HEGEMONY of RELIGIOUS TEXTS and DEVELOPMENT of TAMIL RITUAL SYSTEM CALLEDTHAMIḺ ARCCAṈAI Prof

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HEGEMONY OF RELIGIOUS TEXTS AND DEVELOPMENT OF TAMIL RITUAL SYSTEM CALLEDTHAMIḺ ARCCAṈAI Prof. Dr. Vasu Renganathan University of Pennsylvania, USA

Abstract divine/spiritual possession,conflicted with the later development of a Hindu ritual system Priesthood and the use of religious texts instigated by Vedic concepts of a North Indian in South Indian temples have undergone source. immense politicisation on various stages, and the evolution of related hegemonic traits Introduction into particular ritual systems has been fully dependent upon the dialogue produced by Rituals, priesthood and liturgical texts this politicisation process. As a result of this are integral elements of religion, and have textual phenomenon, the Sanskrit and Tamil played a vital role in shaping the Hindu way priesthoods emerged as two heterogeneous of life since the Vedic period.‘Priesthood communities that under went representation was the important carrier of intellectualism, and ‘re-presentation with enormous challenges particularly wherever scriptures existed, and by engaging in a discourse of Subject versus it would make it necessary for the priesthood subject. Representations of Tamil priests to become a literary guild engaged in originated mainly from Tamil nationalists, interpreting the scriptures and teaching their through re-presentations of Tamil bhakti content, meaning and proper application’ texts, whereas their Sanskrit counterparts, (Weber 1992, p. 118).Religious texts with which had been patronised heavily in the diverse forms, such as poems composed in past by both the British colonisers and India’s praise of God, liturgical texts, bhakti songs kings,used hegemonic ritual texts – written expressing poet saints’ devotion to God and in Tamil grantha script, but in the Sanskrit philosophical writings on a set of unique language – as the primary source of ritual themes from monism, dualism, meypporuḷ,the process in South Indian temples. The main ‘doctrine of denotation’, Śaiva Siddāntā,the objective of this work is to study the discourse definitive knowledge of Lord Śivaand other of Tamil nationalism and its development, related theological doctrines, not only shaped focusing on the hegemony of religious texts a strong community affiliation with divinities, of the past and how this shaped the current but also created diverse belief systems among ritual system in the temples of Tamil Nadu. religious practitioners, especially in the South In particular, an attempt is made to show Indian religious landscape. This system of how indigenous methods of worship from the religious edifices should be differentiated from ancient Tamil era,featuring predominantly earlier conceptions of a Sangam landscape, bodily performance, folk songs and the art of predominantly modelled on poems of war, love

7 and nature, didactic poems and to a lesser It can thus be said that Tamil nationalist extent religious poems on Tamil folk deities. sentimentarose from adesire to defend against the growing tendency to choose one As priesthood and methods of using text over another. What had emerged as religious texts in South Indian temples have Dravidianism turned into Tamil nationalism undergone immense politicisation on various with a focus on the hegemony of the Tamil stages, the evolution of any related hegemonic language, Tamil literature and subsequent trait into a particular ritual system has been religious developments based particularly on fully dependent on the dialogue produced by texts from the beginning of the Christian era. this politicisation process throughout history. The aim of this work is to show how Tamil A nationalist consciousness surfaced with literary and religious developments, more than the main objective of reconstituting the past the charisma of the poet saints or any other based on both religious and non-religious related group,were instrumental in forming Sangam literary texts – a process similar to a discourse of Tamilism, Tamil nationalism, that described by Uma Chakravartias follows: Tamilhood and Tamil bhakti – popularly known ‘perceptions of the past are constantly as Tamilar madham (‘the Tamil religion’) – being constituted and reconstituted anew’ relative to their Sanskrit counterparts. (Chakravarti 1990, p. 26). As a result of this exclusive textual phenomenon, In Michel Foucault’s (1983) terminology, the the two predominant linguistic groups, power relations between the two contesting Sanskrit and Tamil,were polarised, producing sects created a discourse designed to exert heterogeneous priesthood communities that power over the underprivileged class in the underwent representation, ‘re-presentation’ context of the religious mode of representation. and politicisation and overcame challenges by ‘Hegemony denotes a transformation from engaging themselves in a discourse of what within, both the subject and of its environment. Gayathri Spivak terms a ‘S/subject dichotomy’ Moreover, it implies a change in the critical (Spivak, 1988, p. 280).Representations of perspective of the theorist, who is solicited Tamil priests arose from Tamil nationalists’ re- to look at political emancipation from the presentation of the relevance of Tamil bhakti point of view of the most subordinated’ texts, whereas their Sanskrit counterparts (Urbinati 1998, p. 370).The Tamil mode of were represented by the hegemonic texts of religious representation is assumed to be in a Āgama scriptures, mainly transcribed in Tamil subordinate position,relatively powerless, with grantha script, but composed in the Sanskrit the celebrated Tamil nationalist movement language, which have the greatest scriptural solely responsible for deriving a discourse that authority and form the basis of ritual systems generated a sense of Tamil hegemony. It is in almost all major South Indian temples necessary to determine whether this discourse (see Spivak 1988, p. 70on the senses of should be acknowledged as a prevailing ‘representation’ and ‘re-presentation’ in the feature of the Tamils, to be attributed to – in context of Deleuze’s arguments). a Gramscian sense – the hegemonic groups in society. The notion of Tamil nationalism emerged largely through a combinationof the hegemony The efforts of the British to understand and of Tamil religious texts of the past with the interpret the Vedas and the Upanishads were transformative effect of the formation of a new largely circumstantial, based on the belief ritual system through Tamil religious poems. that such texts represented authentic local

8 knowledge and thus needed to be incorporated according to Thurston (1975),were non- into the colonial process of constructing a Brahman priests recruited largely from the state. ‘A version of history was gradually Veḷḷāḷa and Paḷḷicastes; they were Śaivites, established in which the Brahmans were vegetarian and celibate. Despite their self- shown to have the same intentions as (thus perceived religious intellectual standing, providing the legitimation for) the codifying as noted by Weber, they were constantly British’ (Spivak 1988, p.255). But neither the engaged in contest with their Sanskrit bhakti tradition nor the localised cult practices super ordinates. In some cases, they were of the Tamils became part of this process of obliged to follow certain restrictions on their colonial production. Subsequently, the spiritual devotional practices to ensure that the scope and devotional engagement of the Śaiva of these practices did not exceed that of and Vaiṣṇava Tamil traditions, developing Sanskrit rituals and customs. For example, mostly from 7 to 9 AD, along with traditions some temples, especially Śiva temples, as belonging to the early Christian era in the in Chidambaram, had an ongoing custom form of cult practices,had very little impact on that permitted only Sanskrit priests to begin the process of knowledge production by the rituals, while Tamil priests had only the right British, especially compared with the impact of to end them (cf. Ishmatsu 1994, p. 21). Sanskrit Āgamic texts. Along with the British, the Pallava and Cōḻākings sought to patronise Tradition of Chanting Śaiva Hymns in Śiva the paṭṭars, Brahman priests, offering them Temples of South India and Evidence from power and scriptural authority. This is Stone Inscriptions apparent from many Tamil stone inscriptions. One such inscription records the Pallava king The chanting of Śaiva Tirumuṟai hymns Peruñciṅka’s establishment of an estate called in temples as part of rituals is attested MūvāyiraVaḷākam, ‘3,000Regions’,around the to in many inscriptions from the Pallava Naṭarājā temple of Chidambaram, and his period onwards,confirming that a dialogue designation of the temple as under the sole between the two contesting methods of ownership of its Brahman priests (paṭṭars)1. religious practice had occurred historically. This inscription may be of particular interest Although this tradition was in place from to those seeking to understand how the the composition of the Śaiva hymns by the legendary tradition of MūvāyiraDīkṣitarkaḷ, 63Nāyanmārsuntil recent times, references in ‘3,000Diksidars’,came to belong to the inscriptions to the establishment of permanent Chidambaram Naṭarājā temple. grants by both the Pallava and the Cōḻā kings indicate that the Tamils’ method of In parallel with the Sanskrit tradition, ritualisation with a community of hymnists those who mastered Tamil religious texts involved the use of Tamil texts as well as and approached God mainly through praise poet saints’ expression of their devotion to poems composed in Tamil were variously God. An inscription made on behalf of Raja called otuvārs (those who chant Tamil hymns), Rajendra Cōḻā, for instance, records the king’s paṇḍārams (Tamil priests)and pūcāris (priests order to assign a daily allowance of paddy to of the Tamil clan gods). They also positioned each of 48 persons (piṭārarkaḷ) involved in themselves as the carriers of religious reciting the Tiruppadiyam (Śaiva hymns of the 63 intellectualism in South India, but with less Nāyanmārs) in the Śiva temple of Thanjavur, emphasis than their Sanskrit counter partson along with the two persons providing a drum their recognition and authority. Paṇḍārams, accompaniment.

9 …rājarāja tēvarkku yāṇṭu irupattoṉpatāvatu viṇṇappañceyvittu annelluppeṟavum varai uṭaiyār rājarājīsvarasrī uṭaiyārkkut avvavarkku aṭutta muṟai kaṭavārinṟiyoḻiyil anta tiruppatiyam viṇṇappañceyya uṭaiyār niyāyattāre yogyarāyiruppāraittiruppatiyam rārājatēvar kuṭutta iṭārarkaḷ nāṟpatteṇmarum ‘Viṇṇappañceyya iṭṭu iṭṭa avaṉe avvavar ivarkaḷilē nilaiyāy uṭukkai vācippāṉ oruvaṉum peṟumpaṭi nellup peṟavum āka ippaṭi uṭaiyār ivarkaḷilē koṭṭimattaḷam vācippāṉ oruvaṉum srīrājarājatēvar tiruvāymoḻintaruḷiṉapaṭi kallil āka aimpatiṉmarukkuppērāl nicatam nellu veṭṭiyatu. (ibid.) mukkuṟuṇi… (SII2 No. 65). Among these, aside from those who King Rajaraja Devar’s order in his are dead and those who have left the 29th regnal year is hereby to perform town, subsequent generations of people the Tiruppatiyam to Rajarajiisvarasri who chant Tamil Śaivā hymns should be Udaiyar. All of the 48 men [piṭārarkaḷ] offered the aforementioned amount of who perform the Tiruppatiyam, as well paddy. In the case of a lack of subsequent as the one who plays the hand drum generations capable of chanting Tamil Śaivā and the one who plays the stick drum, hymns], the people incharge should appoint totalling 50 people,must be offered those who are able to chant hymns and three quarters of the paddy. offer them the same amount of paddy. This is the writing made on stone by the order It is unclear whether the performance of of Udaiyar Sri Raja RajaTevar. Tiruppatiyam viṇṇappañceytal, ‘chanting of the hymns’, by a group of people called piṭārarkaḷ The determined efforts of India’s medie was the main event of the temple worship or valkings to promote the use of Tamil religious supplementary to the principal form of ritual texts can be taken as evidence of the carried out in Sanskrit. Yet the subsequent perceived authenticity of Tamil religious poems lines in this inscription record the donor’s as part of the Tamils’ religious life. However, as command that this custom be perpetuated mentioned elsewhere, the kings consistently down the generations, with donations issued patronised both traditions, Sanskrit and to all who engaged in the process; in the Tamil,and hence became responsible for the case of a lack of hymnists, according to the continued coexistence of the two competing inscription, the heir of the tradition should be ritual practices from the medieval period forced (āḷiṭṭutTiruppatiyamviṇṇappañceyvittu) to onwards. This is further substantiated by a continue. If the lineage were to end, it would reference in an inscription made at the order of be the utmost responsibility of those who the same king,Rajarajatevar, on the north wall managed (niyāyattāre) the ritual process to of the Tiruppundurutti temple Tanjore Taluk. find an appropriate hymnist(yogyarāyiruppār) This inscription, part of a very long Meykkīrtti, to maintain the tradition and dispense the ‘praise of God’, mentions the prosperity of the donations accordingly. two main religious groups, Tamil and Sanskrit, along with those from diverse other regions, Ivarkaḷil cettārkkum aṉātēcam such as the Kuccarar, Āriyar, Kōcalar, Koṅkaṇar, pōṉārkkuntalaimāṟu avvavarkku aṭutta Vaccirar, Kāciyar, Cōṉakar and Vantiyar. muṟai kaṭavār annelluppeṟṟut tiruppatiyam viṇṇappañceyyavum avvavarkku aṭutta Nāl vētat tarumaṟaiyo raivveḻvi muṟai kaṭavār tāntām yogyarī allātu viṭil yāṟaṅkamuṭaṉ ciṟappa varuntamiḻu māriyamu yogyarāyiruppārai āḷiṭṭut tiruppatiyam maṟu camaiyat taṟa neṟiyun tiruntu maṉuṉeṟiyun

10 tiṟampātu taḻaittōṅkak kuccararumāriyarum close connection with Tamil religious texts; b) kōcalaruṅ koṅkaṇarum vacciraruṅ kāciyaru to define the positions of political and non- māttararu....rumaṉaruñ cōṉaka vantiyaru political agents during the colonial and post mutalāya virunila māmuṭi vēnta riṟaiñci niṉṟu colonial periods to characterise the priesthood tiṟaikāṭṭavum. (SII5. No. 459: 4). and their intellectual involvement with the application of liturgical texts; and finally c) to Let the four Vēdas prosper, with all five hypothesise as to how the descendants of the types of fire ritual (Vēḷvi) in order; [let] the once religiously popular Tamil bhakti saints, precious Tamil along with Āryam and other namely the ōtuvārs, paṇḍārams and pūcāris,took religious doctrines such as Manu’s prosper up a ‘subaltern’ position that made their without fail. The kings of the Kuccarars, religious intellectualism less conspicuous than Āriyars, Kōcalars, Koṅkaṇars, Vaccirars, that of their Sanskrit Āgamic counterparts. Kāciyars, Cōṉakars and Vantiyars, who belong to two regions, should also achieve Mutual Responsibilities of Brahman Priests great prosperity and richness. and Clans (kuṭi) of the Sangam Period

It can be inferred from this inscription that The hegemonic position of Sanskrit and the religious rituals of diverse doctrines were the Brahmanic tradition can be traced back treated equally during the medieval period, to the Sangam period, when the legacy of with no contest over their relative domination the Tamil textual tradition prevailed over its or power. Therefore, conflict between the Sanskrit counterpart. Sanskrit doctrines and diverse belief systems must have arisenat the involvement of Brahman priests during the a later period, especially during the post- Sangam period were restricted exclusively to medieval and colonial periods. the performance of rituals and Vēdic rites on special occasions. This is evident from Sangam What is explored here, therefore, has poems, in which many references can be more to do with how the Tamil nationalist found to the participation of Brahman priests, movement (as developed by the members with such expressions as antaṇararumaṟaip of the Dravidian group during the colonial poruḷ,‘Brahman’s sacred doctrines’ (Kalitokai and post-colonial periods) and the hegemony 127);antaṇaraṟaṉ,‘Brahman’s virtue’ (Paripāṭal of Tamil religious nationalism (as developed 5);antaṇarvēḷvi,‘Brahman’s sacrificial fire’ from the medieval period onwards by a group (Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai 2); and so on. Similar of charismatic saint figures from the Śaiva references to Sanskrit tradition and the and Vaiṣṇava sects) countered the Sanskrit significance of its role in preserving linguistic tradition developing concurrently with a similar information can be found in the Tolkappiyam. scope and momentum and using mainly the One of the sutras in the Tolkappiyam states that Sanskrit versions of Āgamic scriptures. The the details of articulated sound and its quantity Sanskrit Āgamas proposed a system of worship are clearly discussed in the scriptures of the of Śiva in temples that closely followed the brāhmaṇās – takatteḻuvaḷiyicaiaril tapaṉātiaḷapiṟkōṭ rules established in the Kriyāgramadyotikā by alantaṇ armaṟaittē(Tolkāppiyam. Eḻuttatikāram. Agoraśiva, Kāmikāgama, Rauravāgama and 102-3). Meenakshi (2007) addresses the others (cf. Ishimatsu 1994). Therefore, this relationship between the Tamil and Sanskrit study has the three main following purposes: a) grammatical traditions, especially in terms to study closely the devotional practices of the of the assimilation of Sanskrit grammatical Sanskrit and Tamil traditions in relation to their knowledge into Tamil grammar. Based

11 on a number of references to traditional Aryanism and Dravidianism: Discourse on Sanskrit grammar as adapted in many Tamil Contest for Religious Hegemony grammatical manuals, she notes that almost all of the Tamil grammarians ‘appear to have Under enormous pressure from components been well-versed in Sanskrit as well’(ibid., of the Tamil nationalist movement, such as p. 155). It is important to note that during the Justice Party and the Dravidian parties, the Sangam period, the Sanskrit and Tamil the state’s intervention in religious matters traditions did not enter a process of textual became inevitable in both the colonial and contestation, nor was either dominant over the the post colonial period. The politicisation other. Instead, the priestly duties and other of religion was constituted by a discourse forms of involvement of Brahmans during the that involved both domination by elites and Sangam period were treated akin to the duties a struggle for power by the oppressed. The of any other clans (kuṭi), who were known to late 19th and early 20th centuries created an have been assigned to perform specific tasks appropriate environment for the development of their own. This is evident from references of both anti-caste sentiment and revivalist to the duties (toḻil) of these clans in many and nativist sentiment, which took the form Sangam poems – vēntutoḻil, ‘duties of a king’ of a politically dominating ‘self-respect’ (Puṟanāṉūṟu 285);aṟutoḻilantaṇar, ‘duties of movement in 1920 (Irschick 1986, p. 3).The virtue of Brahmans’ (Puṟanāṉūṟu 368); and purpose of this movement was to create an so on. It is also apparent from the following imagined Tamil community tracing back to an poem from the Nālaṭiyār, one of the didactic era popularly known as the Sangam period, works of the Sangam period, that these clans dated between ca 3 BC and 4 AD. This period were under a categorical obligation to carry saw limited Sanskrit involvement with the out their duties (kuṭipiṟappāḷar). Tamils, with the exception of the performance of rituals of fire (commonly known as vēḷvi) Uṭukkaiulaṟiuṭampaḻintakkaṇṇum for kings by Brāhman priests, whom Sangam kuṭippiṟappāḷartamkoḷkaiyilkuṉṟār texts described variously as aṟavōr, ‘righteous iṭukkaṇtalaivantakkaṇṇumarimā people’; ācāṉ, ‘teachers’; antaṇar, ‘Brahmans’; koṭippulkaṟikkumōmaṟṟu. (Nālaṭiyār 141) andpārppāṉ, ‘Brahmaṇa’.5

Even if they lose their clothes from their bodies, The most notable aspect of textual the clans must never fail to fulfil their duties. production in the Sangam period is that most Despite the dreadful nature of hunger, indigenous and unique classical Tamil literature lions never consume grass. on a number of distinctive topics, such as love, warfare and ethics, evolved without Clearly,the originally mutual and peaceful much consideration of religion. The Tamils’ relationship between the Tamil and Sanskrit indigenous thought processes appear to have traditions transformed into a much-debated divided human life into aham (internal, of the relationship of conflict from the medieval heart, relating to love) and puṟam (external, period onwards, especially after parallel social, political), and landscape into another religious texts by the Nāyaṉmārs and the five major types. Several similar mindsets was Āḻvārs emerged in Tamil to become carriers of advanced through the much-revered Tamil religious intellectualism alongside the Sanskrit literature of the Sangam period. In sum, these Vēdas. original and conceptually native traditions played an influential role in determining the

12 nature of the imagined Tamil community, and hymns in temples, using such terms as also suggested a position for contestation for Tirumuṟaipāṭutal and Tiruppadiyamceytal, the Tamil nationalists, largely to claim their ‘singing the Tirumuṟai’. Therefore, a authority. From the 18th century onwards,the ‘voice’ continued to be raised in favour of aspiration to achieve a native Tamil ideology this shadowed culture, which was mostly affected the way in which the Tamil hegemony understood through poet saints’ experience, took its new shape, and also constructed a bodily performances and spiritual possession. discourse based on the interaction of the However, control of the HR&CE Department two contending agents, namely Aryans and was later taken over by the rival party All Dravidians, throughout history.6 India Anna DMK, whose sympathy for the Tamil version of ritual performance did not Discourse on the two concurrent ritual stretch to a willingness to engage in conflict patterns based on these two distinct textual on its behalf. Understandably, the changes traditions generated many bipartite positions subsequently made to temples and temple on the subjects of authority, power, dominance worship reflected sentiments more in favour and dignity; in most cases, the underlying of Brahman priests and their Āgamic mode impetus was to safe guard the rights of of worship than of Thamiḻarccanai. In each tradition–both religious and cultural. addition, Āgamic schools were established In particular, many types of literature and by the government to train priests inĀgamic scripture from both traditions were used to scholarship, so their roles in the temples create a dialogue that played a significant role were further cemented. Interestingly, in the contest for domination. In response, however, although these schools were the British, with inputs from the Justice Party, restricted to Brahmans, both Āgamic Sanskrit formed the Hindu Religious Endowment texts and Tamil religious texts were included Committee in 1926, constituted by a number of in the schools’ curriculums. Notably, Āgamic governing bodies, whose primary function was Sanskrit texts were taught to Brahman to control the priest community in temples. scholars by Brahman priests and Tamil texts Consequently, the government was able to by non-Brahman paṇḍārams(Fuller 2003, p. reform temple culture, including its most 95). Importantly, these schools had begun acclaimed step of allowing the untouchable to challenge ‘priestly competence’, which Harijansand low-caste Nāḍārsto enter temples according to Husken, was put into question (Fuller 2003, p. 3). at the end of the 19th century and publicly discussed throughout the 20th century (cf. In 1951, this committee was reformulated Husken 2013, p. 77). as the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department. One of the Therefore, conflict between the major innovations resulting from this change hegemonies of Sanskrit and Tamil can was the implementation of a new method be understood at both a linguistic and of worship known asThamiḻarccanai,‘Tamil a religious level. At the linguistic level, worship’, which involved the chanting of members of the Tamil nationalist and Tamil religious poems from the medieval revival movements subscribed to the use period, alongside Sanskrit mantras. As of ‘pure Tamil words’ and avoided the mentioned elsewhere, accounts of Tamil use of borrowed words from Sanskrit; worship were very similar to the medieval and at the religious level, they promoted kings’ descriptions of the chanting of Tamil the practice of Thamiḻarccanaialongside of

13 Sanskrit-based rituals. This dual mode of 1975, pp. 45-46, cited in Stein, 1978, p. 32). knowledge production with in the Tamil and The 63 Śaiva Nāyanmārs who lived during Sanskrit societies led to the formulation of two the medieval period between the 5th and10th hegemonic contenders, each using religious centuries AD were primarily responsible for texts as their primary source of contention. formulating a new monotheistic ritual basis for Tamil religious nationalism. Mandelbaum Bhakti, Rituals and Divine Possession (1966, p. 1174)links the Brahmanic and domestic ritual patterns identified by Stein Despite the domination of a single elite with transcendental’ and ‘pragmatic’ functions, group, Tamil society had always been pluralistic respectively. Among the crucial characteristics in its practice of religion and culture. Burton of ritual’s pragmatic function, as noted by Stein, for instance, notes three levels of ritual Mandelbaum, are ‘being possessed’ and affiliation observed in Tamil Nadu over time.7 ‘speaking through the deity’.The unique The first level of religious activity comprised features of divine possession in Tamil religious domestic rituals pertaining to clan and place tradition can be traced back to the Sangam tutelaries, usually led by the non-Brahman period, especially via the unique Tamil pujāris, also known aspaṇḍārams; the second expression cāmiāṭi,‘god dancer’. In parallel, the level involved pilgrims worshipping Śivāor poet saints of the medieval period expressed Viṣṇu, led by Brahman priests and strictly a relatively similar spiritual experience in line following Āgamic practices; and the third level with their obsessive engagement with God was dominated by guru networks culminating through textual encounters, which is termed in any of the premier temple centres in South āṭkoṇḍār (‘one who took over the body’) India. The domestic rituals at the first level can in Tamil poems. Nammāḻvār,one of the 12 be linked with two distinct textual patterns: Vaiṣṇava saints,primarily composed verses one performed by pujāris,who chanted folk expressing the most fervent and sincere love versions of Tamil poems ascribed to the for Viṣṇu. He was the first to use the Tamil clan gods Vēlaṉ, Aiyaṉār, Māriyammaṉ and termāṭkoṇḍār, describing a state of mind MaduraiVīraṉ; and the other performed by constituted by complete subjection to the paṇḍārams and ōtuvārs,who mostly chanted divine,to express his love for the Lord. His Tamil religious poems chosen from the works of 1,102 verses (Tiruvāymoḻi,9 meaning ‘utterance the 63Nāyanmars. The former predominantly of the holy/sacred’), composed somewhere involved bodily performances on the part of the between 880 and 930 AD (Ramanujan 1981, p. devotee, such as frenzied dancing, fire walking xi), are, like the other saints’ works, believed and tongue piercing, which generally occurred to have been uttered by Viṣṇu through the in a state of trance with accompanying folk poet. ‘Anyone who engulfs in his poems can songs and the passionate playing of drums. immediately realise why the poems are at The latter type of worship, however, was once philosophic and poetic, direct in feeling extremely formal, as Tamil literary poems were yet intricate in design, single-minded yet sung to the accompaniment of melodious and various in mood’ (Ramanujan 1981, p. xi). coordinated music, fervently heightening the The name āḻvār (lit. ‘immersed ones’) links Tamil religious mood. the Lord’s joyful sleep in an ocean of milk with the saints’ profound enjoyment of the Lord’s The liturgical texts used for worship by love; so does the term bhakti, a blissful state paṇḍāramswere commonly chosen from the experienced by the saints in which the mind scriptures of medieval Śaivā saints (Thurston, is totally filled with the love of the Lord. A.

14 K. Ramanujan interprets this state of mind as body. The human body, according to Mauss, that of saints ‘taken over’ by the love of God should not be viewed simply as the passive (Ramanujan 1981, p. 83). recipient of ‘cultural imprints’, but regarded as a developable means of achieving a range Notably, the ‘indigenous’ attribute of of human objectives, from styles of physical possession by God,āṭkoṇḍār, which was unique movement through modes of emotional being to the Tamil ritual mode, legitimised the to kinds of spiritual experience (e.g., mystical argument for the development of a separate states such as ‘possession’ and ‘takeover’).The method of worship in the Tamil language,using inability to enter into communion with God specifically Tamil religious texts and folk songs; is a function of untaught bodies, according that is, approaching God through the Tamil to Mauss (quoted in Asad 1993, p. 76). The textual traditions of bhakti and music, rather than concept of possession, a fundamental notion of through the Sanskrit method of integrating the Tamil bhakti and the associated folk tradition, Āgamic texts with the varna form of worship. is comparable to the idea of ‘communion with Strikingly, Mandelbaum (1970, p. 412) who God’, tapping the divine potential of the human describes the practice of possession as a body. The idea of ‘God’ in the context of shaman’s calling, observes that ‘being possessed ‘possession’ may also be linked with the world had no hereditary features. Nor was this practice of ‘spirits’, normally termed āvi in Tamil. Tamils attributed to any specific caste group; instead,it tend to comprehend the act of possession as was regarded as analogous to Dravidians, the capture of human body by spirits, using their clans and subsequently the folk beliefs the unique expressions āvipiḍiccirukku and surrounding them. Therefore, the assumption cāmipiḍiccirukku, meaning ‘the spirit/deity that the varṇa system, as Dumont (1980, p. 73) detained (the body)’. This phenomenon is claims, provided a universal model for worship addressed from the perspective of Tamils’ throughout India is questionable, especially if indigenous ritual practice from ancient times such a model had any implications for Hinduism to the present. in a religious sense. In addition, on the grounds that caste has no bearing on ‘communion Music, Ōtuvār Tradition and Search for with God’, it is reasonable to assume that the Method of Indigenous Worship system of caste division was associated only with profession, not religion. This is supported Āḻvār texts have been passed on from by Sangam texts that categorised people generation to generation with an emphasis exclusively using the term kuṭi. on music (icai) and mime (avinayam) rather than poetry (Ramanujan, 1981, p. 135). The tuṭiyaṉpāṇaṉ paṟaiyaṉ kaṭampaṉeṉṟu Tiruvāymoḻi and similar Tamil religious texts are innāṉkallatukuṭiyumillai. regularlysung in temples by ōtuvārs. It is often ….. (Puṟam. 335). believed that their style of singing with rhythm and melody is more appealing than a simple warrior, singer, drummer and carpenter rendering of the texts, and better conveys the are the best among all the divisions of texts’ spirit than their meaning. The idea of people [kuṭi]. antāti,10 denoted by a Sanskrit term describing a return from the end to the beginning, and ‘Communion’ with God, as Mauss(1979) regularly found in Āḻvār poems, facilitates notes in his work on ‘body techniques’, recitation with an aesthetic appeal. represents the divine potential of the human

15 Another relevant point to be drawn from Indeed, Ramaswamy (1992) states that this Ramanujan’s work on Tamil hymns is his revivalism had its origin in 1920,in the then account of shifts’ that took place during Tamil revivalist movement called neo-Saivism, the bhakti period. He argues that the whose proponents in turn believed that the compositions of both the Vaiṣṇavā (Āḻvārs) practice of using Tamil rather than Sanskrit and the Śaivā(Nāyanmārs) during the bhakti for divine worship started during the Pallava period caused shifts ‘from hearing to speaking; (ca 6th to 9th centuriesAD) and Cōḻā (ca 9th watching to dancing; a passive to an active to 11th centuriesAD) dynasties. mode; a religion and a poetry of the esoteric few to a religion and a poetry of anyone Therefore, the two legitimate groups who can speak…. From the sacrificial-fire contending for religious hegemony, domination rituals (yajñā or hōma) to worship,pūjā’.¹ In and power were associated with the following addition, the ritual methods of ‘singing of traditions, respectively: the practice of the Lord’, dancing and pūjāhave continued Thamiḻarccanairituals as performed by to date in temples and other sacred places paṇḍārams and others by chanting songs from in Tamil Nadu, keeping these changes alive; the Tamil bhakti texts of Tēvāram, Tiruvācakam similarly,ĀṇṭālTiruppāvai rituals continue to be and Tirumantiram; and the Sanskrit rituals performed with an abundance of mysticism performed by Brahmin priests, otherwise and devotional commitment. known asāryappaṭṭarkaḷ and strictly following the rules of the Āgamascriptures. However, Whereas Āgamic manuals became the it is evident from Fuller’s account of these basis for all of the rituals conducted by two competing traditions in Tamil Nadu that Brahman priests, the Śaiva textual canon,the the practice of Thamiḻarccanaihad never Tēvāram, and the Vaiṣṇavā textual canon,the been successfully implemented in temples Prabhandams, became the basis for the in Tamil Nadu, and that the Brahman priests traditions of paṇdārams and otuvārs, respectively. continued to conduct their worship in Sanskrit, According to Davis (1991), the Brahman priests disregarding the efforts of the government led who perform these rituals claim that they have by the Dravidian political party (Fuller 2003, understood the Sanskrit Āgamas either directly p. 116). from the Āgamic texts – composed either in Sanskrit or in Tamil Grantha script – or from a A popular form of resistance to the long tradition of gurus(Davis, 1991; Ishimatsu, proposal for a mode of worship in the Tamil 1994). The same is true of the co-existing language came from Dakshinamoorthy Tamil tradition: saints’ devotional experience Bhattar, a Brahman priest who challenged the was originally rendered inbhakti poems, and government’s orders on the groundsthat the later transmitted orally from generation to efficacy of ritual depended on the particular generation by paṇṭārams and ōtuvārs. sounds of Sanskrit, and that there would be a ‘disaster’ if he ‘dared to perform the arccanai in Therefore, the output of the medieval Tamil’ (Presler 1987, p.117; see also Harrison saint poets was delivered by paṇdārams with 1960, p.130). The focushereseems not to be a shift from composition to recitation, without the relative authority and power of Sanskrit affecting the texts original transcendent spirit. and Tamil priests, but solely the hegemony This transformation became the foundation for of the respective languages and scriptures. the development of a new method of worship Accordingly, the hegemony of the literary called Thamiḻarccanai, as noted elsewhere. genres of both the bhakti tradition of the Tamils

16 and the corresponding Āgamic tradition of the Pandits and Shastris [traditional specialists in proponents of the Sanskrit language continued the sacred texts, almost invariably Brahmans] to develop throughout history in terms of their were assigned to share responsibility for religious engagement within society. judgments by signing the final document’ (Derrett, 1961-2; cited in Rudolph and Rudolph Colonial and Post-Colonial Modes of 1967, p. 282). Knowledge Production The colonial method of knowledge The Brahmanic religious tradition probably production through the Brahmanic approach took precedence over the Tamil bhakti tradition obviously closed the door to the customs, in part because the British chose Brahmans habits and cultures of the local bhakti tradition and their scriptures, such as Arthasastra, as of the Tamils for almost two centuries, at local agents in their formation of the colonial least until the evolution of the neo-Saivite Indian state. Eugene F. Irschick notes that movements formulated by Śaiva saints such as this behaviour was part of astrategy forest Ramalinga Aṭikaḷ and Maraimalai Aṭikaḷin the ablishing a hold on local regions and gaining second half of the 19th century. Therefore, political legitimacy;accordingly, the British the impetus for the post-colonial mode of attempted to re-establish and repair religious knowledge production emerged with the centres such as temples in local areas. He propagation of Dravidian and Tamil nationalism further highlights an attack by the Kaḷḷars by the neo-Saivites, followed by the Justice (a non-Brahmin caste group) on the British and Dravidian political parties. armed forces after Colonel Heron took images from the Kaḷḷartemple inKōvilkuṭiin 1755 Implicit versus Explicit Agents in Contest (Irschick1994, p. 20). Irschickgoes on to over Hegemony say that the Britishgave Brahmans the sole jurisdiction over handling images in temples. From the point of view of the Tamils, the This clearly suggests that the British implicitly explicit agents in the conflict over the idea of an authorised the Brahmans to perform their indigenous mode of knowledge representation religious duties, and this authority seems were the intelligibility of the ritual text and to have remained in place to date. Lloyd L. intimacy with God in one’s own language. Rudolph and Susanne HoeberRudolph (1967) From the perspective of the Sanskrittradition, also confirm that the British completely these agents were the sacredness of the ignored local customs and habits, instead sounds of Sanskrit and the authenticity of the dependingheavily on Brahman pandit stomake Agamic scriptures. The implicit agent in the final decisions (Rudolph and Rudolph 1967, conflict was the safeguarding of the indigenous pp. 279-93). ‘The English began with the Tamil bhakti tradition, which is claimed here clear intention of applying, for most purposes, to have lost its voice due to the domination Indian law to Indians. Governor General of Sanskrit practices. ‘Social scientists would Hastings in 1772 had ordered that ‘in all suits say that it was precisely these kinds of village regarding marriage, inheritance, and caste and temple contestations that had formed and other religious usages and institutions the basis of the previous system – no single [succession was added in 1781] the laws of group could dispense with any other group. the Koran with respect to Mohammedans, and In this structure, consensus and balance were those of Shaster [sacred law texts] with respect realised through conflict; everyone knew to the Hindus shall be invariably adhered to that there were others who would enter the

17 contest’ (Irschisk 1986, p. 23). Brahmans or by building 1,000 temples (verse 1860) (see Appadurai 1981 and Dirks 1987). The origins of this conflict between the Throughout this chapter, Tirumūlar reiterates indigenous Tamil system and the Brahmanic his claim that the ritual practices of Śaiva system of ritual practice can be traced back devotees and Śiva bhakti are far superior to to the medieval period, especially between the ritual practices of hōma (vēḷvi)performed by the 6th and 10th centuries AD. Evidence can the Brahmans. This clearly indicates that the be found in the songs of Tirumūlar, a Tamil conflict over religious hegemony between the Saivite who founded the yogic ritual system Brahmanic and non-Brahmanic traditions had of worship in a text entitled Tirumantiram, begun as earlyasTirumūlar’s compositions,in ‘sacred mantras’, in the 6th century AD. the medieval period. This conflict continues Among the much acclaimed practices of Śiva to date, as discussed earlier in reference to bhakti, according to the Tirumantiram,was the neo-Saivite and Dravidian movements (see the exercise of devotion to Śiva by revering Ramaswami 1992, p. 138). Śaiva saints (non-Brahman saints), who were popularly known for their dedicated and Cōḻā Temple Architecture and Evolution of untiring performance of worship to Śiva. Many Indigenous South Indian Temple Culture legends tell us how the practices of Śiva bhakti in the Pre-Colonial Period were carried out by kings and elite groups simply through the respectful treatment of and South Indian historiography has always admiration for Śaiva saints. Tirumūlar devotes defined a power relationship between temples a separate section entitled Mahēṣvara’, ‘Pūjāto and the imperial kingdom. Nicholas Dirks and the great Lord’,to the significance of Śivabhakti Arjun Appadurai discuss the autonomy and and them portance of admiring Śaiva saints. sovereignty of temples in the context of pre- According to Tirumūlar, making offerings to colonial India (see Appadurai 1981 and Dirks God in temples has no potential, but making 1987). Dirks notes that the most significant offerings to Śiva bhakti is much like offering characteristic of temple culture in pre-colonial to the divine directly (verse 1857) (Velupillai India is that sovereignty is essentially procured 1995). The chapter goes on to say that when in temples, where the deity is the paradigmatic a Śiva bhakta consumes the food offered sovereign. However, this sovereignty was by a devotee, the pleasure he receives is re-created in colonial and post-colonial India indistinguishable from that received by any through the establishment, as mentioned other agent in the three worlds (verse 1858) earlier, of endowment bodies such as the (Renganathan 2014) (see Appadurai 1981 Hindu Religious Endowment (later the HR&CE and Dirks 1987).This idea is very similar to Department). As explained by Franklin Presler, the custom of annadānā (offering food to the bureaucracy began to play a major role in poor) performed during the ritual of homa in determining power. This section shows that Vedic culture. In the latter case, however, unlike the role of bureaucratic context, the offerings are made only to Brahmans; no earlier mode of procuring sovereignty for a others, according to custom, are entitled to deity protected the indigenous characteristics receive it. of texts.

However, Tirumūlarclaims that the value The polarisation of Sanskrit and Tamil of an offering to one Śiva bhaktacannot by rituals and priesthood can be extended further, matched–either by making offerings to 1,000 to the consummation of images in temples in

18 pre-colonial South India. The Liṅgā and the Chidambaram, which is believed to have a dancing form of Śiva representdistinct patterns much longer history than any other Śaiva of worship in Śiva temples, originating in the temples of the Cōḻā period. This temple Sanskrit and Tamil traditions, respectively. It is exhibits an unusual way of representating claimed in this section that this polarisation of Śiva: in a dancing posture, in contrast with images and their co-existence in Śiva temples the usual Liṅga form. The Brahadiswar of South India evolved as a consequence of temple in Thanjavur, constructed between ca Sanskritisation. Turning from the few rock-cut 995 AD and 1010 AD by Rajaraja I,offers a examples of the Pallava dynasty (600 AD to representative example of Cōḻāarchitecture. 800 AD) (Barrett 1974, p. 16) to the structural Here, the Liṅga is the main deity, and the temples of the Cōḻā kings (from 866 AD to subshrines are housed in individual mandapas, 1280 AD) (Balasubramaniam 1979; Barrett, such as the dancing image of Śiva, which 1974, p. 17), these images show an enormous is housed in the northeast corner of the scope and are extraordinarily complex. One courtyard (Pichard1995, p. 101). The Sanskrit of the notable features of Dravidian temples is term ‘Naṭarājā’, meaning ‘King of Dancers’, the development of outlying elements such as is frequently referred toin the inscriptions circumambulatory paths and manḍapās (halls). carved on the walls of the temple by the Tamil term aḍavallān, meaning ‘one who is capable After the Pallavas initiated their enterprise of dancing’. This conception of Śiva in His of building stone-cut temples, forms of worship dancing form is unique to the South Indian and the perception of God in the Dravida architecture of Śiva temples.14 This distinctive region under wentradical transformation with representation of Śiva is well attested to in the changes in dynasties, kings and patrons. As Tamil hymns of the Tirumantiram composed patrons indifferent periods made changes and by Tirumūlar, but nowhere in this work does additions to existing temples, the temples’ Tirumūlardiscuss the worship of Liṅgā. This symbolic vocabularies became ever more gives sufficient reason to believe that Tamil complex.12 Tamil hymnists and kings played a hymnists developed the relevant conceptions significant part in shaping temple architecture and their symbols, and the Tamil kings gave a and image worship during the Cōḻākingdom, form to them. Therefore, the intentions of the which lasted from approximately the 10th to kings of the medieval period should be kept in the 13th centuries AD.13 mind when discussing the development of a dialogue over contesting hegemonies. Despite some minor differences in their depictions of Hindu mythology, gods and Rūpāand ArūpāForms of Worship in the sculptures, the Hindu temples of the Cōḻāperiod Naṭarājā Temple of Chidambaram: A generally manifest the decorative veneers Subject for Tamil Nationalism of gopurās (gateways), manḍapās (halls), prakarās (circumambulatory paths) and The dancing image of Śiva is a perceivable tanks. The divine space extending from the ‘form’, known asrūpā in Sanskrit.15 This image garbagraha to the urban space through the housed in Cit-Sabhā is, as observed by Smith gateways is attributed the symbolic meaning (1996, p. 82), the heart of the world and of a Temple town’ by George Michell (Michell the heart of the individual self –cit means 1993, p. 13). ‘consciousness’ and sabhā¹ means ‘hall’ (thus ‘hall of consciousness’). To the right of One exception is the Nataraja temple of Naṭarājā is an empty space called rahasyā.

19 This space designates the formless nature latter reference can be taken to indicate that of Śiva, and is referencedby the Sanskrit an understanding of the dancing form of Śiva term arūpā, the opposite of rūpā. The arūpā existed prior to its materialisation in temples. form of Śiva is also called ākāśā, indicating However, the earliest attested statues of that ‘space’ is the other manifestation of the dancing Śiva are found in Śiva temples, Śiva in Chidambaram (see Smith 1993, p.62; mostly in the niches of temple walls in the Smith 1996, p. 83). The ritual of worshipping Chalukya period (ca 6th to 8th centuries AD), ‘space’ developed a new architectural the Pallava period21 (ca 6th to 8th centuries AD) vocabulary: that ofChidambararahasyā(‘Secret and the Cōḻāperiod(ca 9th to 12th centuries of Chidambaram’). AD).22 A Kanchipuram Kailāsanāta temple built during the Pallava dynasty also exhibits The third form of worship is Liṅgā, which icons of the dancing Śiva, but in the pose of neither conforms to any conceivable object16 ūrdhva-tāṇḍava,23 ‘fierce dance’ (ca 700-728 nor represents formlessness. Liṅgā, then, AD), which is believed to have a North Indian is a form without a conceivable form, and origin. The well-known Chidambaram dance can thus be understood as rūpa-arūpa,‘form ānandatāṇḍava, ‘dance of bliss’, is discussed and formless’. Substantialevidence of the in detail in the Tamil hymns of the Śaiva former two types of worship of Śiva in saints. With the progression from the Pallava Chidambaram,rūpa and arūpa respectively, can dynasty to the Cōḻā dynasty, many new forms be drawn from the Tirumantiram. In many of developed in and around the temple complex, his verses,Tirumūlaremphasises that the Lord resulting in the evolution of complex symbolic emerges in Chidambaram as aform (uru), as vocabularies commensurate with the radically formless (aru) and in all-pervading divine changing rites of patronage and personal form (Para Rūpam)17. As shown below, textual devotion.24 evidence of the manifestation of Lord Śiva in these distinct forms in Chidambaram can Based on textual and inscriptional evidence, also be found in the works of the much later Kaimal (1999) and Zvelebil(1998) observe Śaiva hymnists Appar, Māṇikkavācakar and that for the later Cōḻās,images of the dancing Cuntarar,who are generally assumed to have Śiva with a tiger, a skull, a drum, snakes, lived between the 8th and 9th centuriesAD.18 fire and Apasmara, the demon of ignorance, became emblems of victory over rivals. The Image of Dancing Śiva and Origin of use of the image of dancing Śiva as a symbol Emblem of Victory of Tamil Kings for victory by the patron Cōḻā kings may explain the practice – popular from around There is evidence that the image of dancing the 9th century AD to the 10th century AD– of Śiva gained currency in southern India even attributing to this image the status of the main earlier than the 8th century AD, during the deity in the Naṭarāja temple of Chidambaram. Sangam period, which fell between ca the Coomaraswamy’s summary of the essential 3rd century BC and the 5th century AD.19 significance of the image of the dancing Śiva One Sangam epic,Silappathikaram, composed and Kaimal’s account of this image as an object inapproximately the 5th century AD, makes of victory offer evidence of the development reference to the dancing form of Śiva in the of a new practice. context of Śiva's celebration of the destruction of demons.20 Although no mention is made In Māṇikkavācakar (ca 9th century AD), we in this work of the city of Chidambaram, the find an explicit reference to the idea of the

20 Chidambararahaśyam of the Chidambaram of Tamilisation of Aryanbeliefs in the medium Naṭarāja:‘aṟiyānēyāvar kkumambaravā of Tamil, especially to avoid the use of the ambalattemperiyōn’(‘My majesty! No one unfamiliarand incomprehensible Sanskrit knows your Formless Form in Ambalam – language. However, the immense effort made Chidambaram’, Tiruvācakam, Māṇikkavācakar, to use Tamil religious texts featuring the Aryan verse 22) (Veluppillai 1993, p. 99).Other uses ideologies of Śivā and Viṣṇu to assimilate the of this vocabulary of formlessness (arūpa) can foreign with the native were still futile in the be found inTirumular’sTirumantiram.25 One is context of the rituals of South Indian temples. quoted below. Therefore, the conceptualisation of Śiva in Uruvinṟiyēninṟuuruvampuṇarkkum His concrete ‘blissful dancing form’ instead of the karuvanṟiyēninṟutānkaruvākum abstract form of Liṅga constitutes yet another aruvinṟiyēninṟamāyappirānaik indigenous idea that emerged exclusively from karuvinṟiyāvarkkumkūṭaoṇṇātē. (2840:6) the south, and the hymns that designate them confirm the existence of a unique mode of Form, there is none; He befits all of the forms. worship that, as discussed earlier, is nothing Cosmic Egg, there is none; He prevails all. other than bhakti and was later attributed to the Him, the elusive Lord without a Form, indigenous worship method of Thamiḻarccanai, Impossible for anyone to reach, principally determined by such processes without His quintessence – the karu. as Tirumuṟaipāṭutal and Tiruppatiyamceytal, praising God using the hymns of the celebrated As this verse occurs in a chapter of the Tamil poets. Presumably, this suggests that Tirumantiramentitled ‘Corūpautayam’, ‘Genesis the object of worship as well as liturgical texts of the magnificent form’ (verses 2835 to from the bhakti hymns are unique to Tamil, 2846), it is reasonable to assume that the and that they constitute and authenticate conceptualisation of Śiva in the form of indigenous religious culture – a topic of Chidambararahaśya was in practice from the enquiry for research on Tamil nationalism time of the inception of this temple between and support for the religious customs of the the 7th and 9th centuries AD – a period Tamils, who attempt to perceive or approach attributed to the Tamil saints Appar, Sundarar God through their native experience of divine/ and Sambandar.Although the dates of these spiritual possession by chanting Tamil religious texts are debatable, it cannot be denied that poems, particularly with music. the patterns of belief reflected in images of Śiva had a definite impact on the architecture Concluding Remarks of Śiva temples – mainly in the way in which the image of dancing Śiva,sabhās and the The influence of the Sanskrit language on Ether are manifested and conceived in parallel the Tamil tradition and the very frequent use with the textual manifestations and their of Āgamic rituals in South Indian temples subsequent architectural representations. It made the legacy of the medieval bhakti may not be an overstatement to conclude that poets and their poems ineffectual in temple the Tamil poet saints conceptualised Śiva’s new worship. Not only priests but also religious forms in their texts and the kings materialised scriptures and their hegemony were brought them in their architectural construction. The into focus in Tamil nationalist sentiment. new forms developed by the medieval Tamil Soliciting support from superordinates became poet saints undoubtedly reflect the process inevitable for the contending DMK, resulting

21 in a gradual transformation of extreme Tamil religious tradition had gained power, it superordinate-subordinate relations between is still in a thoroughly thriving position. the communities into more equal ones (see Rudolph and Rudolph 1967, p. 79).As a result Primary Sources of the weakening of direct conflict with super ordinates, Tamil nationalist efforts began to NālāyiratTivyapPrapantam with commentary concentrate on the distinguishing features of by Dr. S. Jagathratchagan and English the textual traditions of the past, rather than translation by Sri Rama Bharathi, 3rd edition defending their position exclusively based on Chennai: āḻvārkaḷāyvumaiyam, 2002 ritual methods in temples. Pattuppāṭṭumūlamumuraiyum. Edited by Therefore, the failure of attempts to Po. Vē. Cōmacuntaraṉār. SISSWPS: Tinnevelly, popularise Tamil hymns in temple rituals 1966. under the name of Thamiḻarccanai, as Fuller notes, indicates the continued dominance Puṟanāṉūṟu., with AuvvaiDuraisamip of the colonial and pre-colonial processes of Pillai’s commentary, Tirunelveli Saiva Sanskritisation over the Tamilisation efforts SiddantaNūṟpatippukkaḻakam: Tirunelveli, made by poet saints. In other words, the Madurai and Coimbatore, 1972. weakening of anti-Āgamic rituals reflects not only the failure of Tamil nationalism, but also South Indian Inscriptions, vol. II to VIII and the continued subalternity of Tamil priests. XII, Archaeological Survey of India: Madras, Therefore, the weakened hegemony of Tamil 1916. religious intellectualism can be inferredfromthe status of medieval Tamil religious texts and Tirukkōvaiyār, MūlamumUraiyum, with a from the folk customs of the ancient past. modern commentary by Muttappan, Pala. As already stated, one reason for this state (Uraiyāciriyar). UmāPatippakam:Ceṉṉai, 2006. of affairs was the enormous attention paid by the state to developing Āgamic schools to Tirumūlar.Tirumantiram.Translated and with educate more Sanskrit priests inĀgamic texts, notes by B. Naṭarājan.Madras: Sri Ramakrishna without any parallel effort to educate Tamil Math, 1991. priests in Tamil religious texts to exercise Thamiḻarccanaiand promote the traditional TolkāppiyamPoruḷatikāramwith Iḷampūraṇar’s methods of worship, dominated by types of commentary. Edited by Ti. Ve. Kopalaiyar and bodily performance such as divine/spiritual Na. Aranamuruval, Tamil Man Patippakam: ‘possession’. Therefore, although from Chennai, 2003. Foucault’s standpoint, adiscourse was produced by Tamil nationalists(the subordinates), a TolkāppiyamEḻuttatikāramwith Iḷampūraṇar’s Tamil hegemony did not evolve due to the commentary. Edited by Ti. Ve. Kopalaiyar and continued dominance of superordinates. The Na. Aranamuruval, Tamil Man Patippakam: emergence of Tamil nationalist sentiment, but Chennai, 2003. not Sanskrit nationalism, positioned Tamil as subordinate and Sanskrit as superordinate. Secondary Sources Subsequently, the formation of a new method of worship called Thamiḻarccanaiin conflict with Aiyer, S. 1932. South Indian inscriptions, Vol. Sanskrit rituals suggests that although the 7. Calcutta: Central Publication Branch.

22 Aiyer, S.1937. South Indian inscriptions, Vol. Davis, H. R. 1991. Ritual in an oscillating 8. New Delhi: Manager of Publications. universe: worshipping Śiva in medieval India. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Appadurai, A.1981.Worship and conflict under colonial rule: a South Indian case.Cambridge: Derrett. J. D. M.1961-2. The administration Cambridge University Press. of Hindu law by the British. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 4,24. Asad, T.1993.Genealogies of religion. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press. Dirks, N. 1987.The hollow crown: ethnohistory of an Indian kingdom.Cambridge (UK): Balasubramaniyam, S. R. 1971. Early Cambridge University Press. Cōḻātemples: Parantaka I to Rajaraja I (A.D. 907 – 985).New Delhi: Orient Longman. Dumont,L. 1980. Homo hierarchicus. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Balasubramaniyam, S. R. 1975. Middle Cōḻātemples: Rajaraja I to Kulottunga I (A.D. Fergusson, J. 1899. History of Indian and 985 – 1070).Faridabad: Thomson Press. Eastern architecture, Vol. 1. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company Publishers. Balasubramaniyam, S. R. 1979. Later Cōḻātemples: Kulottunga I to Rajendra III (A.D. Foucault, M.1983. The subject and power. 1070 – 1280). Faridabad: Thomson Press. In H. Dreyfus and P. Rabinow,Michel Foucault: beyond structuralism and hermeneutics (2nd Balasubramaniyam, S. R. 1995. The oldest edition). Chicago: The University of Chicago Chidambaram inscriptions.Journal ofAnnamalai Press,pp. 208-226. University, 12(1944), 55-91. Fuller, C. J. 2003. The renewal of the Barrett, D. Early Cōḻā architecture and priesthood: modernity and traditionalism in sculpture (866 – 1014AD). London: Faber a SouthIndian temple.Princeton: Princeton andFaber Limited. University Press.

Carman, J. B., and Narayanan, V. (1989). Harrison, S. 1960. India: the most The Tamil Veda: Piḷḷan’sinterpretation of the dangerous decades.Princeton: Princeton Tiruvāymoḻi. Chicago: University of Chicago UniversityPress. Press. Hultzsch, E. (ed. and trans.). 1891. Chakravarti, U. 1990. Whatever South-Indian inscriptions: Tamil inscriptions happened to the Vedic Dasi? Orientalism, of Rajaraja,Rajendra-Cōḻā, and others nationalism, and a script for the past. In in the Rajarajesvara temple at Thanjavur. K. Sangari and S. Vaid (ed.). Recasting Calcutta:Government Press. women: essays in Indian colonial history. New Brunswick: RutgersUniversity Press. Husken, U. 2013. Contested ritual mediation: Brahmin temple priests in South Coomaraswamy, A. K. 1970.The dance of Shiva India. In K.Lundby (ed.),Religion across media. (1918). In M. Manoharlal (ed.),The dance of Shiva: New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.,pp. fourteen Indian essays(2nd edition), pp. 83-95. 71-86.

23 Ishimatsu, G. 1994. Ritual texts, authority, Peterson, I. 1989. Poems to Śiva: the hymns of and practice in contemporary Śivatemples in the Tamil saints. Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Tamil Nadu.Unpublished thesis. University of Press. California, Berkeley. Presler, F. 1987. Religion under bureaucracy: Inden, R. et al. 2000. Querying the medieval. policy and administration for Hindu temples New York: Oxford University Press. in South India. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press. Irschick, E. F. 1986. Tamil revivalism in the 1930s. Madras: Crea-A. Price, P. 1996. Revolution and rank in Tamil nationalism.The Journal of Asian Studies,55(2), Irschick, E. F..1994. Dialogue and history: 359-583. constructing South India, 1795 – 1895.Berkeley: University of California Press. Ramanujan, A. K. 1981. Hymns for the drowning: poems for Viṣṇu by Nammāḻvār. Kaimal, P. 1999. Shiva Naṭarāja: shifting Princeton: Princeton University Press. meanings of an icon. Art Bulletin, 81(3), 390- 419. Ramaswamy, S. 1992. Passions of the tongue: language devotion in Tamil India,1891-1970. Kramrisch, S. 1944. The superstructure of Berkeley: University of California Press. the Hindu temple.Journal of the IndianSociety of Oriental Art,12, 175-207. Renganathan, V. 2008. Rūpā, Arūpa and Rūpa-Arūpa: the three forms of Śiva worship Mandelbaum, D. G. 1966. Transcendental at the Naṭarājā’stemple of Chidambaram, and pragmatic aspects of religion. American South India and their impact on the temple Anthropologist, 68,1174-91. architecture. InS. Agesthialingom, V.S. Arulraj, S. Chitraputran and A. Karthikeyan (ed.), Prof. Mauss, M. 1979. Body techniques. InM. S. V.Shanmugam’s 75th Birthday Celebration Mauss, Sociology and psychology: essays (ed. Volume.Annamalai Nagar:Annamalai University and trans. B. Brewster).London: Routledge Press, 566-596. and Kegan Paul. Renganathan, V.2014.Being Meenakshi, K. 2007. Relationship Kṛṣṇā’sGōpi:songs of Anṭāḷ, ritual practices between Sanskrit and Tamil grammars. InS. and the power relations between God and Kumar(ed.),Sanskrit and other Indian languages. devotee in the contemporary Tamil Nadu. New Delhi:D. K.Printworld(P) Ltd. InForum for World Literature Studies, 6(4), 649-674.Available: http://www.fwls.org[Last Meister, W. M. 1986. On the development accessed on August 24, 2017] of a morphology for a symbolic architecture: India.Res, Anthropology and Aesthetics, 12, Rudolph,L. I. and Rudolph, S. H. 1967. The 33-50. modernity of tradition: political development in India. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Michell, G. 1977. The Hindu temple: an introduction to its meaning and forms. Chicago: Smith, D. 1993. Chidambaram.In G. Michell The University of Chicago Press. (ed.), Temple towns of Tamil Nadu. Bombay:

24 Marg Publications. umperālee ḻutakkaṭ avarkaḷ ākavumippa ṭikkutirumā ḷikaiyilekalv eṭṭikkoḷḷ akkaṭav Smith, D. 1996. The dance of Śiva: religion, arkaḷā kavumka ṭavatākavumco ṉṉom. ‘The art and poetry in South India. Cambridge: proceeds of these lands and other related Cambridge University Press, 1996. properties in the town are hereby offered to the paṭṭars of the god TillaiNāyakam of Spivak, G. 1988. Can the subaltern speak?In Caruppedimangalam, and this is exclusively C. Nelson and L. Grossberg (ed.),Marxism and presented under the auspicious name of the interpretation of culture.Chicago: University TillaiMuvāyiraviḷākam. The right is hereby of Chicago Press. granted to document this fact in stone inscriptions’ (SII.8.43.6). See also SII.7.7 Stein, B.(ed.). 1978.South Indian temples: for donations offered in conjunction with an analytical reconsideration.New Delhi: Vikas. duties assigned to priests in theŚiva temple at Tirukkovilur, Krishnagiri Taluk, Selam Shulman, D. D. 1980. Tamil temple myths: district. sacrifice and divine marriage in the South Indian Śaiva tradition. Princeton: Princeton University 2. An account of the traditions of ōtuvārs Press. and paṇḍārams can be found in Stein (1978), Breckenridge (1978) and Thurston (1975). Thurston, E. 1975. Castes and tribes of Southern India, Vol. 1 (1909).Delhi: Cosmo. 3. Tirumuṟaiotuta ṟkuriyakōyilma ṇṭapattukkuvi ṭṭanivantam…. ‘Offerings made to temples to Trawick, M. 1988. Spirits and voices in Tamil chant Tirumuṟai hymns…’ (SII.12.231). songs. American Ethnologist,15(2), 193-215. 4. See Ramaswamy (1997, pp. 24-29) for Urbinati, N. 1998.From the periphery a discussion of the emergence of neo-Śaivism of modernity: Antonio Gramsci’s theory and its impact on colonial narratives. of subordination and hegemony. Political Theory,26(3), 370-391. 5. Cf. māmutupārppāṉ maṟaivaḻ ikāṭṭiṭa…, ‘with aged Brahman pointing to the Veluppillai, N. 1995. Source and commentary, path of the Vētas…’ (Silappatikaram 50); PanniruTirumuṟaikaḷ– Tirumantiram(2nd and ‘aṟampuriarumaṟ ainaviṉṟanāviltiṟ edition). Chennai: Tamil Nilayam. ampurikoḷkaiantaṇīr’,‘vocally talented are the Brahmans who engage in the virtue and chant Weber, Max. 1992.The sociology of religion. the celebrated Vētas’(Aiṅkuṟunūṟu 387). Boston: Beacon Press. 6. Ramaswamy (1997, pp. 68-78) constructs Zvelebil, V. K. 1998. ĀṉantaTāṇṭāvā of Śiva a bipartite division between Dravidianism and –SadāntaMūrtti.Chennai: Institute of Asian Hinduism, and argues, following Harrison Studies. (1960, p. 127), that this division led to the notions that Tamils were not Hindus and that 1. Iṉ nilattukkuvanta ṉ aūrileeṟṟiiṟ Hindus were mainly Aryans. ukkavumiṉ nilaṅka ḷoḻuku mmaṭakkumpiṟakkumiṭ attutillainā yakaccarup petimaṅ kalattukṣ asyaṉ 7. Stein (1978, p. 28) bases his descriptions apaṭṭarkaḷ periltillai muvāyiraviḷ ākameṉṉ on Buchanan’s report of 1800.

25 8. Periyapuranam, composed by Sekkilar, in 13. See Balasubrmaniyan (1971, 1975, 1100 AD, provides biographical sketches of all 1979) for the chronology of Cōḻā kings and 64 Tamil Śaiva saints. The most notable are their efforts to build and renovate temples. Tirumūlar, Māṇikkavāsakar, Appar, Cuntarar and Campantar. The three Śaiva canons, 14. One of the references to Naṭarājā as Tirumantiram by Tirumūlar, Tiruvāsakam Āḍavallān in the inscriptions is as follows: by Māṇikkavāsakar and Tēvāram by Appar, ‘taṭṭamoṉṟu Āḍavallāṉeṉṉuṅ kallālniṉṟēnāṟ Cuntarar and Campatar, along with a later patiṉkaḷañceykāl...’. ‘On the 14th day 13th-century work by Meykkaṇḍār, constitute of the 26th year [of his reign], the lord the basis of the Tamil Śaiva Siddāndā tradition ŚriRājaRājaDēvā gave one sacred diadem as developed during the medieval period. (tiruppaṭṭam) of gold, weighing 499 kaḷañcu by the stone called (after) Āḍavallān’ (Hultzsch 9. The term tiru means ‘sacred’ or ‘divine’. 1891, p. 3). This prefix is commonly applied in Tamil to names of places with historical relevance 15. See Renganathan (2008) for a detailed due either to visits from renowned saints or account of the three forms of worship of Lord to the places’ special mention in religious Śiva in the city of Chidambaram. literature; names of popular religious works; names of people with divine qualities, etc. 16. Although the form of Liṅga has been The Śaivā saints celebrate 274 holy places interpreted in various ways, we confine and the Vaiṣṇavās celebrate 108 places, such ourselves to its concrete form, which cannot as Vaikuṇḍam, ‘Heaven’. Terrestrial places be compared with any perceivable object. are usually called pāṭalpeṟṟapatikaṅkaḷ or pāṭalpeṟṟastalaṅgaḷ, ‘places that have received 17. Tirumantiram (2790, p. 69, ninth tantra). a mention in poems’. ‘For Rishis Patanjali and Vyagrapada 10. All of the Tiruvāymoli poems are sung In the splendid Temple of Chidambaram such that the last word of each poem becomes He danced as a Form, a Formless and a the first word of the next, creating a garland Cosmic Form, of poems to offer to the Lord. With the Divine Grace of Sakti He danced, He, the Citta, the Ananda; gracefully 11. See Renganathan (2014) for a detailed stood and danced’ (unless otherwise noted, account of the Tamil rituals performed translations of Tamil hymns in this work are exclusively based on the Vaiṣṇavā text of the rendered by the author based on consultation ĀṇṭālTiruppāvai. with Smith 1996, Peterson 1989 and Shulman 1980). 12. ‘None of the present structures in the Naṭarājā’s temple complex can be dated before 18. See Zvelebil (1998) for the dates and the later Cōḻā period (1070-1279 AD). The works of the Śaiva hymnists. accession of Kulōttuṅka I to the Cōḻā throne in 1070 AD seems to have given a new impetus 19. By the 3rd century BC, three of the that led to the reconstruction of previous four great dynasties (mūvēntars) were already and erection of new structures in the ancient known. However, the Pallava dynasty was not temple site’ (Mevissen 2002, p. 61). mentioned in the Sangam literature, and the Cōḻā dynasty emerged in full strength only from 866 AD to 1014 AD (Barrett 1974, pp. NambiyāṇṭārNambi, Cēkkiḻār, Appar and 16-17). Campantar. See also Tirumantiram.

20. The Tamil epic Cilappatikaram, composed About the Author: in about 450 AD, refers to Śiva’s dance to celebrate his destruction of the three cities of Dr. Vasu Renganathan has been teaching demons (Cilappatikaram, 6.4.44-5). Tamil language and literature at the University of Pennsylvania, USA since 1996. He earned 21. Fergusson (1899, p. 326), calls the his Masters from the University of Washington, stone-cut temples of Māmallapuram ‘raths’, Seattle and Ph.D. in medieval Tamil language and and states that they are the oldest examples literature from the University of Pennsylvania. of their class known. He also has another Ph.D. in linguistics from the Annamalai University, India. 22. See Kaimal (1999) for a discussion and examples of the image of dancing Śiva in the Dr. Renganathan began his teaching career Chalukya and Pallava dynasties and early Cōla in 1989 and previously taught at the University temples. of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the University of Washington, Seattle. In addition to teaching, 23. Kaimal’s illustrations from Badami he has also worked on various curriculum temples show Śiva with multiple hands and in and instructional material development a fierce mood (Kaimal 1999, p. 395). Similar projects. Vasu also served as the Chairman gestures are given in pre-Aryan sources to of the International Forum For Informational Rudra-Śiva, whose occurrences can be traced Technology In Tamil (INFITT) and currently back to the Indus Valley and Harappa culture. serving as one of the Executive Committee ‘Rudra appears primarily as a fear-inspiring members of the South Asian Language deity whose shafts of lightning slay men and Teachers Association (SALTA). Vasu is also in cattle’ (Rigveda 1.114.10) (Yocum 1982, p. 16). the International Advisory Board member for However, no dancing form was attributed to the Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Śiva at this time. Teaching, (e-FLT), Singapore.

24. Meister’s argument for a complex His research interests include: History and evolving symbolic vocabulary of temple of Tamil language and literature, History architecture reflecting characteristics of of the Tamil Religious developments from the changing dynasties (Meister 1986, pp. medieval period, Language of Sangam Tamil 33-50) is substantiated by evidence from literature and Tamil inscriptions, Teaching Cōḻā architecture; the rūpa-arūpa method of and learning of Tamil language and Impact of worship is one example. Technology in the pedagogical methods. Some of his Publications include: Tamil Language 25. See Zvelebil (1998, pp. 40-43) for the in Context: A comprehensive approach to dates between the 7th and 11th centuries learning Tamil and An English Dictionary of AD of important references to both the Tamil Verb (Associate Editor). dancing Śiva and the Citambaram site by poet saints such asMaṇikkavācakar, Tirumūlar, t