Compilation Sundarar

tirumurai

raja raja chola (985-1013 ce) embarked on mission recover hymns after hearing short excerpts of tevaram in court. sought of nambi andar nambi, priest in temple. believed divine intervention nambi found presence of scripts, in form of cadijam leaves half eaten white ants in chamber inside second precinct in thillai nataraja temple, chidambaram. brahmanas (dikshitars) in temple supposed have disagreed king saying works divine, rajaraja said have prevailed. rajaraja became known tirumurai kanda cholan meaning 1 saved tirumurai. far shiva temples had images of god forms, after advent of rajaraja, images of nayanar saints placed inside temple. nambi arranged hymns of 3 saint poets campantar, appar , sundarar first 7 books, manickavasagar s tirukovayar , tiruvacakam 8th book, 28 hymns of 9 other saints 9th book, tirumandiram of tirumular 10th book, 40 hymns 12 other poets 10th book, tirutotanar tiruvanthathi - sacred anthathi of labours of 63 nayanar saints , added own hymns 11th book. first 7 books later called tevaram, , whole saiva canon, added, 12th book, sekkizhar s periya puranam (1135 ce) wholly known tirumurai, holy book. saiva literature covers 600 years of religious, philosophical , literary development.

the earlier pallava dantivarman , kampavarman inscription informs singing of tirumurai in temples sounding of udukkai(small drum) , talam(cymbals).

in 1921, english translation of sundarar s hymns done francis kingsbury , ge phillips, both of united theological college, bangalore (edited fred goodwill) , published in book hymns of tamil Śaivite saints, oxford university press.