शिवज्ञानबोध (मेय्कण्डार - शैव सिद्धान्त का आधारभूत दार्शनिक सूत्र ग्रन्थ)

INTRODUCTION.
The system of Hindu Philosophy which is expounded in the
following pages, and its name will be altogether new to many an
English educated Hindu who is content to learn his religion and
philosophy from English books and translations and from such
scraps as turn up in newspapers and magazines. Yet it is the
Philosophy of the Religion in which at least every Tamil speaking
Hindu is more or less brought up and the one Philosophy which
obtains predominance in the Tamil Language. This Philosophy is
called The Siddhanta Philosophy and is the special Philosophy of
the Saiva Religion. The word means True End, and as used in
logic, it means the proposition or theory proved as disting-
uished from the proposition or theory refuted, which becomes the
Purvapaksham. The Saiva Philosophy is so called as it esta-
blishes the True End or the only Truth and all other systems
are merely Purvapakshams. The system is based primarily on the
Saiva Agamas. But the authority of the Vedas is equally accepted
and the system is then called Vedanta Philosophy or Vedanta
Siddhantha Philosophy or Vaithika Saiva Philosophy.
“வேதாந்த சித்தாந்த சமரச நன்னிலை பெற்ற,
வித்தகச் சித்தர் கணமே.”
“ராஜாங்கத்தில் அமர்ந்தது வைதிக சைவ மழகிதந்தோ.”
Thayumanavar). This Philosophy is also spoken of as Adwaitha
Philosophy in all the Tamil works and it will be seen from the very
large use of the word and its exposition in almost every page of this
work what important part it plays; and it strikes, in fact, the key
note of the whole system. Meikanda Devar who translated and
A