Sekkizhar facts for kids

Sekkizhar was a famous Tamil poet and a very smart scholar. He lived a long time ago, when a king named Kulothunga Chola II ruled. Sekkizhar was known for being an amazing poet. He wrote a very important book called Periya Puranam. This book has 4253 poems. It tells the stories of 63 special saints called Nayanars, who followed the god Shiva.

Sekkizhar's Early Life

Sekkizhar was born in a village called Kundrathur. This village is in the Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, India. His real name was Ramadevan.

He was very knowledgeable about ancient Hindu texts called vedas. He also knew a lot about the Tirumurai, which are sacred Tamil writings about the god Shiva. Later, Sekkizhar's own work was added to the Tirumurai.

Sekkizhar lived for a time in a holy place near Kanchipuram. This place was a shrine dedicated to the god Vishnu.

Writing the Periya Puranam

Sekkizhar started writing his great work, Periya Puranam, when he was in Chidambaram. Among all the old stories and poems in Tamil, Sekkizhar's Periya Puranam is considered one of the best.

King Kulothunga Chola II was a big follower of Lord Nataraja (a form of the god Shiva) in Chidambaram. The king wanted to bring back the importance of Tamil Shaivism. This was a religious tradition that his family had supported for a long time.

So, the king asked Sekkizhar to write a long poem. This poem was meant to tell the life stories of the Shaiva saints.

Importance of Periya Puranam

In Tamil literature, Sekkizhar's Periya Puranam is a very important work. It is sometimes called the "fifth veda." The Vedas are ancient holy books.

Periya Puranam also became the twelfth part of the Shiva canon. This means it was added to the official collection of sacred texts for followers of Shiva.

Images for kids

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  Sekkizhar Peruman

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  Sekkizhar Peruman