Sivavakkiyar as a Radical Śaiva Mystic: Protest, Paradox, and Spiritual Subversion

Abstract

Purpose: Sivavakkiyar holds a special, even radical, place in the Tamil traditions of Śaiva mysticism. Commonly linked to the Siddha lineage, his verses serve as a potent counter to ritualism, caste, and religion as an institution. This paper considers Siddha Sivavakkiyar as a radical Śaiva mystic and considers his poetry to be both a form of spiritual teaching and social critique. Sivavakkiyar’s poems advocate for inner, experiential realization of Śiva (uḷḷe śivam) devotion as opposed to scripture-based practice, and external showings of faith, temple attendance, ritual purity, and the many other practices of devotion to the temples. He uses decisive, iconoclastic, and paradoxical poetry. He references the body, communal decay, the impermanent, and the illusory in order to remove false certainty.

Methodology: In this paper, the exploratory qualitative research method is used. The relevant information is collected using keyword-based search in Google search engine, Google Scholar search engine, and AI-driven GPTs. This information is analysed and interpreted as per the objectives of the paper.

Result/ analysis: This paper also incorporates and acknowledges other work to assert that Sivavakkiyar mysticism is also a form of activism in which the critique of an order is fundamental to the attainment of enlightenment.

Originality/ Values:  Sivavakkiyar is described as a mystic in other works; however, the author of this paper is especially interested in placing Sivavakkiyar outside of the conventions of wider Śaiva Siddha and Tamil Bhakti mysticism. His critique of the caste system and the priest as an agent of mediation in the religious system is a forerunner to other social movements in this part of India and illustrates the social ethics of his mysticism. This study's primary focus is on arguing that the radical mysticism of Sivavakkiyar redefines devotion as an awakening that is more internal as opposed to an external phenomenon. Such an interpretation of his work is particularly pertinent to the present concerns of spirituality, social justice, and the reformation of religion.

Type of Paper: Exploratory Research.