Santhana Kuravars

The Kuravars may mean Gurus. Those who were cause of spreading the Shaiva Sidhanta were called as Shaiva Gurus (Kuravars). The Shaiva philosophy was given to the world by Santhana Kuravars. It is believed that this philosophy was given by Lord Shiva himself in his Dakshinamurty form. The Santhana Kuravars were classified in 2 categories, namely –

1) Agama Santhana Kuravars – They were 4 and they were not considered as normal human beings and are believed to be residing in Mount Kailash. They are as follows

a.       Thiru (Shri) Nandidev

b.       Shri Sanatakumara

c.       Satya-gyana-darshi

d.       Sage Paranjyoti

It is believed that the Guru-Shishya parampara started from Dakshinamurty and passed on in the order stated above.

2) Pura Santhana Kuravars – The job of spreading Shaiva Sidhanta was carried forward from Sage Paranjyoti by the following 4 kuruwars. They are namely

a.       Meykandar

b.       Arul Nandi Shivam

c.       Maraigyana Sambandhar

d.       Umapathi Shivachariyar

They resided in Tamilnadu and were responsible for spreading the Shaiva Sidhanta. Their disciples carried forward the tradition and established Mathas at Thiruvadurai and Dharmapuram. These 2 Mathas are known as Kailash parampara, as the tradition starts from Lord Dakshinamurty.

The 4 great saints who carried forward the parampara in 7^th & 12^th century are known as Samayshaivakuravars. They are also known as Nalwar. They are namely –

• Thirugyana Sambandhar
• Thirunavukkarasar
• Sundara Murty Nayanar
• Manikka vachakar

During 4^th, 5^th & 6^th century Budhism and Jainism were spreading very fast in south India and many rulers got converted. During this period the religious activity almost dwindled and came to a stop. But from 7^th & 12^th century due to the great effort of these 4, Shaiva Sidhanta attained glory again and many of the rulers came back into Shaiva Sidhanta.

Thevaram (Garland of divine songs / hymns) was sung in praise of Lord Shiva. The first 3 are considered foremost among the 63 Nayanmars. The Manikka vachakar composed verses known as Thiruvasagam.

Thiruvasagam – There are 12 volumes of hymns (sacred songs) sung by the Nayanmars in praise of Lord Shiva. These were sung in 275 Shaiva Sthalams. They are collectively known as Thirumurai.

The twelve volumes of Tamil Śaiva hymns of the sixty-three Nayanars
Parts	Name	Author
1,2,3	Tirukadaikkappu	Sambandar
4,5,6	Tevaram	Tirunavukkarasar
7	Tirupaatu	Sundarar
8	Tiruvacakam and Tirukkovaiyar	Manikkavacakar
9	Tiruvisaippa and Tiruppallaandu	Various
10	Tirumandhiram	Tirumular
11	Various
12	Periya Puranam	Sekkizhar