The Panniru Tirumurai is, as the name suggests, a 12-part compilation book
This was a work in progress for over 600 years as it begins with the Thevaram — the hymns by Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar (the foremost of the 63 Tamil Saivite saints collectively known as the Nayanmar or Arupathumoovar)
The first seven sections of the Tirumurai comprise the works by the above saints.
These were compiled in the 11th century by the scholar Nambiyandar Nambi
The eighth Tirumurai is dedicated to the creations of Manikkavachagar, While ninth Tirumurai comprises the works of nine lesser-known poets of the time of King Raja Raja Chola I (r 992-1014 CE), collectively known as the Tiruvisaippa.
The last section is Sekkizhar’s Periya Puranam, the hagiography of the Arupathumoovar written in the 12th century.
After the Sangam works, this would perhaps be the next voluminous corpus.
The 18,000 verses that it comprises are a valuable archive of not only the creative output of several Saiva saints but also of the various shrines they visited, their observations of life and the evolution of Tamil language.
Previous Year Questions (PYQs)
Q.1) With reference to cultural history of India, consider the following statements: (2018)
Most of the Tyagaraja Kritis are devotional songs in praise of Lord Krishna.
Tyagaraja created several new ragas.
Annamacharya and Tyagaraja are contemporaries.
Annamacharya kirtanas are devotional songs in praise of Lord Venkateshwara.
