Periya Puranam

The Periya‌ purāṇa‌m (Tamil: பெரிய‌ புராண‌ம்), that is, the great purana or epic, sometimes called Tiruttontarpuranam ("Tiru-Thondar-Puranam", the Purana of the Holy Devotees), is a Tamil poetic account depicting the lives of the sixty-three Nayanars, the canonical poets of Tamil Shaivism. It was compiled during the 12th century by Sekkizhar. It provides evidence of trade with West Asia. The Periya Puranam is part of the corpus of Shaiva canonical works. Sekkilhar compiled and wrote the Periya Puranam or the Great Purana in Tamil about the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars, poets of the God Shiva who composed the liturgical poems of the Tirumurai, and was later himself canonised and the work became part of the sacred canon. Among all the hagiographic Puranas in Tamil, Sekkilhar's Tiruttondar Puranam or Periyapuranam, composed during the rule of Kulottunga II (1133–1150 CE) stands first. Sekkilhar was a poet and the chief minister in the court of the Chola King, Kulothunga Chola II. Kulottunga Chola II, king Anabaya Chola, was a staunch devotee of Lord Siva Natraja at Chidambaram. He continued the reconstruction of the center of Tamil Saivism that was begun by his ancestors. However, Kulottunga II was also enchanted by the Jain courtly epic, Chivaka Chinthamani an epic of erotic flavour (sringara rasa) whose hero, Chivaka, combines heroics and erotics to marry eight damsels and gain a kingdom. In the end he realises the transiency of possessions, renounces his kingship and finally attains Nirvana by prolonged austerity (tapas). In order to wean Kulottunga Chola II from the heretical Chivaka Chintamani, Sekkilhar undertook the task of writing the Periyapuranam. The study of Chivaka Chintamani by Kulottunga Chola II, deeply affected Sekkilhar who was very religious in nature. He exhorted the king to abandon the pursuit of impious erotic literature and turn instead to the life of the Saiva saints celebrated by Sundaramurti Nayanar and Nambiyandar Nambi. The king thereupon invited Sekkilhar to expound the lives of the Saiva saints in a great poem.