Ajay Kumar at 17:52, 12 August 2023

2023-08-12T17:52:26Z

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{{Short description|Nayanar saint}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
[[File:Family of Sundarar.JPG|thumb|Family of [[Sundarar]] (l->r): [[Sadaya Nayanar]] (father), Isaignaniyar (mother), Paravai Nachiyar (wife), Sundarar, Sangili Nachiyar (wife), [[Narasinga Muniyaraiyar Nayanar|Narasinga Muniyaraiyar]] (foster-father).]]

'''Isaignaniyar''' ({{lang-ta|இசைஞானியார்}}, 7th century), also spelt as '''Isainaniyar''', '''Isaignaniyaar''', '''Isaignaniar''' and '''Isaijnaniyar''' and also known as '''Isai-jnani Ammaiyar''' ('''Isai-Gnani Ammaiyar'''), is the mother of [[Sundarar]], one of the most prominent [[Nayanars|Nayanar]] saints. She is herself regarded as a Nayanar saint, venerated in the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] sect of [[Shaivism]], along with her husband [[Sadaiya Nayanar]]. She is generally counted as the last in the list of 63 Nayanars.<ref name="Dalal2011">{{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|date=2011|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6|page=281}}</ref>

Isaignaniyar is one of the three female saints. Sundarar is the only Nayanar with both his parents enlisted as Nayanars. The inclusion of Isaignaniyar, streams solely on basis on her association with Sundarar, rather than individual merit. Her sainthood status is seen as a proof of the greatness of her son.<ref name="Dehejia1988">{{cite book|author=Vidya Dehejia|title=Slaves of the Lord: The Path of the Tamil Saints|year=1988|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal|isbn=978-81-215-0044-9|pages=179–80}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-miscellaneous/garland-of-verses/article283779.ece | title=Garland of verses | work=[[The Hindu]] | date=16 May 2009 | access-date=6 January 2015}}</ref>

==Life==
Little is known about her. The [[Tamil language|Tamil]] ''[[Periya Puranam]]'' by [[Sekkizhar]] (12th century), which is the hagiography of the 63 Nayanars and the primary source about their life, dedicates just an hymn to her, naming her son and husband. "As the divinely opulent wife of Sataiyanaar (Sadaiya Nayanar) and as a devotee of the lord who shattered the triple hostile citadels (Shiva as [[Tripurantaka]]), the poet realizes the inadequacy of the poetic medium to extol her glory."<ref name="Sarada"/><ref name="ramachandran">{{cite web | url=http://www.shaivam.org/english/sen_th12_isaignani.htm | title=The Puranam of Isai Gnaani Ammaiyaar | access-date=13 December 2014 | author=T N Ramachandran}}</ref> The couple are said to be devout devotees of the god [[Shiva]], the patron god of Shaivism. They lived in [[Tirunavalur block|Tirunavalur]], in the kingdom of [[Thirumunaipadi]], in present-day Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]]. They belonged to Adi Shaiva sub-sect of Shaivism and belonged to the [[Brahmin]] (priest) [[caste]]. They are said to have lived an ideal [[Grihastha]] (householder's) life. The couple gave away Sundarar to [[Narasinga Muniyaraiyar Nayanar|Narasinga Muniyaraiyar]], the chieftain of Thirumunaipadi and a Nayanar saint, for adoption. Sundarar grew up in luxury in the home of his foster-father.<ref name="swami">{{cite book | author = Swami Sivananda | author-link = Swami Sivananda | title = Sixty-three Nayanar Saints | edition = 4 | publisher = The Divine Life Society | year = 1999 | location = Sivanandanagar }}</ref> In another instance, she is described to adorn herself with ''[[vibhuti]]'' (sacred ash used by Shaivas).<ref name="VenkataramaiahLinguistics1996">{{cite book|author1=K. M. Venkataramaiah|author2=International School of Dravidian Linguistics|title=A handbook of Tamil Nadu|year=1996|publisher=International School of Dravidian Linguistics|isbn=978-81-85692-20-3|page=452}}</ref>

The [[Chola]] king [[Kulothunga Chola II]] (1133–1148, called by his title Anapuya in the inscription) created inscriptions honouring Sundarar (called Aludaiya Nambi in the inscription) in his seventh year of reign. An inscription on the west wall of the second ''[[prakaram]]'' of the [[Thyagaraja Temple, Tiruvarur|Thyagaraja Temple]] (dedicated to Shiva), [[Thiruvarur]] mentions Isaignaniyar. The [[Sanskrit]] part of the inscription records that the mother of Aludaiya Nambi, Isaignaniyar – also known as Gnani – was born in Kamalapura, the town of the inscription. Isaignaniyar is described to be born in the family of Gnanasivarcharya, who was a Shaiva and belonged to the [[Gautam Brahmins|Gautama]] [[gotra]] (lineage of the sage [[Gautama Maharishi]]). Besides being famous for its Shiva temple, Thiruvarur was also one of the five capital cities of the Chola Empire.<ref name="Ayyar1982">{{cite book|author=P. V. Jagadisa Ayyar|title=South Indian Shrines: Illustrated|year=1982|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-0151-2|page=216}}</ref><ref name="Ponnusamy1972">{{cite book|author=S. Ponnusamy|title=Sri Thyagaraja Temple, Thiruvarur|year=1972|publisher=State Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu|page=19}}</ref>

==Remembrance==
[[File: Sri Kokarneshvarar Temple in Tirukokarnam.JPG|thumb|The images of the Nayanars are found in many Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu.]]

Sundarar refers to Isaignaniyar in the ''Tiruthonda Thogai'', a hymn to Nayanar saints,<ref>{{cite book|title=Poems to Śiva: The Hymns of the Tamil Saints|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GPmq8fcOa9wC&pg=PA331|year=1991|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0784-6|pages=330–1, 333}}</ref> which is the first compilation of the list. It is disputed if Sundarar enlists his parents as Nayanars in the hymn or he just names them in the last verse, which is a "signature-verse" (the last verse normally contained information about the poet of the work).<ref name="Ramachandran">{{cite web | url=http://www.shaivam.org/english/sen_th12_nesar.htm | title=The Puranam of Nesa Nayanar| publisher=T N Ramachandran |access-date=17 December 2014}}</ref> However, in the second listing of the Nayanars, [[Nambi Andar Nambi]] formally includes Isaignaniyar in the list. He praises Sundarar's mother as a queen.<ref name="Sarada"/>

Isaignaniyar is worshipped in the [[Tamil month]] of [[Chaitra|Chithirai]], when the moon crossed into the [[Chitra (nakshatra)|Chitrai]] [[nakshatra]] (lunar mansion). She is depicted standing with folded hands (see [[Anjali mudra]]). She receives collective worship as part of the 63 Nayanars. Their icons and brief accounts of his deeds are found in many Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu. Their images are taken out in procession in festivals.<ref name="Dalal2011"/>

Isaignaniyar is one of three female Nayanar saints, the others being the poet [[Karaikkal Ammaiyar]] and the [[Pandya]] queen [[Mangayarkkarasiyar]]. The inclusion of only three women in the Nayanars is interpreted as the influence of a patriarchal society. While the account of Karaikkal Ammaiyar is detailed, the life of Isaignaniyar and Mangayarkkarasiyar is explained in brief in the ''Periya Puranam''. Sundarar's mother Isaignaniyar and another notable Nayanar [[Sambandar]]’s "foster-mother" Mangayarkkarasiyar were included in the list due to their maternal links.<ref name="Sarada">{{cite journal | title=Cekkilar's Periyapuranam and the Story of Karaikkal Ammai | author=Sarada Thallam | journal=Journal of South Asian Studies | year=2013 | volume=1 | issue=1 | pages=84–5}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Nayanars}}

[[Category:Nayanars]]
[[Category:Hindu female religious leaders]]

Isaignaniyar - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 17:52, 12 August 2023