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| Sekkizhar | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sekkizhar |
| Birth date | c. 12th century |
| Birth place | Chola Empire |
| Occupation | Poet, Sivite scholar |
| Notable works | Periyapuranam |
| Tradition | Shaivism |
Sekkizhar Sekkizhar was a 12th-century Tamil poet and hagiographer associated with the Chola court who composed the Periyapuranam, a seminal Saivite hagiography. He served under King Rajaraja Chola II and worked within the cultural milieux of Chola dynasty, Thanjavur courtly patronage and temple networks centered on Brihadeeswarar Temple and Chidambaram Temple. His life and work intersect with contemporaneous figures such as Nambi Andar Nambi, Appar, Sambandar and the devotional movements linked to Shaivism and the Bhakti tradition.
Sekkizhar was born into a learned family in the Chola lands around Thanjavur during the reign of Kulothunga Chola II and Rajaraja Chola II. Trained in Tamil and Sanskrit philology, he was versed in temple rituals at centers like Brihadeeswarar Temple and Darasuram and acquainted with Saiva institutions such as the Tiruvarur and Chidambaram Temple complexes. His patrons included members of the Chola administration and religious elites linked to figures like Nambi Andar Nambi and the custodians of the Shaiva Agamas. Courtly connections brought him into contact with royal projects associated with Rajaraja I and the Chola monumental tradition.
Sekkizhar composed the Periyapuranam as his magnum opus, and earlier verses and panegyrics addressed Chola rulers, temple founders, and Saiva saints. His poetic technique drew on Tamil literary conventions from the Sangam literature corpus, and he integrated epigraphic names and topography familiar from inscriptions of the Chola dynasty and administrative records of Tanjore District. Influences include earlier hagiographers and commentators associated with names like Nambi Andar Nambi, Ilango Adigal, and scholastic traditions centered at Kanchipuram and Madurai. His oeuvre reflects interaction with other devotional currents present in the subcontinent, including references resonant with the literary worlds of Appar, Sambandar and Manikkavacakar.
The Periyapuranam (also known as Thiruttondar Puranam) is a twelve-chapter hagiographic compendium narrating the lives of sixty-three Tamil Saiva saints, the Nayanmars, situating them in geographic and historical contexts such as Tirunelveli, Kanchipuram, Madurai, and Tiruchchirappalli. Commissioned by Rajaraja Chola II, the Periyapuranam synthesizes oral traditions, temple inscriptions, and earlier works associated with Nambi Andar Nambi and the Saiva canon compiled in the Tirumurai. It organizes episodes that engage figures like Sambandar, Appar, Sundarar, and lesser-known bhakti poets, framing miracle narratives, temple building stories connected to Brihadeeswarar Temple and ritual acts performed at shrines such as Chidambaram Temple and Tiruvarur. The composition influenced liturgical repertoires at temple sites and became part of the canonical Tirumurai corpus alongside works attributed to Manikkavacakar and other medieval Saiva poets.
Sekkizhar's Periyapuranam reshaped Saiva devotional identity across Tamil country and influenced temple rituality at centers like Brihadeeswarar Temple, Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram, and shrines in Kumbakonam and Tirunelveli. Its narratives entered performance traditions such as koothu and bharatanatyam repertoire and informed epigraphic commemorations found in Chola and later Chola successor inscriptions. The work contributed to the consolidation of the Tirumurai canon, aligning with institutional actors like the custodians of Tiruvarur and the networks of Shaiva monastics linked to Kanchipuram and Madurai centers. Later religious reformers and poets including Kandar Anubhuti interpreters and medieval commentators drew on Periyapuranam episodes to legitimize temple patronage by rulers such as Rajaraja Chola II and later dynasties.
Sekkizhar's Periyapuranam achieved canonical status and was celebrated by later Tamil literati, royal patrons, and temple authorities across successive polities including the later Chola successors, the Pandya dynasty, and regional courts in Madurai and Tondaimandalam. Manuscripts and palm-leaf copies circulated among Shaiva monasteries and were referenced in inscriptions and liturgical handbooks preserved at sites like Thanjavur and Chidambaram Temple. The poet is commemorated in temple murals, inscriptional mentions, and annual recitations that involve participants from communities associated with Tirunelveli, Kanchipuram, and Kumbakonam. Scholarly engagement with his work continues in studies of medieval Tamil literature, epigraphy, and temple history, linking Sekkizhar to the broader literary and religious matrices of the medieval Indian subcontinent.
Category:12th-century poets Category:Tamil poets Category:Shaivism