his best friend. Appar’s bhakti probably retained some of his predilections of his Jaina times even after his reconversion to Śaivism. It is probably these unconventional ideas that have made the later day orthodox school to downgrade Appar’s bhakti as dāśa mārga "the path of the servant". It was probably again his Jain background that caused Appar to look for release in Śivaloka "the world of Śiva", which he mentions in a number of his hymns (tamilized as civalōkam). According to him, Śiva devised the good path to Śivaloka for others to go45; Śiva was graceful to give him wisdom to know Śivaloka46; Śiva himself is identified with Śivaloka47. In Jainism the goal of all liberated souls is to reach a higher world (Siddha-loka) and retain their individuality.

16The expression Śivagati is very interesting. Appar is the only early Śaiva bhakti poet who is using this expression (tamilized as civakati). He has used it in six places. This word has the meaning of "uspicious stage of liberation". Its earliest usage48 in Tamil is found in a Jain context in the Cilappatikāram which is now dated to the fifth century C.E. The Tamil Lexicon also explains this word in the Jain context. This word appears later again in a Jain context in the Nīlakēci commentary. The contexts in which Appar uses the word Śivagati are very interesting. Appar’s quest for Śivagati in one context is by basing his life on truth, love, patience, self-realization, appropriateness and good conduct49. This will be applicable to a Jain seeker of release and this particular stanza does not mention Śiva bhakti. The second context is where Appar says that the attainment of Śivagati is possible only if you reflect on a pig, in dirt, finding beauty in a cloth-covered human body, full of impurities50. Besides the fact that this stanza also does not mention Śiva bhakti, it is worth noting that Buddhism also emphasizes this kind of meditation. Whether Appar knew Buddhism is a question that could be asked. According to Cēkkiḻār, when Appar was a Jain monk with the name Tarumacēṉar (Dharmasena), he defeated the Buddhists in debate. So he must have known Buddhism to debate and win over them. In this connection it is also interesting to note that Appar was the only Tēvāram author who mentions with respect a Buddhist monk who became a Śaiva saint. Cākkiyanāyaṉār from Caṅkamaṅkai in Toṇṭaimaṇṭalam has not composed hymns; so his contribution to Śaiva thought could not be assessed. According to Appar, Śiva changed the pebbles which the Buddhist used to throw at him steadily into new flowers51 and "made him the ruler of the high sky" (nīḷ vicumpu āḷavaittār)52. There was in Appar’s poems some resemblance to the world-view of the Jains and the Buddhists; the type of reflection on impurity of the human body could very well be mentioned as typical of the Buddhists also.

17Śivagati could mean the sphere of Śiva and in that sense it is equivalent to Śivaloka, for which also Appar was longing in some of his hymns. Appar uses Śivagati in the sense of Śivaloka in the other four contexts53. He places Śivagati in the context of devotional acts to Śiva. Later Śaiva Siddhānta speaks of four kinds of release — sāloka, sāmīpa, sārūpa and sāyucciya. Appar’s release is said to be sāloka. Ādi Sankara interpreted orthodox Vedic philosophy as advaita " monism". Bhakti saints found this interpretation unacceptable and the Vaiṣṇava Rāmānuja developed visiṣṭādvaita" "lified monism". "he Śaiva Siddhāntins developed suddha advaita "p" monism", "mewhat close to Rāmānuja’s position. The Vaiṣṇava Mādhva developed dvaita "du "sm", b" its influence outside Karnāṭaka was limited. The word advaita, in one or another of its interpretations, is very much preferred in orthodox and mainstream Hinduism. But Appar’s position appears to be close to dualism, even though no particular school of dualism developed from his stand. One reason why Vaiṣṇavism developed "dualism" while the Śaiva school did not, appears to be that Nālāyira Tivviya Pirapantam continued to be scrutinised by a series of commentators which led to the possiblity of development of divergent schools. The devotional literature of the Śaiva preceptors was never subjected to such scrutiny in a commentatorial tradition. It is generally read and interpreted as the bases of Śaivism. Even though Appar is very popular among the Tamil Śaivites — although ranking after Māṇikkavācakar — for the excellence of his bhakti poetry, the orthodox Brahmin tradition sometimes downgrades him as just a follower of the dāśa marga, which is the farthest among the four kinds of bhakti mārga to attain Śiva.

18Some ideas which Appar introduced in Śaiva bhakti poetry from Jainism have been de-contextualised in later Śaiva hagiology — it is not clear whether it was done purposely or whether the proper context was not known to Cēkkiḻār.

19There is a hymn54 beginning as follows: -

nāmārkkuṅ kuṭiy allōm namaṉai ancōm,
"we are not subjects of any body; we are not afraid of death".
narakattil iṭarppaṭōm naṭalai yillōm,
"we will not suffer in the hell; we have no deception",
ēmāppōm piṇiy aṟiyōm paṇivōmallōm,
"we will not be deceived; we will know no bond; we will not submit",
iṉpamē eṉṉāḷum tuṉpa millai,
"we have happiness everyday and no suffering".

The interpretation in the hagiology is that just after Appar’s reconversion to Śaivism, the Jain monks prevailed on the king to take Appar into custody in order to punish him. The king’s soldiers tried to take Appar away to the king. Appar, as a devotee of Śiva, was said to be asserting his bravery. The reality seems to be that Jain laymen at their initiation into sāmāyika "equanimity", a temporary form of renunciation, assert thus their freedom and courage, as indicated by Padmanabh Jaini55. Maṟumāṟṟam "defiance" is the title of Appar’s hymn; the title is appropriate for its tone. Some other expression occurring in this hymn like parṟaṟṟōmē "we have been rid of attachment" confirm the veracity of Jain oaths or assertions. Abandoning all cloths, the Jain renouncer says that he does not care for those who are well dressed and decorated with ornaments.56 Abandoning all forms of possession, he does not care for earthly rulers travelling on chariots. Taking the oath of celibacy, he says that he will never go to the homes of women. But it should be pointed out that Appar introduces many elements of Śaiva bhakti poetry here. Appar makes the Jains equanimity assertion in this hymn, not when he becomes a Jain renouncer, but when he becomes a Śaiva devotee. Appar seems to serve as a bridge between the world view of Jainism and the Śaiva bhakti movement. He rejects Jain monastic life and adopts Śaiva devotee life. His conversion to Śaivism is not a total repudiation of Jainism.

20Appar’s description of Śiva resembles the description of the liberated soul in Jainism. According to Appar, Śiva is without equal, not one, not of one village, and with no comparison57. What Mahāvīra is reported to have said illuminates Appar’s description as can be noticed in the following: - "The liberated is not long or small or round or triangular — he is not black — or white — he is without body — he is not feminine or masculine or neuter — but there is no analogy; its essence is without form; there is no condition of the unconditioned. "58

3.2. Jain ideology, as reflected in the Nālaṭiyār.

This fact becomes clear when the general tenor of Appar’s poetry is compared to the Nālaṭiyār, one of the eighteen minor works in classical Tamil literature. The expression nālaṭi "quatrain" refers to a metrical form and this book might have been named so because it was the first of its kind. Two works in Tamil, the Kuṟal and the Nālaṭi, named after their metrical form, "were serving as mutual commentaries, and together throwing a flood of light upon the whole ethical and social theory of the Tamil people "59. According to Pope, the latter work is also called "the Veḷḷāḷar-Vētham, the ´Bible of the cultivators of the soil´", as it was so popular among the Tamil peasants, and he says that the majority of the poems were almost certainly composed by Jain ascetics. According to Kamil V. Zvelebil, Jain ideology pervades the entire book.

21Neither the Kuṟaḷ nor the Nālaṭi employ technical terms and jargons associated with Jainism, and so even if both of these works are sometimes ascribed to Jain authors by modern scholars, they appear to be non-sectarian. The Kuṟaḷ is now interpreted and acclaimed as a secular work, the Nālaṭi seems to have receded into the background from where it was by the end of the nineteenth century, as vouchsafed by Pope, may be because of its relatively negative attitude to worldly life.

22The Nālaṭi utilizes this relatively negative attitude to emphasize an ascetic way of life, as in Jainism and Buddhism. Appar utilizes this negative attitude to lead human beings to Śiva bhakti. Appar makes very frequent and liberal use of the first five chapters and the eleventh chapter of the Nālaṭi, such as the instablity of prosperity, the transitoriness of youth, the perishable nature of the bodily frame, the might of virtue, the essential impurity of the human frame, and the nature of previous karma to emphasize bhakti to Śiva. The sixth chapter in the Nālaṭi deals with asceticism, and most of the following chapters, especially in the first section, deal with matters like self-discipline, liberality, and self-realization. Appar seems to be even utilizing these ideas occasionally to express his almost ascetic fervour in his Śiva bhakti. Compared to Appar, very few poems of Campantar and Cuntarar have such ideas, even though Campantar’s hymns outnumber Appar’s hymns.

23To the vast majority of Tamil Śaivites, who have no knowledge of Sanskrit and who care little for Sanskrit traditions, the Tamil Śaivism, as portrayed by Appar, seems to offer hope of redemption from the negative attitude to the world, preached by the Jains (and the Buddhists), which is accepted by them as a valid world view. But they reject the view that asceticism and monastic life as preached in those religions lead to redemption.

24Some ideas from the Nālaṭiyār, taken out of context emphasizing the importance of observance of dharma, were utilized by Appar to emphasize Śiva bhakti. The chapter 1, celvam nilaiyāmai "the instability of prosperity" in the Nālaṭiyār, is reminded by the following instances:

vaitta māṭum, maṉaiviyum, makkaḷ, nīr
cettapōtu, ceṟiyār pirivatē60,

"When you die, (your) saved wealth, wife, and children will not be with you, but separate",

māṭu tēṭi mayakkiṉil vīḻntu nīr
ōṭi eyttum payaṉ ilai61,

"There is no use in your searching for wealth, falling in delusion, and running and trying hard",

The chapter 2 of the Nālaṭiyār, iḷamai nilaiyāmai "youth abides not", is reminded by the following instances:

pokkamāy niṉṟa pollā puḻumiṭai muṭai koḷ yākkai
tokku niṉṟu aivar toṇṇūṟṟaṟuvarum tuyakkam eyta
mikku niṉṟu ivarkaḷ ceyyum vētaṉaikku alantu pōṉēṉ62,

"The (human) body, with various openings, foul-smelling with plenty of harmful germs; the five senses together with the ninety-six elements to wander about; I have become confused through the excessive pain which all these cause."

aḻakiyōm, iḷamaiyōm, eṉum ācaiyāl
oḻuki āvi uṭal viṭum muṉṉamē63,

"Before life departs from the body after living with fond hopes of ´we are beautiful´, ´we are young´".

The chapter 3 of the Nālaṭiyār, yākkai nilaiyāmai "the bodily frame endures not" is reminded by the following instances:

ūṉ ulām muṭai koḷ yākkai uṭaikalam āvatu, eṉṟum
māṉulām maḻaikkaṇār tam vāḻkkaiyai mey eṉṟu eṇṇi64,

"thinking that life with women with cool eyes, resembling the eyes of the deer, is lasting, (without) realizing that the foul smelling body consisting of flesh, is like a breakable pot".

naṭu ilākkālaṉ vantu naṇukumpōṭu aṟiya oṇṇā
aṭuvaṉa añcu pūtamavaitamakku āṟṟal ākēṉ
paṭuvaṉa palavuṅ kuṟṟam pāṅkilā maṉitar vāḻkkai65,

"It is not possible to know when unjust death approaches; the five elements torture me; I cannot put up with them; most of what happens is sin; (therefore) worthless human life."

urai taḷarntu uṭalār naṭuṅkā muṉam,66

"before the body shivers, after speech falters".

tiṉaittaṉai ōr poṟai ilā uyir pōm kūṭṭaip poruḷ eṉṟu mika uṉṉi matiyāl inta aṉaittulakum āḷal ām eṉṟu pēcum āṅkāram67,

"The pride of saying that through intelligence you can rule the entire world, thinking highly of the frame which may be vacated by life without even a minimum of consideration."

et tāyar ettantai eccuṟṟattār emmāṭu cummāṭu evar nallār
cettāl vantu utavuvār oruvarillai ciṟu viṟakāl tī mūṭṭic cellā niṟpar68,

"which mothers?; which fathers?; which relatives?; which wealth is supportive?; who are good people?; nobody comes to help when (you) die; they will light the firewood (to burn the corpse) and go".

The chapter 5 of the Nālaṭiyār, tūytaṉmai "impurity", is reminded by the following instances:

paṭu kuḻi ppavvattu aṉṉa paṇṭiyai ppeyta āṟṟāl69,

"As it is pouring into the stomach which resembles sea of immense depth".

puḻu ppeyta paṇṭi taṉṉai ppuṟam oru tōlāl mūṭi oḻukkaṟā oṉpatu vāy70,

"covering outside, stomach full of worms, with one skin; secreting through nine openings".

pollāta eṉ aḻukkil pukuvāṉ71,

"he who enters my evil dirt (body)".

The chapter 6 of the Nālaṭiyār, tuṟavu "renunciation", echoes the following instances: -

cīrtta nal maṉaiyāḷum ciṟuvarum
ārtta cuṟṟamum paṟṟu ilaiyātalāl72,

"as the good accomplished wife, children and numerous relatives have no attachment".

tantai yār tāy yār uṭaṉpiṟantār tāram ār puttirar ār tāmtām ārē
vanta āṟu eṅṅaṉē pōmāṟuētō māyamām itaṟkuētum makiḻa vēṇṭā73,

"Who is the father? Who is the mother? Who is sibling, life partner? Who are the children? Who are we, ourselves? How did (we) come in? How will (we) go? This is illusion. Be not deceived."

The Chapter 4 of the Nālaṭiyār, aṟaṉ valiyuṟuttal "The might of virtue", reminds the following instance:

vēmpiṉai ppēci, viṭakkiṉai ōmpi, viṉai perukki,
tūmpiṉai ttūrttu, aṅku ōr cuṟṟam tuṇai eṉṟu iruntīr74,

"having spoken harsh language, having cared for the flesh (physical wellbeing), having increased the karma (load), having filled your stomach, you who exist thinking that your relatives will help".

The chapter 7, ciṉamiṉmai "the absence of anger: meekness", and chapter 8 poṟaiyuṭaimai "patience", reflect aspects of Jain asceticism which Appar observed facing persecution, allegedly unleashed on him by a king on the instigation of Jain monks.

25Nampiyāṇṭār Nampi, who compiled Appar’s Tēvāram into three anthologies, and who elaborated Cuntarar’s Tiruttoṇṭattokai into Tiruttoṇṭar tiruvantāti, has referred to Appar in the latter work as tiru niṉṟa cemmaiyē cemmaiyā kkoṇṭavar "he who professed righteousness enriched by Śiva worship as proper conduct". Explaining this phrase has proved difficult as the words tiru and cemmai have many meanings in Tamil language. Nampi seems to have constructed the phrase from Appar’s usage of these words. Appar has explained the word tiru niṉṟa in cintaiyil civamāy niṉṟa cemmai75 "righteousness when the mind is pervaded by Śiva". In another context, Appar uses the phrase tiru niṉṟa cemmai in the line civaṉ eṉṉum ōcai allatu, aṟaiyō, ulakil tiru niṉṟa cemmai uḷatē ?76 "Speak. Is there in the world tiru niṉṟa righteousness, excluding the Śiva sound". So, it seems that the Śiva sound is the essence of what he considers tiru niṉṟa. The other Tamil bhakti poets have not used cemmai; so it is proper to look for Jain antecedents. It could stand for the Jain concept of saddharma "righteousness". The Jains stress the importance of samyag-dṛṣṭi "proper knowledge", samyag-cāritra "proper conduct", and samyag-darśana "proper view". Having lived as a Jain monk for a considerable period of time, Appar’s concern for righteousness and propriety could be the reason for the usage of the term cemmai. This Nampi’s description might be an apt way of referring to Appar’s Tamil Śaivism.