Tiruvacakam

One who will not be moved by the Sacred Utterances will not be moved by any utterances. (Tamil Proverb)

Tiruvacakam (Tamil: திருவாசகம் lit. "sacred utterance") is a volume of hymns composed by the ninth century Shaivite bhakti poet Manikkavacakar. There are 51 pathigams in total, together constituting the eighth volume of the Tirumurai, the sacred anthology of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta.

The main message of Tiruvacakam is that the body is temporary and we should not spend much time and money in worldly comforts, the root cause of pains and sorrow. One should rather pray to leave the body and attain liberation (moksha). Soul should have control over the body: the ultimate highness in one's life is to reach Lord Shiva's porpaadham.

Legend has it that Manikkavacakar was appointed as minister by king Arimarttanar and sent to purchase 10,000 horses from Arab traders^[1] but spent the money building a temple in Tirupperunturai.

Retrieval

George Uglow Pope was born on 24 April 1820 in Prince Edward Island in Nova Scotia. He got interested in Tamil and learnt the language in six months on board a ship travelling to India. His magnum opus, an English translation of Tiruvacakam, appeared in 1900.

References

External links

• Transliteration & G. U. Pope's translation of Tiruvacakam
• Mannikkavasagar's Tiruvacakam at tamilnation.org
• Shaivism.org
• Composer Ilaiyaraaja's rendering
• Indian Oratorio by Ilayaraja
• Ecstasy of Spirit: Recital by Siddhar Maha Siva Swamy & benediction

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