Siddhar Thirumular

 Siddhar Thirumular

Siddhar Thirumular (also spelt Thirumoolar etc., originally known as Sundaranatha) was a Tamil Shaivite mystic and writer, considered one of the sixty-three Nayanars and one of the 18 Siddhars. His main work, the Thirumantiram, which consists of over 3000 verses, forms a part of the key text of the Tamil Saiva Siddhanta, the Thirumurai.


Thirumantiram contains a synthesis of knowledge drawn from the Upanishads, Siddhayoga and the devotional (Bhakti) revival, yet criticises ritualistic idolatry and the external gymnastics of occult practice. It is deep, simple, cryptic and polyvalent.

Saint Thirumular began his mission of establishing the purity of the Saivite path soon thereafter when he settled down near Chidambaram, an ancient temple of Lord Siva as Nataraja, the King of Dancers. There he worshipped near a Banyan tree where there was a Swayambhu Lingam. That Lingam is revered by Saivites even today in a small shrine within the Chidambaram walls, and you can worship there on pilgrimage just as he did so long ago. It was there that he began composing the Tirumantiram. Legend has it that the sage retired to a cave where he would sit in samadhi for a full year without moving. At the end of each year he would break his meditation long enough to speak out a single Tamil verse giving the substance of that year's meditations. Each verse composed in this manner was just four lines long, but the wisdom each contained was boundless. He wrote over 3,000 verses in all.

 IKS Academy Group during IKS Spiritual Retreat at Siddhar Thirumular Samadhi 

This may not be accurate by the calendar, but it is true to the spirit and quality of the Thirumantiram, which has within it the wisdom of three thousand years of meditation. It is without a doubt the most complete and authoritative scripture ever written.

It is said that the Chidambaram temple is consecrated under the auspices of Tirumular with a kopuram having 21600 golden tiles, to show a man breaths in and out 21600 times per day. 72000 nails, were used to show, that there are 72,000 nadis in our body. It can also be taken that if one breathes 21600 proper breaths a day then his 72000 nadis will be purified. There are millions of nadis but the major ones are 72000.

HMMM SIDDHAR THIRUMULARAYA NAMAHA.............

Lord Murugan Siddhar Bogar in Palani

There is a temple in south India, at Palani that is dedicated to Lord Muruga, the son of Lord Shiva. Bhoganāthar was entrusted by the siddhas to define the rituals for the worship of Lord Muruga. Armed with his deep knowledge of alchemy, Bogar created an indestructible idol of Lord Muruga, to last this Kali Yuga, using nine Poisonous substances or Nava Pashanams to withstand the continuous rituals of bathing (abhishekam). He fashioned it out of nine secret herbal and chemical ingredients, which made it harder than granite. The idol is still intact today and has defied scientists who attempted to analyse its contents. Even the strongest granite would not have withstood the test of time over these years with such continuous rituals.
Bogar being an adept of kayakalpa made the idol in such a way that when bathed with many substances, including milk, pancha­amirtam consisting of five fruits and honey so that traces of the substance are washed over into the ritual offerings in which it is bathed. When the devotee consumes these offerings he gets a kayakalpa treatment as well as a boost in his/ her spiritual progress.

There is yet another incident where Bogar transformed his physical body. . In his poem Bhogar Jñāna Sutra 8 Bogar describes how he overcame the limitations of his physical body by cosuming a kayakalpa preparation he made and lived for 12 000 years in China. The incident goes like this. Bogar, while in China had transmigrated into the body of a Chinese to facilitate teaching. This Chinese body had many limitations and hence he decided to overcome the limitations of the Chinese body using kaya kalpa herbs and thus extend his life to attain Swarupa Samadhi. He carefully made some kayakalpa tablets using thirty five different herbs. Once done, he took three of his best disciples and his faithful dog on top of a mountain. He first offered the tablet to the dog and the dog immediately fell over and looked dead. He then offered tablets to his disciples who hid it in their garments, except for Yu who immediately consumed it and fell over dead. Bogar also consumed the tablet and died immediately. The disciples stricken with fear and grief went down the mountain to collect firewood for cremation. On returning they couldn’t find the bodies but only a note left by Bogar which read “The kayakalpa tablets worked. After getting out of the trance in which I was, I restored the faithful dog and Yu, but you missed your chance for immortality.” This transformation allowed Bogar to feed on his Ojas or Sublimated spiritual energy and live for thousands of years. His body developed a lustrous golden colour and according to the words of Bogar, he lived in a world of gold.

Siddhas – Ancient Indian Scientist Mystics

Siddhas are a religious order of mystics found in the southern part of India. Their origins can be traced back to the eighth century. The word “Siddha” comes from the word “Siddhi” which means an object to be attained perfection or heavenly bliss. Siddhas relied only on the Human being's efforts for the accomplishment of liberation. Their attribute attitude is: find out for yourself. They wrote their discoveries, in the form of poems in Tamil language, on palm leaf which are gathered and stored in what are identified today as Palm leaf manuscript, today still owned by private families in Tamil Nadu and handed down through the generations, as well as public organizations such as universities world over (India, Germany, Britain, U.S.A.).


Siddhas who came in a line of wandering saints, claim a divine origin; according to them Lord SHIVA (Hindu God) is the first Siddha. Some times their origin is traced to the mysterious mythical sage, THIRUMULAR. He is regarded as the supreme preceptor and originator of the exoteric school of Siddhas .

Siddhas explored and explained the reality of Nature and its relationship to man by their yogic awareness and experimental findings. They prostulated the concept of spiritualism for self-improvement and practices propounded by them came to be known as the “Siddha System”. A sense of mystery prevails about Siddhars, or people who achieved siddhi. They are philosophers, healers and people with supernatural powers. While they were reputed to be miracle men, the medical science they practiced is surprisingly well documented.


There were 18 notable Siddhars in olden days:
THIRUMULAR, RAMADEVAR, KUMBAMUNI, IDAIKADAR, DHANVANTHRI, VALMIKI, KAMALAMUNI, BHOGANADAR, MACHAMUNI, KONGANAR, PATHANJALI, NANDIDEVAR, BOTHAGURU, PAMBATTI SIDDHAR, SATTAIMUNI, SUNDARANANDADEVAR, KUDAMBAISIDDHAR AND KORAKAR.

The basic principles of Siddhas
Siddha science considers nature and man as essentially one. A close relationship is found to exist between the external world and the internal system of man. Practitioners of Siddha maintain that the structure of the human body is a miniature world in itself. Man consumes water and food, breathes the air and thus maintains the heat in the body. He is alive on account of the life force given by ether. The earth is the first element which gives fine shape to the body including bones, tissues, muscles, skin, hair etc. Water is the second elements representing blood, secretions of the glands, vital fluid etc. Fire is the third element that gives motion, vigor and vitality to the body. It also helps digestion, circulation and stimulation besides respiration and the nervous system. Above all, ether is the characteristic of man`s mental and spiritual faculties.
Siddha acknowledges the power of Raja yoga. The serpent power or kundalini is believed to be dormant at the base of the spine, in the sacral region (Mooladhara Chakra). Siddhars are said to be capable of releasing this power. This power is to be control hormones and lead to greater perception.

The Siddha medicine
'Siddha medicine’ means medicine that is ‘perfect’. Siddha medicine revitalizes and rejuvenates the organs, the dysfunction of which is causing the disease. This brings back normal functioning of the organs. It also maintains ratio of Vata, Pitta and Kapha, thus maintaining the healthy state of the body. Since no artificial chemicals are involved, it doesn’t cause ay side effects.
Siddha is a psychosomatic medicine that deals with the relationship between the mind and body. Man is composed of 96 forces. These are both physical and methaphysical. Therefore, a person’s health can be effected by physical, emotional, mental or karmic disturbances. The Siddha system does not believe in merely treating the symptoms. It eradicates the root cause for the illness, provides relief and also prevents recurrence.

Agastya Siddha

The Vindhya mountain range is still waiting for him to return. But he will not return for if he does then Vindhya will once again raise his head in pride and block the path of the sun. There is another reason why Agastya went south in the first place.

It is also said that once all the Rishis from all over the world went North to hear Shiva reveal the secret of the Veda and the Tantra. This caused the earth to tilt and so Shiva asked Agastya to go south and restore the balance of the earth for the spiritual weight of Agastya was equal to the weight of all the other Rishis put together.

Agastya’s had two fathers, the Vedic gods, Mitra and Varuna, and one mother, the nymph, Urvashi. He never wanted to marry and have children. But he was haunted by the vision of his ancestors hanging upside down over a bottomless abyss. There they would stay, they howled, until he married, fathered children and helped them be reborn.

And so after crossing the Vindhyas, Agastya asked a king for his daughter’s hand. The king, who lived in the region of Vidarbha, however was childless. “I give you the daughter I do not have,” said the king. So Agastya said, “You will soon have the daughter you do not have now but will soon give me.” Agastya then created a woman with his magical powers using the most beautiful parts of the birds and beasts of the forests. Since this woman was created by the loss (lopa) of the most beautiful features (mudra) of animals, she came to be known as Lopamudra. She was given to the king who then gave her in marriage to Agastya.

Lopamudra followed her rather short and stout husband dutifully but requested that he treat her as a princess that she was. “Approach me in clothes that are beautiful on a bed that is comfortable in a house that is prosperous.” Agastya, being an ascetic, had no access to such clothes or bed or house. So he went to other kings and sought gifts that would enable him to please his wife.

Agasthiyar is said to have "dedicated" all the forest animals to the deity Rudra (later called as Shiva), hence making them fit for eating if killed while hunting. One of the kings he visited was a demon called Ilavala. Ilavala had a brother called Vatapi who could change his shape and become a goat. Ilavala would cut kill this goat and serve the meat to guests. As soon as the guest ate the meat, he would chant a hymn that would bring his brother back to life in the guest’s stomach. Vatapi would then bore his way out of the guest’s body, killing the guest in the process. When Agastya sought gifts from Ilavala, he said, “Sure, but first you must eat.” Agastya could not say no but one bite of the food being offered and he knew mischief was afoot. Agastya ate the food quickly, then rubbed his stomach and burped loudly before Ilavala could chant the magic hymn. When the hymn was finally chanted Vatapi did not emerge much to Ilavala’s surprise. “Your brother, I fear, has been digested,” said Agastya with a smile, “Now, where are my gifts?”

Agastya amazing digestive ability led him to drink all the waters of the oceans enabling the Devas to find and kill Asuras who had hidden underwater. Later, he urinated out the water, and this, say some, is why the sea is salty.

On his journey south, Agastya carried a pot of Ganga water. When this pot was placed on the ground in South India, Ganesha, in the form of a crow, some say a rat, caused it to tip. Water flowed out of the pot and turned into the river Kaveri.

To remind him to the Himalayas, Agastya also carried with him two hills from the North. These were hung from two ends of a stick balanced on the shoulder of a Rakshasa called Hidima (a style of transportation called ‘kavadi’). In the South, one of the hills became extremely heavy making it impossible for Hidimba to carry it further. On investigation, Agastya found a boy sitting on that hill. “These hills remind me of my home in the North,” said the boy. Agastya realized the boy was Kartikeya, the son of Shiva, who angry with his father, had moved south. Agastya asked the Rakshasa to plant the hill in the South wherever the boy asked him to. That hill is now called Palani in Tamil Nadu and is the sacred shrine of Kartikeya locally known as Murugan.

Agastya and Lopamudra are associated with hymns found in the Rig Veda. Both are said to have popularized Lalita Sahashranama, the 1000 names of the Goddess. Agastya is renowned in the South as the father of Siddha, the southern form of Ayurveda. He is also associated with occult arts of architecture and forecasting as well as formulation of the Tamil language. Even today a mountain peak between Tamil Nadu and Kerala associated with rare medicinal herbs is called Agastyamalai, or Agastya’s hill, a reminder of his presence in and contribution to civilization in South India.