Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature

Tumuli Stones, Sacred Geography, and Meditation Halls for Mantra

“…These include, among others, (1) "guidance on the [mantras for] the praise for all gods" (carvatēvatārccaṉā upatēcam), (2) an "guidance on the [mantras for] the praise of all goddesses" (carvatēviyārccaṉā upatēcam), (3) "guidance on the recitation of the five-syllabled mantra of the Lord of All" (carvēsvarar pañcākṣarajapa upatēcam), (4) "guidance on the five-syllabled mantra of the Lady of All" (carvēsvari pañcāṭakṣara upatēcam) (5) "guidance on the five-syllabled mantra of Viṣṇu" (viṣṇū pañcākṣara upatēcam), "guidance on the eight-syllabled mantra of Viṣṇu" (viṣṇū aṣṭākṣara upatēcam), "guidance on the five-syllabled mantra of the great Śiva and Śakti" (mahācivacakti pañcākṣara upatēcam), "guidance on the five-syllabled mantra of the guru" (kuru pañcākṣara upatēcam), "guidance on the five-syllabled mantra for every god and goddess" (sarvatēvatātēvi pañcākṣara upatēcam), "guidance on the five-and sixteen-syllabled mantra of Gaṇapati" (kaṇapati cōṭaca pañcākṣara upatēcam), and "guidance on the six-syllabled mantra of Subrahmaṇya" (cuppiramaṇiyar ṣaṭākṣara upatēcam) (Cuvāmikaḷ 1913: 30). As noted previously, this attempt to transcend various sectarian and deity-based boundaries of Hinduism reflected a wider popular concern in South India during Sabhapati's lifetime, a concern that was not only promoted by the Theosophical Society in Adyar but also even earlier by Tamil Vīraśaiva authors (Steinschneider 2016) and informed by the antinomian legacy of the Siddhas (Zvelebil 1996).…”

“…Gerety 2021). Sabhapati's literature accordingly outlines the contours for a kind of religious folk musical practice that developed out of the early modern reception and performance of the musical expressions of the Tamil Siddhars, songs that to this day are held up as an exemplar of Tamil folk religious identity (Zvelebil 1973).…”

“…For various ways in which scholars have framed the contours of this group, some more convincing than others, seeVenkatraman 1990, Zvelebil 1996, Weiss 2009, Mallinson 2019, and Ezhilraman 2015. For consideration of their place in the wider pan-Indian context of the Siddhas, seeWhite 1996 andLinrothe et al 2006. …”