________________
XXXVIII] Māņikka-vāchakar and Saiva Siddhānta 157 says that Siva is the supreme Being, is neither permanently manifested nor unmanifested; He is without qualities or distinguishing marks, free from all impurities, absolute and eternal, the source of wisdom to innumerable souls, and not subject to any fluctuations. He is immaterial and of the nature of pure bliss. He is difficult of access to the perverse, but He is the final goal of those that truly worship Him. Siva is thus described to be nişkala, without parts, perfect in Himself, but is capable of manifestation, and in order to energise in souls the various constituents of that eternal aggregate of impurity which constitutes the bond, He assumes a sakala nature, that is, one composed of pieces of spiritual bodies. He is formless and has the form of wisdom. He creates, preserves, and consigns all to the power of māyā, but He is the ultimate refuge who never leaves us. He dwells everywhere and pervades all things as fire pervades all wood. He offers His boon only to those who approach Him for it.
Turning to the groups of animate beings called pašu, it is suggested that from beginningless time an infinite number of souls must have obtained their release. Generally there are three kinds of impurities - darkness, deeds (karma) and delusion. When delusion is removed, darkness may still continue. The souls can perceive objects through sense organs only when their functions are supplemented by some innate divine faculty. All beings are infested with original impurities. The threefold impurities which constitute the bond are directly known by Siva.
Para-siva or the supreme Lord and Parā-śakti are two in one. Siva is pure intelligence (jñāna) and Sakti is pure energy (kriyā). Out of their union, evolves (1) icchā-sakti, which is a combination of jñāna and kriyā in equal proportion; (2) kriyā-sakti which is a combination of jñāna and kriyā with an excess of kriyā; and (3) jñana-sakti, which is a combination of jñāna and kriyā with an excess of jñāna, also called arul-Śakti. The arul-sakti is the jñānaśakti active at the time of the liberation of the souls, while as tirodhāna-Śakti it is active at the time when the souls are fettered.
To sum up the position of the Saiva Siddhānta as far as we can understand it from authoritative translations of Tamil works, and also authoritative studies of Tamil literature like Pope and Schomerus, we find that the souls which pervade the body are themselves inanimate, and the intellectual apparatus by which
