Arunagirinathar

Arunagirinathar was a Tamil poet who lived during the 15th century in Tamil Nadu, India. He was the creator of Tiruppugazh, a book of poems in Tamil in praise of the Hindu god Murugan. He was a prolific composer, who is believed to have composed over 16000 songs, of which only about 1330 remain today. His poems are known for their beautiful, flowing lyrics coupled with complex rhymes and rhythmic structures. Thiruppugazh is considered as one of the major works of mediaeval Tamil literature, both for its poetical and musical qualities, and for its religious, moral and philosophical content.

Early life

Arunagiri was born in Thiruvannamalai, a town in Tamil Nadu. His father died soon after his birth and his mother and sister brought him up in the rich cultural and religious traditions. Legends claim that Arunagiri was attracted to the pleasures of the flesh and spent his youth in pursuing a life of debauchery. Affected by disease and rejected by his family and friends, he decided to end his life and leaped from the tower of Thiruvannamalai temple. He was however miraculously saved from certain death. Arunagiri attributed this to the god Murugan and decided to spend the rest of his life singing in praise of the god. He was a devotee of Lord Muruga and worshipped the God at Vedapureeswarar temple at the sacred place known as Cheyyar on the banks of the Cheyyar River.

Songs

Arunagiri, rendered his first song Muthai Tharu... after the miraculous escape at Thiruvannamalai. Arunagiri visited temples all over South India and composed over 60000 songs. The songs show the way to the life of virtue and righteousness and set the tone for a new form of worship, the musical worship.

Retrieval

The Thiruppugazh songs remained in manuscript form for a number of years and ignored and forgotten. V.T. Subramania Pillai and his son V.S. Chengalvaraya Pillai of Tiruthani understood their value, retrieved them and published them.

In 1871 Subramania Pillai, a District Munsif, had the opportunity to hear a rendering of a Tiruppugazh song while he was on a tour of Chidambaram. Captivated by the song, he decided to set out on a mission to search for the entire body of Tiruppugazh songs. He toured all over south India, collected manuscripts, including palm leaves, assembled the texts and published them in two volumes, the first in 1894 and the second in 1901. After his demise, his son Chengalvaraya Pillai brought out a new edition of the songs.

References

Biography of Saint Arunagiri
Saint Arunagiri by Guruji
Arunagiri
Arunagirinathar (15th century)
Arunagirinatha - Sruti, Issue 260 - May 2006