Kevalaodhi Buddhist And Jaina History Of Deccan Vol 2

Author(s): Aloka Parasher Sen, B Subrahmanyam, E Siva Nagi Reddy
Publisher: Bharatiya Kala Prakashan

Page 110

312
Kevala-Bodhi--Buddhist and Jaina History of the Deccan
As we have seen the troubled state of affairs in the society (both in the material and emotional terms) was an important feature for bhakti to triumph, leading it to adopt a bias towards the common man. In short the emotional bhakti alone could not satisfy the common man and hence his material needs were addressed to the personal god. The general character of the hymns show the longing for a personal relationship with god and a sense of disgust in relation to this world". There were not only many things that the common man could not reach out to because of his lowly position that is indicated in his sense of despair. In this position there was no way except that of surrendering to the God, and God always gave refuge to anyone, as Sambandar says in his padigam that even the Jainas and the Buddhists would get refuge of they submit to Siva. David Shulman has expounded this same view in his analysis of the Asura myths wherein the asura too can get salvation if he submits to Siva. Such is the place of grace in the concept of bhakti. In fact the word 'bhakti' which is a Tamil rendering of the word patti sometimes is used to signify love (kātal), but in the works of the Nāyanmārs we find the use of the word aru! (grace) figures prominently.
This grace leads to salvation and demands single-minded devotion or loyalty from the devotee, which will see the devotee through in all circumstances. There is also a warning that god would not help the insincere . Siva is also addressed to as Aruļāļan or the bestower of grace and this is also seen in temples in the iconographic representation of Siva in the Andhaka Samhāramūrti form. Cakkiya Näyanār was a Buddhist saint but when he accepted Siva's faith he got salvation. Another aspect of bhakti is the ambiguity of terms that leads to several connotations as we saw in the examples of kåtal and Aru!. Similar are the groups to whom the messages were intended for.
The hymns of the saints speak of different types of temples Iļanköyil, Perunkoyil as well as different types of festivities in the temples. It is only in the big temples that music and dance formed part of the daily rituals indicating a favorable economic position. But here also some other problems arise, the whole of the Tamil country was not united and there were problems of diverse gods and goddesses, there was also the problem of a stratified society with different value systems and ideals and thus rose the problem of reconciling all these diverse interests. Further, the folk traditions and festivals were strongly rooted and could not be wiped out. The incorporation of Murukan in the Saiva pantheon as the son of Śiva and Pārvati was one of the major advances of the Saiva religion. Murukan was the earthly god of war and love and could fit completely in the temple milieu and not remain as transcendental gods but remain deeply rooted in this world. This was more of an imposition of a local cult rather than an upgradation of it due to brāhmanisation. The Tēvāram has many references to Murakan and Valli and their marriage. They have also mentioned about his peacock and cock flag References eulogizing his twelve eyes, i.e., six faces and about his katampa garlands and Murukan's victory over Curāpadma are dwelt at in length in a heroic genre. Sambandar mentions that Murukan was very popular among the ladies of the hilly region (kuriñji) and who used to sing songs and worship him. This is a significant feature of early Tamil worship, which continues even till today. The worship of Murukan is described in more detail than that of any other God.
Vināyaka (Gaņēša) is also mentioned but only in some verses". The mother Goddess Uma is mentioned at many places. We also find many temples that are built for the mother goddesses in this period like the Selliyamman Koil, Pidāri koyil etc. An inscription points out that there was a serious outbreak of smallpox (Māri Jvaram) in 808 AD which led to the migration from a particular village The prevalence of these diseases and the popular belief in Tamilnadu of appeasing Amman was prevalent