Ñāṉāmirtam: The first available Tamil systematisation of Śaivāgama doctrines

Śaivism with its important branches such as Pāśupata and the Śaivasiddhānta was widely popular in many parts of India from the beginning of the first millennium of the common era. Of them, the Śaivasiddhānta had many royal dynasties as its support. The basic tenets of the system were enuncitated in the canonical texts called Āgama believed to have been revealed by Śiva Himself. In the course of its spread to south India and especially to the Tamil country the essential teachings of the Āgama-s were taught by the teachers to their disciples. In order to easily grasp those essentials one Vāgīśa belonging to the 12th century had composed a Tamil digest called Ñāṉāmirtam basing on the Āgamas. This is the only available first Tamil text belonging to such an early period which has been influencing the subsequent developments of Śaivasiddhānta. A comparative and analytical study of this text will be a very fruitful one which would help trace the early development of Śaivasiddhānta