1 Elements 5 2 Organs of sense 5 3 Objects of sense 5 4 Organs of action 5 5 Organs of perception 5 6 Intellectual faculties 4 7 Intelligence intellect 1 8 Vital airs 10 9 Arteries 10
10 Sheaths or investitures of soul 5 11 Receptacles for the humor 5 12 Fundamental stations of the soul 6
13 Regions of the body in which the sun ,moon and fire have their respective influence 3
14 The principles of moral evil has causes of actions, enjoyments and sufferings. 3
15 Humors of the body 3 16 Chief desires 3
17 Natural principles 3 18 Predominant passions 8
19 Accumulations of moral actions2 20 The five states or stations of the soul 5
3.
Tirumanthiram
The Tirumandhiram is a Tamil poetic work written in the 5th century CE by Tirumular and is the tenth of the twelve volumes of the Tirumurai, the key texts of Tamil Saivism. It is t h e f i r s t k n o w n Ta m i l w o r k t o u s e t h e t e r m S h a i v a S i d d h a n t a a n d t h e e a r l i e s t k n o w n e x p o s i t i o n o f t h e Saiva Agamas in Tamil. It consists of over three thousand verses dealing with various aspects of spirituality, ethics and praise of the God Shiva. But it is more spiritual than religious and one can see the difference between Vedanta and Siddhanta from Tirumular’s interpretation of the Mahakavyas. According to historian Venkatraman, the work covers almost every feature of the Tamil siddha cult. According to another historian, Madhavan, the work stresses on the fundamentals of Siddha medicine and its healing powers. It deals with a wide array of subjects including astronomy and physical culture
4.
Tirukkural
Also known as the Kural), sometimes spelt ‘Thirukkural, i s a c l a s s i c o f c o u p l e t s o r K u r a l s (1 3 3 0 r h y m i n g Ta m i l c o u p l e t s ) o r a p h o r i s m s . I t w a s a u t h o r e d by Thiruvalluvar poet who is said to have lived anytime between 2nd century BC and 5th century AD. Although the exact period of its composition is still disputed, scholars agree that it was produced in the late Tamil Sangam period. The Thirukkural expounds on various aspects of life and is one of the most important works in the Tamil language. This is reflected in some of the other names by which the text is known: Tamil marai (Tamil Vedas); poyyamozhi (words that n e v e r f a i l ) ; a n d D e i v a n o o l ( d i v i n e t e x t ) . T h e b o o k i s considered to Precede Manimekalai and Silapathikaram since they both acknowledge the Kural text.
Thirukkural (or the Kural) is a collection of 1330 Tamil couplets organised into 133 chapters. Each chapter has a specific subject ranging from “ploughing a piece of land” to “ruling a country”. It preaches simplicity and truth throughout
its verses. the Tamil word Kuralliterally means “short verse”, and is typified by the Venpa metre that consists of two lines. In the aspect of metre & brevity, and the profoundity of expression, Thirukkural comes under one of the four categories of Venpas (Tamil verses) called Kural Venpa. The 1330 couplets are arranged into 3 main sections and 133 chapters. Each chapter contains 10 couplets. A couplet consists of seven cirs, with four cirs on the first line and three on the second. A cir is a single or a combination of more than one Tamil word. For example, Thirukkural is a cir formed by combining the two words Thiru and Kural, i.e. Thiru + Kural = Thirukkural. It has been translated to various other languages. Most of the Researchers and great Tamil Scholars like George Uglow Pope or G.U. Pope who had spent many years in Tamil Nadu, translated many Tamil texts into English, which includes Thirukkural.
5. Tirumular
Tirumular (also spelt Thirumoolar etc., originally known as Sundaranâtha) was a Tamil Shaivite mystic and writer, considered one of the sixty-three Nayanars and one of the 18 Siddhars. His main work, The Tirumantiram also sometimes written Tirumanthiram, Tirumandhiram, etc.), which consists of over 3000 verses, forms a part of the key text of the Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta, the Tirumurai. Legend has it that Tirumular was a travelling Shaiva saint and scholar from Kailash who used his yogic powers to transmigrate into the body of a southern cowherd, Mulan. He would wake up from a state of intense meditation every once a year and composed one verse until he completed the Thirumandiram.
The dates of Tirumûlar’s life are hotly contested and, because his work makes reference to so many currents of religious thought, the dates that different scholars assign are often appealed to for anchoring the relative chronology of other religious literature in Tamil and Sanskrit. Verse 74 of the Tirumantiram makes the claim that Tirumûlar lived for 7 aeons (yuga) before composing
the Tirumantiram.Some are therefore inclined to place his composition well before the Common Era.
6. Nandeesar
Nandi, Nandin or Nendi Tamil: eªâ, is now universally supposed to be the name for the bull which serves as the mount (Sanskrit:Vahana) of the God Shiva and as the gate keeper of Shiva and Parvati, and in Hindu mythology. He is the chief Guru of eighteen masters(18 siddhas) including Patanjali and Thirumular A Guru of Saivism: In addition to being his mount, Nandi is Shiva’s foremost disciple. In the Natha/Siddhar tradition, Nandi is one of the primal Gurus. He was the Guru to Siddhar Thirumulanathar, Patanjalinathar and others.
F r o m t h e y o g i c p e r s p e c t i v e , N a n d i / N a n d h i / Nandikeshvara is the mind dedicated to Lord Siva, the Absolute. In other words, to understand and absorb Light, the ‘experience and the wisdom’ is Nandi which is the Guru within.
7. Devas and Asuras
Deva is the Sanskrit word for deity, its related feminine term is devi. In, it modern Hinduismcan be loosely interpreted as any benevolent supernatural beings. The devs in Hinduism, also called Suras, are often juxtaposed to the Asuras, their half brothers.Devas are also the maintainers of the realms as ordained by the Trimurti. They are often warring with their equally powerful counterparts, the Asuras.
The Asura are a group of supernatural creatures in Hinduism and Buddhism.
In today’s Hinduism, the Asuras are demons. But this was not always that way. The idea of the Asuras is very, very old, from long before the time people learned how to read and write. The Asuras only became demons much time had passed.
In Hinduism, the Asura are a group of creatures looking for more power, sometimes called demons. They went against the devas. The devas and asuras are the children of Kashyapa.
8. Ravana
R â v a n a i s t h e p r i m a r y a n t a g o n i s t c h a r a c t e r o f the Hindu epic Ramayana; who was the Rakshasa(demon) king of Lanka (Heladiva). In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama’s wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brotherLakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister Surpanakha.
R a v a n a i s d e s c r i b e d a s a d e v o u t f o l l o w e r o f t h e God Shiva in addition to his tribe’s religious beliefs, a great scholar, a capable ruler and a maestro of the Veena. He has h i s a p o l o g i s t s a n d s t a u n c h d e v o t e e s w i t h i n t h e H i n d u traditions, some of whom believe that his description as a ten- headed person (Daúamukha or Daúagrîva) is a reference to him possessing a very thorough knowledge over the 4 Vedas and 6 Upanishads, which made him as powerful as 10 scholars
The Great Ravana also authored Ravana Sanhita, a powerful book on the Hindu astrology. Ravana possessed a thorough knowledge of Ayurveda and political science. (Kumara tantram of Ravana is one of Ayurvedic book of him) He is said to have possessed the nectar of immortality, which was stored under his navel, thanks to a celestial boon by Brahma. The name ‘Ravana’ obtains from the root ‘ru’ ‘raavayati iti raavanah’ ‘one who makes God love by his compassion actions. The name Ravana obtains from the root, ‘Ra’ signifies the sun and ‘vana’ signifies generation .