Sambandar
Also called: Tirujnana Sambandar · Topic: Bhakti and Sufi Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions"
Meaning
Sambandar, also called Tirujnana Sambandar, was a Nayanar saint of the 7th century in the Tamil region. The Nayanars were devotees of Shiva. Tradition remembers him as a child saint who began singing hymns at a very young age. He is one of the three poets of the Tevaram. His hymns are strongly hostile to Jainism and Buddhism. Historians explain this as competition between these faiths for the support of kings.
Example
Shaiva tradition says Sambandar won a Pandya king of Madurai over from Jainism to Shaivism. Around 945, the Chola king Parantaka I placed metal images of Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar in a Shiva temple. The Cholas did this because the Vellala peasants deeply honoured these saints.
Don't confuse with
- Sundarar: also a Tevaram poet, but from a later period. He is remembered for listing the Nayanar saints.
Related concepts
- Alvars
- Nayanars
- Nalayira Divya Prabandham
- Tevaram
- Appar
- Sundarar
- Manikkavachakar
- Nammalvar
- Tondaradippodi
- Andal