Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai

Tirumurugarruppatai(Tamil:"திருமுருகாற்றுப்படை") by "Nakkirar",a Tamil poetic work, is one of the most important works of Sangam Literature. It is the first poem of the Pattupattu anthology. Tirumurugarruppatai follows the "Arruppadtai" style, a device used by most of the books in the Pattupattu anthology. The poems in this book were composed towards the end of the Sangam period - between the fifth and the sixth centuries C.E.Tirumurugarruppatai is also called "Pulavararuppatai".

Arruppatai

Aarruppatai is a literary device by which a bard or a minstrel who has received bountiful gifts from some wealthy patron is supposed to direct another to the same Maecenas. This gives the occasion to the poet, among other topics, to describe in great detail the natural beauty, fertility, and resources of the territory that has to be traversed to reach the palace of the patron. Tirumurugarruppatai or 'Guide to Lord Murugan' suggests that those who need spiritual guidance should seek out Lord Murukan.

Inclusion on Religious Books

Tirumurugarruppatai was the first anthology-poem that points to Skanda (kantan in Tamil) worship of that time. Tirumurugarruppatai later included in the Eleventh Tirumurai, a collection of Saiva religious books. Tirumurugarruppatai is lyrical, narrative, philosophical and theological in its style and as a result was instrumental in the propagation of the nascent Muruga worship. Tirumurukarruppatai has been considered as a hymn for protection for the devotees. For this reason alone the poem became a daily liturgy.

Nakkirar Legend

There are a number of legends around the composer Nakkirar. One such explains the circumstances under which this book was composed:

:Nakkirar was the court poet of the Pandya king during the Sangam period and had the reputation of being an arrogant man and proud of his knowledge. To teach him a lesson Siva took the form of a poet and came to References

* Mudaliyar, Singaravelu A., Apithana Cintamani, An encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature, (1931) - Reprinted by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi (1983)
* http://www.tamilnation.org/literature/ory:Tamil">Literature, Tamil
* Tirumurukarruppatai's place in the Saiva Canon - http://murugan.org/research/jeya_arunagirinathan.htm