तिरुज्ञानसम्बन्ध

{ tirujñānasambandha (r) }

Puranic Encyclopaedia

TIRUJÑĀNASAMBANDHA (R)   He was one of the four Dākṣiṇātya Śaivamatācāryas. He lived during the early part of the seventh century. The book on Dākṣiṇātya Śaivamata is called Tirumura. There are twelve songs in that book. They were compiled by Nambiyāṇḍār Nambi who lived during the period of Rājarāja Cola. The first seven of these are devotional songs called Tevāras. They were composed jointly by Tirujñānasambandhar, Tirunāvukkaraśar and Sundaramūrti. The first three tevāras are of Tirujñānasambandhar. The twelfth tirumura is called Periyapurāṇa. Its author was Śekkizhār. He was called Arulmozhitteva also. He was the chief minister of Anapāyacola who ruled during the period 1063 to 1112 A.D. The theme of Periyapurāṇa is the life history of sixtythree Śaivasiddhas who were renowned as Nāyanārs and Aṭiyārs. It is in the sixth chapter of the second part of this book that they discuss Tirujñānasambandhar. He was born in the village of Śīrkāzhi (Brahmapura) near Kumbhakoṇam in the district of Tañjāvūr. His father was Śivapādarāya and mother Bhagavatiyār. Once when Śivapādarāya went to bathe in the temple tank called Brahmatīrtha he took along with him his son Sambandhar also. Keeping his son on the steps of the tank Śivapādarāya plunged himself into the waters. Śiva and Pārvatī who came that way saw the child sitting alone and Pārvatī went and fed him with her breast-milk. From that moment onwards the child started singing songs in praise of Śiva and Pārvatī. When he grew up, he did many wonderful deeds visiting many Śiva temples of Pāṇḍirājya. His father fixed up a marriage for him and the bride's party assembled even before time at the Cidambara temple. Tirujñānasambandhar came there in time and standing before the temple deity sang a song in praise of Śiva. The song was greatly appealing and at the end of the song before all those assembled there Sambandhar to the astonishment of all merged with the deity.