Shiv Mehta SK Test 6/12/2021
1. Alvar-
The term Alvar comes from the root word al or which means to have complete devotion or Bhakti. The other
meaning for it is to preserve or to It refers to the Bhakti followers of Lord Vishnu in the Tamil period who
had risen to importance in the 5th and 10th century. They would travel from place to place singing hymns of
their deity Vishnu.According to Kesavan Veludath, their main objective was to increase the promotion of
Vaishnaivte faith and was a rival of the Buddhists and Jains which were seen as heretical sects. They are
responsible for writing the Diyapratibadam, which is considered the Tamil Veda.
The most famous Alvar saint was Andal, who was the only woman out of 12 Alvar saints. There is
controversy regarding her existence. Many people belief that she3 her identity was pseudo. According to
legend, she was found by the great Vaishnava saint Periyar Alvar. There are said to the 12 Alvar saints who
got their patronage from the Pandhya kings.
2. Karaikkal Ammaiyar
She was one of 63 Nayannar saints who was said to be completely immersed in the love for lord Shiva. She
was born to a merchant named and her name at birth was Punitavati. But she was not happy with her married
life to her husband. Her husband realised that he had not married an ordinary woman, and was soon
estranged in the relationship.
After her husband left her, she had shed her feminine qualities and had become completely immersed in the
prayers of lord Shiva. She had considered lord Shiva as her consort, and had denounced her feminine
qualities so that she could look like a pey, or ghoul. Cekkilar, the Shaiva saint says that she had become
skeletal in nature as she became very thin, and went on her journey to Mount Kailash to be welcomed by
Goddess Parvati as a mother (amma). She had addressed Lord Shiva as Appa or father.
Her association with a pey or demoness stems from the association of her with Korravai, the demon goddess
of war in the sangam period.
This was a period when assimilation of local cults was taking place, and the increase of the Puranic
Hinduism tradition in the Tamil region.
3. Regionalisation in early medieval India
The regionalisation was marked by Brahmins giving land grants after leaving the Indo Gangetic plain and
left for other parts of the country. They had brought many areas into cultivation which led to the rise of land
grants and the increase in the number of castes in this period. The tribals were bought into the Hindu fold and
were subject to
This process had taken place in Rajasthan and Gujarat in the firth and sixth century and had then moved on
to Bengal, Odisha and Assam in the sixth and seventh century.
This is evident from Tamil Nadu where they had increased land grants from the 8th century and increased in
the 9th and 10th century. The Brahmins would work with the ruling dynasties to legitimise their claims by
associating them with a deity. The Chola kings would associate themselves with Lord Shiva to legitimise
their claims. This was called cult appropriation. The other change that was marked in this period was the rise
in temples, which would give employment and land grants to the area surrounding it.
4. Origins of Tantricism
Tantrism was meant for the cure of bites of snakes, mice, ghosts and poisonous insects. It was meant to ward
off misfortune and allow people to enjoy the utility of the material world. In the early stages it was
performed by astrologers called jyotsis. During the early medieval period, it rose due to land grants being
offered by Brahmins to settle land. Practices like puja and Bhakti had led it to be immersed in the Puranic
Hindu canons of Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Shaivism. It was also incorporated into the practices of Jainism
and Buddhism.
One crucial aspect of tantricism was the incorporation of women and shudras into the practices. This was
proportional to the peasantisation of the tribes which brought tribal groups in the sphere of Hinduism and
gave them caste identities. Even the assimilation of the tribal mother goddess and goddess practices led to
the rise of tantrism. So, as land grants were and more places starting from Rajasthan, Bengal and Assam and
Deccan region and later to Tamil Nadu and Kerala in 9th and 10th century. Tara was an important component
of Mantrayana Buddhism, which originated in the 6th century in Andhra Pradesh.
5. Virashaiva Tradition
This was a resistance movement against the caste system and the domination of patriarchy in Karnataka. It
was started in thr 12th century by Basanava. The believers in the virashaiva sect felt that after their death
they would be at one with Lord Shiva. They would ceremoniously bury their dead and would incorporate
women into their tradition. They would wear a linga on around their arms to show their identity. Therefore
the other name for them is Lingayats. The main belief of this philosophy is that Shiva is in a pure state of
rest. Creation takes place from his relation with Maya. Therefore, the structures of caste and gender
inequality.
One of the most famous virashaiva saints was Akka Mahadevi, who was unhappy about her marriage and
decided to leave her material life. She had given up her clothes and spent the rest of her life in solace
meditating to Lord Shiva.
