Divine Games of Lord Shiva Thiruvilayadal Puranam
S.Ponnuswamy
- Tiruvilayadal
- Purana
- is
- reputed
- to
- be
- one
- of
- the
- 18
- Thalapuranas.
- Yet,
- it
- is
- also
- revered
- as
- one
- of
- the
- Mahapuranas
- (Periyapurana
- –
- the
- right
- eye
- of
- God
- Shiva,
- Tiruvilayadal
- Purana
- –
- the
- left
- eye
- and
- Kanda
- Purana
- –
- the
- third
- eye).
- It
- was
- authored
- by
- Saint
- Paranjothi
- about
- 1300
- years
- ago.
- It
- narrates
- the
- 64
- Tiruvilayadals
- (Leelas
- in
- Sanskrit)
- roughly
- translated
- into
- English
- as
- playful
- miracles
- of
- God
- himself
- –
- in
- this
- case,
- Lord
- Shiva
- the
- presiding
- deity
- of
- Madurai.
- It
- incorporates
- the
- legends
- and
- stories
- already
- prevalent
- in
- the
- Pandyan
- Kingdom
- in
- South
- India
- and
- covers
- a
- period
- of
- more
- than
- 500
- years
- during
- the
- reign
- of
- 52
- Pandya
- Kings
- and
- 6
- other
- Kings.
- Lord
- Shiva
- and
- his
- consort
- Meenakshi
- guided,
- supported,
- punished,
- vindicated,
- blessed
- and
- finally
- gave
- salvation
- to
- the
- Kings
- and
- commoners
- alike
- in
- these
- 64
- episodes.
- Many
- of
- these
- events
- find
- a
- mention
- in
- the
- earlier
- great
- Tamil
- works
- like
- Silappadhikaram,
- Kalladam,
- Thevaram,
- Tiruvasagam
- and
- some
- puranic
- poetry.
While
- some
- of
- these
- episodes
- appear
- to
- be
- understandable
- and
- believable,
- many
- do
- not.
- One
- explanation
- for
- this
- is
- in
- that
- these
- episodes
- are
- the
- result
- of
- the
- fertile
- imagination
- of
- great
- devotees,
- mostly
- interesting
- stories
- narrated
- in
- a
- highly
- evolved
- poetic
- form
- by
- the
- great
- poet
- devotee.
- Another
- is
- that,
- this
- is
- basically
- a
- historical
- narrative
- of
- many
- Pandyan
- Kings
- who
- were
- all
- devotees
- of
- Lord
- Shiva
- described
- with
- some
- poetic
- license
- resulting
- in
- exaggeration
- and
- hyperbole.
- Another
- is
- that
- there
- is
- a
- mystic
- element
- present
- in
- these
- stories,
- which
- can
- be
- explained
- and
- interpreted
- only
- by
- enlightened
- persons.
- Yet
- another
- is
- that,
- these
- are
- moral
- stories
- built
- around
- a
- grain
- of
- truth;
- each
- episode
- teaches
- indirectly
- a
- moral
- for
- the
- humanity
- with
- the
- coating
- of
- a
- story.
- Whatever
- it
- may
- be,
- a
- large
- majority
- of
- us
- believe
- that
- God’s
- ways
- are
- inexplicable
- and
- immutable
- and
- that
- we
- should
- enjoy
- reading
- about
- these
- happenings
- unfolding
- as
- poetic
- drama.
Saint
- Paranjothi
- has
- done
- a
- great
- job
- in
- rendering
- these
- episodes
- in
- Tamil
- laced
- with
- some
- Sanskrit
- terms
- prevalent
- at
- that
- time.
- This
- actually
- makes
- it
- easily
- understandable
- for
- the
- lay
- reader.
- All
- the
- elements
- of
- beautiful
- poetry
- are
- there
- creating
- a
- delightful
- reading
- experience.
- This
- work
- is
- admired
- as
- Draksha
- Panam
- (grape
- juice)
- among
- other
- Puranas
- which
- are
- either
- Tengai
- Panam
- (Coconut
- juice)
- or
- Kadali
- Panam
- (Banana juice).
