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

SIVAGNANA BOTHAM.
"O for the day ! when I can worship the golden feet
of him who declared the truth, in half a stanza by which
I lost all my illusions."
In conclusion, I have to tender my thanks to Pandit
Murugesam Pillai Avergal, who assisted me in my study of
the Tamil Commentaries and to M. R. Ry. Tandalam
Balasundram Mudaliar Avergal, who rendered invaluable
help by his suggestions etc., while these sheets were passing
through the Press and to Messrs. G. Ramasawmy Chetty
& Co., who have displayed very great care and taste in the
get up of the book.
TRIPATUR, J. M. N.
6th July 1895.

T. N. Olaganathan.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Introduction ... ... ... ... ... i to x
Note on the Author ... ... ... ... xi to xix
List of Agamas ... ... ... ... xx
List of Siddhantha works in Tamil ... ... ... xx
Sivagnanabotha Sutra in Devanagiri ... ... xxi to xxii
Do in Telugu ... ... ... xxiii to xxiv
Do in Tamil ... ... ... xxv to xxvi
Do in English ... ... ... xxvii to xxix
Invocation to Ganesha ... ... ... xxx to xxxi
Author's Apology ... ... ... ... xxxi
Chapter I.—Pramanavial or Proof ... ... 1 to 44
First Sutra. On the Existence of God ... ... 1 to 10
Second Sutra. The relation of God to the world and to the Souls 10 to 38
Third Sutra. On the Existence of the Soul ... ... 34 to 44
Chapter II.—Lakshanavial ... ... ... 45 to 75
Fourth Sutra. Of the soul in its relation to the Andhakarana 45 to 53
Fifth Sutra. On the relation of God, Soul, and body ... 55 to 67
Sixth Sutra. On the nature of God and the World ... 61 to 75
Chapter III.—Sathanavial ... ... ... 76 to 96
Seventh Sutra. Respecting the Soul ... ... ... 76 to 81
Eighth Sutra. The way in which Souls obtain Wisdom ... 82 to 90
Ninth Sutra. On the Purification of the Soul ... ... 91 to 96
Chapter IV.—Payanial ... ... ... 97 to 114
Tenth Sutra. The way of destroying Pasa ... ... 97 to 100
Eleventh Sutra. The way by which the Soul unites with God. 104 to 111
Twelfth Sutra. On the mode of worship of God who sur-
passes Powers of Thought and Speech ... ... 112 to 113
In Praise of Meikanda Deva ... ... ... 118
Glossary of Sanscrit and Tamil words ... ... 119 to 126

[पृष्ठ अत्यंत धुंधला एवं अपठनीय है / The text on this page is completely faded, overexposed, and illegible due to lack of contrast.]

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

ii SIVAGNANA BOTHAM.
commented on Sivagnana Botham is called "Adwaitha Meikandan"
(அத்துவித மெய்கண்டான், one who saw the Truth of Adwaitha) by
Thayumanavar. However it is the Agama which gives the
Philosophy its form and language. Very absurd notions are
entertained of the Agamas or Tantras, specially derived from the
low practices of the Right-hand followers or Vamabahinis of
Bengal and proceeding from ignorance of the real works, through
want of published books and translations. The books followed by
the Left-hand Section or South Indian Sects are altogether differ-
ent and I give a list of them below. Very little notice is taken
of them by Oriental Scholars and of the existing works the Karma
Kanda are alone preserved to us. There are several of these works
in the great Mutt at Thiruvavaduthurai; and an excellent com-
mentary on one of the Upagamas, Paushkara, by Umapathisiva-
charya is also preserved there. Like the Veda or Mantra, the
Agama or Tantra is divided into Karma Kanda and Gnana Kanda
and there were a large number of Upagamas corresponding to
Upanishads, of which Mrigendra is very largely quoted by Sayana-
charya in his Sarvadarsana Sangraha. The true relation of the
Agama to the Veda is pointed out by Swami Vivekananda in his
address to the Madras people and I quote his observations below.
"The Tantras as we have said, represent the 'Vedic rituals'
in a modified form, and before any one jumps into the most ab-
surd conclusions about them, I will advise him to read the Tantras
in connection with the 'Brahmanas' especially of the 'Adhwaryu'
portion. And most of the 'Mantras' used in the 'Tantras' will
be found taken verbatim from these 'Brahmanas.' As to their
influence, apart from the 'Srouta' and 'Smarta' rituals, all other
forms of ritual observed from the Himalayas to the Comorin have
been taken from the 'Tantras' and they direct the worship of the
Saktas, the Saivas, the Vaishnavas and all others alike."
I am also informed that the sources of the rules for the rituals
followed by Smartas and which are now taken from some manuals

INTRODUCTION. iii
and compilations of very recent origin are really found in the
Agamas or Tantras. However, the Agamas are held in very high
repute by the Non-Smartha populations of Southern India ; and
the Agama is as much held to be the word of the Deity as the
Veda, the word literally meaning "The Revealed Word."
Says Saint Thirumular :—
“ வேதமொடு ஆகமம் மெய்யாம் இறைவனூல்
ஓதும் பொதுவும் சிறப்பு மென்றுன்னுக
நாதன் உரையிவை நாடில் இரண்டந்தம்
பேதம தென்னில் பெரியோர்க்க பேதமே.”
“The Vedas and Agamas are both of them true, both
being the word of the Lord. Think that the first is a general
treatise and the latter a special one. Both form the word of
God. When examined, and where difference is perceived between
Vedanta and Siddhanta, the great will perceive no such difference.”
Says Sri Nilakanta Charya :—
“ Vayanthu Vedasivagamayorbhedam,
Napasyamaha Vedopisivagamaha.”
(I don’t perceive any difference between the Veda and the
Sivagama. The Veda itself is the Sivagama.)
It is needless to observe that Sri Nilakanta or Sri Kanta
Charya belongs to the Saiva School; and it is no less surprising
to see so little notice taken of him and his works by Oriental
Scholars in their general account of Hindu Religions and Philoso-
phies. And strange it is that even the learned Swami whom
I have quoted above does not mention his name, though he
mentions Sri Sankara, Sri Ramanuja and Sri Madvacharya
and a host of other names small and great. Sri Kanta was
a friend and contemporary of Govinda Yogi, the Guru of Sri
Sankara and his Bhashya of Vyasa Sariraka Sutras accord-
ing to most accounts was anterior to that of Sri Sankara's Bashya
itself. And though he does not call his Vedanta Bashya as such, it

iv SIVAGNAÑA BOTHAM.
is popularly known as Visishtadwaitha Bashya or Sutta Adwai-
ta Bashya. And the work is published in parts in the Pandit
Vols. 6 and 7. This commentary of Sri Kanta Charya, the learned
translator of the Vedanta Sutras, Mr. George Thibaut does not
seem to have come across, and he nowhere alludes to it by name;
and yet the results arrived at by him as to the teachings of the
Sutras after a lengthy discussion and comparison of the respect-
ive interpretations of the texts by Sri Sankara and Sri Ramanuja,
exactly fall in with the interpretation of the Sutras by Sri
Kanta Charya. The learned translator observes (Introduction p. c.)
“If, now, I am shortly to sum up the results of the preceding
enquiry, as to the teaching of the Sutras, I must give it as my
opinion that they do not set forth the distinction of a higher and
lower knowledge of Brahman; that they do not acknowledge the
distinction of Brahman and Isvara in Sankara's sense; that they
do not hold the doctrine of the unreality of the world; that they
do not, with Sankara, proclaim the absolute identity of the indi-
vidual and the highest self.” These are exactly points where
Sankara and Sri Kanta differ. The translator further remarks
that he agrees with Ramanuja's mode of interpretation in some
important details, for instance, in regard to the doctrine of
Parinama Vada and interpretation of fourth Adhyaya. These
are also points where Ramanuja agrees with Sri Kanta. But
Sri Kanta differs from both in their interpretations of the pass-
ages referring to Nirguna and Saguna Brahm, and follows
the doctrine of the Siddhantha School. And the doctrine of
Parinama Vada is the only distinguishing mark of Sri Kanta's
Vedanta Philosophy as opposed to the Siddhantha Philosophy;
and it is this Vedanta and not Sankara's Vedanta, that is re-
ferred to approvingly by all Tamil writers and Sages, as in
the passage of Thirumular and Thayumanavar above quoted.
The ground work of Sivagnana Botham is the one adopted by
Sri Kanta for the Vedanta Sutras, and as far as I have been
able to compare, they exactly tally, except where Sankara's forced

INTRODUCTION. v

explanations enter; and the passages, will certainly lose their
meaning unless it is viewed in its proper place, as for instance, in
regard to the purport of the 2nd Sutra of the first Adhyaya, the
objection of the translator (p. xcii), which is perfectly cogent, will
lose its point, if it is not taken as a definition of God but as in-
volving the proof of the existence of God. The Sutra, "Brahman
is that whence the origination and so on (i. e. the sustentation
and reabsorption) of this world proceed," is exactly the same as
the first Sutra of Sivagnana Botham and the same meaning is
conveyed by the first Kural of Thiruvalluvar also. In passing,
I may refer the reader to the Swetaswatara Upanishad, translated
by Dr. Roer, the philosophy of which is exactly the same as
herein expounded, though the learned doctor puzzles himself as
to what this philosophy could be which is neither Vedanta, nor
Sankhya nor Yoga and yet reconciles or attempts to reconcile all
these doctrines.
Coming back to the Agamas, very little is known regarding its
antiquity from the point of view of the European Scholar. The
Nyayikas use the word Agama Pramana, where we would now say
Sruti Pramana, meaning Revealed Word, the word of God or of
the highest authority. So that the Agamas should go back far
behind their time. As the popular phrase runs, Vedagama Purana
Itihasa Smrities, its period should be fixed after the Vedas
and before the rest of the group. Observes Rev. Hoisington,
the first translator into English of Sivagnana Botham, "the
Agamam which contains the doctrinal treatise given in this work,
may safely be ascribed to what I would term the Philosophical
Period of Hinduism, the period between the Vedic and Puranic
Eras. These doctrines can be traced in the earlier works of the
Puranic period, in the Ramayana, the Bhagavat Gita, and the
Manava Dharma Sastra. They are so alluded to and involved in
those works, as to evince that they were already systematized and
established. We have the evidence of some Tamil works that the

vi SIVAGNANA BOTHAM.
Agama doctrines were revived in the South of India before
Brahminism by which I mean Mythological Hinduism obtained
any prominent place there. From some statements in the Rama-
yana, it would appear that they were adopted in the South before
Rama's time. This would fix their date at more than a thousand
years before the Christian Era, certainly as early as that of the
Ramayanam." Adopting another method, it can be very easily
shown that they go far behind the date of Buddha, and though
it is said that the religion of the Hindus at that time
was Hinduism (a meaningless word from the stand point of
the Hindu) the only religion which stood against Buddhism and
Jainism in their palmiest days and into which they finally merged
themselves, without leaving a single vestige in India, was the
Saiva Religion. The struggles between Buddhism and Jainism
and Saivaism are celebrated in the annals of our saints,
Upamanya Bhakta Vilasa and the Tamil Peria Purana, and of
these saints the great Manickavachaka, the famous author of
Thiruvachakam belonged to the Buddhist period and the great
Gnana Sambantha and Vakisa, the authors of 'Thevaram,' belonged
to the Jain period, though our learned Swami Vivekànanda seems
to know very little of them, in spite of the fact that all our
temples in Southern India and not a few in the utmost bounds of
Mysore Province contain their images and all the principal
festivals in Madras and in the mofussil are celebrated in their
honor, I refer to the Makiladi feast in Thiruvottiyur, Aruvathu-
muvar feast in Mylapore, Aruthra feast in Chidambaram and
Avanimula feast in Madura, not to speak of innumerable other
feasts connected with every other temple. Such is the paucity
of knowledge possessed by foreigners and conveyed in the English
language regarding South Indian Chronology, language, religion
and Philosophy, chiefly through want of patriotism and enthu-
siasm on the part of Tamil speaking Indians of the South. Regard-
ing the antiquity of the Saiva Religion itself, M. Barth after
observing that the genesis of the Religion is involved in extreme

INTRODUCTION. vii
obscurity says that "the Vedic writings chance upon them and
as it were go along side of them, during the very period of their
formation."
Of course the difficulty will appear to those who study these
writings and the Philosophy contained in them apart from the
Religion and Religious beliefs of the people, and the religion and
beliefs of the people apart from the writings and the Philosophy
contained therein, and the difficulty will certainly vanish when the
two are studied together and it is perceived how intimately the
two are connected together and how the one enters into the very
whoof and warp of the other. Coming now to the work in ques-
tion, the twelve Sanskrit Sutras in Anushtup metre form part of
Rourava Agama and have been separately styled and handed down
as 'Sivagnana Botham.' The Saivas believe that this is the very
book which was in the hands of the Divine Guru, Dhakshanamurthi
and these were the very doctrines which He taught to the Great
Vedic Rishis, Sanaka, Sanathara, Sanantana and Sanatkumara.
At any rate, as an example of such close and condensed reason-
ing, embracing as it does the whole of the field of Religion and
Philosophy, the work is unparalleled. The Sariraka Sutras of
Vyasa, which contain the same four divisions as the present
work, consist of 555 sutras. There can be no doubt that the
Tamilians, having very early secured a translation of this
work through Meikanda Deva with his invaluable commentary,
cared to possess no translation of any other work on Philoso-
phy from the Sanskrit, and in spite of the great praise that is
bestowed on the Bhagavat Gita, the Tamil reader knows nothing
about it, and it is only recently a Tamil translation has been got out.
Of the merits of this Philosophy, which is discussed here as the
Adwaitha Philosophy, the word Visishtadwaitha having never
come into use with the Tamil writers, I need say nothing here,
following the example of the first translator Rev. H. R. Hoisington
who neither says a word in blame nor in praise of it, leaving the
readers themselves to form their opinions. It is more than

viii SIVAGNANA BOTHAM.
40 years since he published his translation of this work and
of two other works in the Journal of the American Oriental
Society, Vol. No. IV. and I am not in a position to know what
criticism it elicited then. Probably it was shelved as offering
no points of attack. The objections usually taken by Missionaries
and Oriental Scholars against Vedantism fall flat if urged
against this theory, as herein expounded. Of the Rev. H. R.
Hoisington and his translation, I must say a few words. He was
an American Missionary attached to the Batticotta Seminary
in Ceylon. He came to know of the work early and it is almost
pathetic now to read after 40 years, what difficulties he had to
contend with, before he was able to master the subject and
complete the translation and no meed of praise is sufficient for
this and other disinterested seekers after the truth, wherever
it may be found. Nor are these difficulties even vanished to-day.
Consequent on the extreme terseness of diction and brevity of
expression employed in the work, even the ordinary Pundits are
not able to understand without proper commentaries ; and very
few Pundits could be found in Southern India who are
able to expound the text properly even now. For several
years, it was in my thoughts to attempt a translation of this
work, and time and place not permitting, I was only able to
begin it about the middle of last year and when I had fairly
begun my translation, I learnt from a note in Trubner's Sarva
Darsana Sangraha that a previous translation of this work
existed and hunting out for this book, I chanced upon an old
catalogue of Bishop Caldwell and I subsequently traced out the
possession of Bishop Caldwell's book to Rev. J. Lazarus, B.A., of
Madras who very courteously leut me the use of the book and to
whom my best thanks are due. I have used the book to see
that I do not go wrong in essential points and in the language of
the translation. Rev. Hoisington's translation is not literal and
is very free and was evidently made from a very free paraphrase
given of the text by the pundits. I do not find anything cor-

INTRODUCTION. ix
responding to the Varthika commentary of Meikanda Deva in
his translation ; and in the elucidation of the text and original
commentary, I have followed the excellent commentary of Siva-
gnana Yogi, which I think was not available to Mr. Hoisington, in
print then. I must say here that it gave me very great encourage-
ment and pleasure to proceed in the task to hear from a well known
Professor of the South, who wrote to say, “ It gives me very
great pleasure that the Saiva Siddhanta Philosophy is after all,
to be written in English. I should myself have undertaken the
work gladly, if my health had permitted the task. As it is, I am
happy you have found time to undertake the difficult though
laudable task of translating into English, the Philosophic teach-
ings of our Siddhanta Sastras.”
I hope the notes which I have added will be found of use to
the ordinary reader in understanding the text and I have also
added a Glossary of most Sanskrit names and words used in the
work. Contrary to the usual practice I have indulged in Tamil
quotations, for which, I hope the reader will excuse me. I have
largely drawn on ‘Thayumanavar,’ for the simple reason that he
is read by all alike and there is no one in Southern India who
does not know him. It is also my object to show how the
Philosophy herein expounded has passed into the current thought
of the people and their common language, for it might be taken
as true that no religion or Philosophy is entitled to be called
a living one which does not enter into the common thought of the
people and their language. I may also say that my explanation
of the text has the full approval of several Orthodox Pundits, of
whom I can mention Sri la Sri S. Somasundara Nayagar of Madras,
to whom I am largely indebted by means of his lectures and books
and pamphlets, for the little knowledge of Saiva religion and Phi-
losophy which I may possess. Of course, I must not omit to
mention my obligations to Brahma Sri Mathakandana Venkata-
giri Sastrigal, the great Saivite Preacher of Malabar who, is a
Siddhanthi and a follower of Sri Kanta Charya.
B

x SIVAGNANA BOTHAM.
His Holiness The Pandara Sannadhigal of Thiruvavaduthorai
Mutt and His Holiness, Rai Bahadur, Thirugnana Sambantha
Pandara Sannadhigal of Madura Mutt have also been pleased to
go through portions of the work and to express their great
satisfaction..
In the next noté, I will refer briefly to the life of Meikanda
Daver who translated the Sutras into Tamil and added his
commentary to it and that of some of his followers and comment-
ators.

NOTE ON THE AUTHOR.
“He who translated and commented on Sivagnana Botham,
whose knowledge was imparted by Nandi and his disciples, for
the purpose of obtaining Salvation, by pointing out the way to
proceed from the knowledge of the body full of sorrow, to the
knowledge of the soul, and thence to the knowledge of the Supreme
Spirit, enshrined in the Maha Vakya, just as the glorious sun,
enables our sight by dispelling the deep darkness from the vast
surface of this earth ;
“He, who under the name of Swethavana lived in
Thiruvennainallur, surrounded by the waters of the Pennar ;
“He, who left all false knowledge knowing it to be such and
was therefore called Meikanda Deva ;
“He is the Lord whose feet form the flower worn on the
heads of even the holiest sages.”
Such is the brief Sirappu Payiram which is usually affixed
to the Tamil edition of the book, giving particulars of the name
and place of the author and the merit of his work.
The author who translated in Tamil, Sivagnana Botham and
commented on it was called in early life Swethavana and after
he attained spiritual eminence was called Meikanda Deva
(meaning Truth finder) and he lived in Thiruvennainallur
situated on the banks of the lower Pennar, about 20 miles
from Panruti on the S. I. R. line. To this brief account
tradition adds the following particulars. One Atchuthan of
Pennagadam Village near Thiruvenkadu or Swethavana in

xii SIVAGNANA BOTHAM.
Tanjore District, was long childless and he prayed incessantly to
Swethavana Ishwara for the boon of a child. One morning
he went early to the temple tank and bathed in the tank and
when he got up finishing his prayers, he discovered lying on the
steps of the tank a new born babe whom he at once pressed to his
bosom, and praising God for his mercy to him, took it home and
gave it to his wife. And these two were bringing it up. Being
the gift of Swethavana Ishwara, the child was named Swethavana.
In course of time, however, his caste people began to murmur
against Atchutha, saying that he is bringing up a low born found-
ling. The parents were in very deep sorrow on this account, and
when Atchuthan's brother-in-law had come to him on a visit
from Thiruvennainallur and he offered to take the boy with him
and bring him up, they glady consented and the babe's home
became Thirnvennainallur from its 3rd year. It happened, how-
ever, that the child was dumb from its birth, but the bent of its
mind was discovered in its very play which consisted in making
Sivalingam of sand and becoming absorbed in its contemplation.
One day, a Siddha, a Jivan Mukta, passing by that way, saw the
child in its play and was at once attracted towards it, and observ-
ing the child's advanced spiritual condition, he touched it with
Grace, altered its name to that of Meikanda Deva, and instructed
the child with the Divine Philosophy contained in Sivagnana
Botham, and ordered it to translate the same in Tamil and let the
world know its truth. The sage, however, retained his silence till
his fifth year was past, during which interval it is stated he was
receiving further instruction from God Ganesha of Thiruvennai-
nallur, who was called Polla Pillayar, and the abstract of the
Sutrams and the various arguments called Churnika is said to
have been imparted to Meikanda Deva by Polla Pillayar. How-
ever, after his fifth year, he began to speak out and preach his
Sivagnana Botham and he attracted a very large body of disciples.
In those days, there lived in Thiruthoraiyur, a famous pundit and
Philosopher named Arulnanthi Sivachariar, well versed in all the

NOTE ON THE AUTHOR. xiii
Vedas and Agamas, and hence called Sakala Agama Pundit.
He, with his disciples, came on a visit to Thiruvennainallur ;
and while there, his disciples became attracted by the teaching of
Meikanda Deva and gradually began to desert their former
teacher. Arulnanthi Sivachariar came to know of the cause of
the desertion of his pupils and went to meet and vanquish
Meikanda Deva, face to face. He went there, and the moment the
eye of Grace of Meikanda Deva fell on him, he felt his
Ahankara or Agnana leave him and feeling vanquished fell at
his feet and sought his grace and from thence became his
most prominent and devoted disciple. Here a fact has to
be noted. Meikanda Deva was a Vellalah; at least his foster
parents were so, and yet Arulnanthi Sivachariar occupying
the highest position even among Brahmans did not scruple
to become his disciple. Under Meikanda Deva's inspiration
Arulnanthi Sivachariar composed a philosophical treatise called
Irupa Irupakthu (இருபா இருபஃது). Under his direction again,
Arulnanthi Sivachariar composed Sivagnana Siddhi, as an autho-
rized commentary on Sivagnana Botham, two works which have
been rarely parallelled even in Sanskrit. If the genius of Thiru-
valluvar gave to the Tamil language all the teachings to be found
in the Vedas, Agamas, Upanishads and Dharma Sastras, on the
first three Purusharthams, Dharma, Artha and Kamia or Aram,
Porul and Inbam, in a thoroughly systematized form, the genius
of Meikanda Deva and Arulnanthi Sivacharyar gave to the Tamil
language, all the teachings of these books on the last Purushartha
namely, Moksha or Veedu, in a similarly condensed and systema-
tized form. The plan of the first work is this. The twelve
Sutras are divided into 2 Chapters of 6 Sutras each, general and
special. These chapters are divided into two 'Iyals' each,
making a total division of the book into four, of three Sutras each.
I have, however, divided the work into four chapters, indicating at
the same time whether each belongs to the general or the special
division.

xiiii SIVAGNANA BOTHAM.
The first chapter treats of the proof of the three entities or
Padarthas, the second dealing with their further attributes or
relationship, the third dealing with Sadana or modes of attaining
the benefit of the knowledge of the three Padarthas, and the last
dealing with the True End sought after by all mankind. The
reader of Vyasa's Sariraka Sutra or Vedanta Sutra will observe
that the divisions adopted in the latter work are the same as in
Sivagnana Botham. Further each Sutra is divided into separate
theses or arguments and Meikanda Deva has added his comment-
ary called Varthika to each of these theses or arguments or
Adhikarana as it is called. This Varthika commentary is in very
terse prose and is the most difficult portion of the work. Meikanda
Deva has added Udarana or analogies in verses of Venba Metre
to each of the Adhikaranas. These Udarana are not similes
of rhetoric but are logical analogies used as a method of proof.
The reader's attention is particularly drawn to these analogies
and he is requested to test these analogies with any rule of
Western logic, and at the same time test the analogies ordinari-
ly set forth in works on Hindu Philosophy published in English.
Sivagnana Siddhi is divided into two books, Parapaksham and
Supaksham. In the Parapaksham, all the Hindu systems from
Charvaka Philosophy to Mayavadam are stated and criticised and
it is similar to Sayana's Sarva Darsana Sangraha, and yet a
cursory comparison will show the superior treatment of the
former. The subject which Sayana or as he is better known in
Southern India, Vidyaranyar has compressed in one chapter
in a few pages, under the heading of Saiva Darsan, is treated
by Arulnanthi Sivachariar in his Supaksham in 300 and odd
stanzas, and the printed works with commentaries comprise about
2,000 and odd pages. The ground plan of this work is the same as
that of Sivagnana Botham but it contains in addition a chapter
on 'Alavei' or Logic, an abstract of which has been also translat-
ed by Rev. H. R. Hoisington and published in the American
Oriental Journal, Vol, iv. Though this is based on Sanskrit works

NOTE ON THE AUTHOR. xv
on Logic, yet an advance is made in a new classification of logical
methods, predicates, &c. And this I might say of the genius of
Tamil writers generally, though they have borrowed largely
from Sanskrit, the subject receives altogether an independent and
original treatment. As my old teacher used to observe, no doubt
Gold from Sanskrit source is taken but before it becomes current
coin, it receives the stamp or impress of the Tamil writer's genius.
Then about the date of these works, there is no data avail-
able to fix the exact time of these works. But that they must
have been very old is manifest from the fact that they have sup-
plied the form and even the language for nearly all the Tamil
writers on philosophy and religion, excepting in Thevaram and
Thiruvachakam and other works included in the Saiva Thirumurai.
And there are also clear data to show that these works were
anterior to the establishment of any of the great Saiva Adhinams
or Mutts in Southern India and the great Namasivaya Desikar,
who founded the Thiruvavaduthurai Adhinam about 600 years ago
claimed to be the fifth or sixth in succession from Meikanda
Deva and the disciples of this Mutt and Saivas generally call
themselves as belonging to Meikandan Santhathi. One other
fact which fixes this much more approximately, I must mention.
Umapathi Sivachariar who is fourth in succession from Meikanda
Deva, gives the date of his work, Sankarpanirakaranam in the
preface of the work itself as 1235 of Salivahana Era. This will
make the work therefore 582 or 583 years old and giving a period
of 25 or 30 years for each of the Acharyas, the date of Meikanda
Deva will be about A. D. 1192 or 1212 or say about A. D. 1200.
These facts therefore furnish us with a positive data that these
works could not have been at least less than 650 years old. I
have not been however able to investigate the matter with all
the available sources of information, for want of time and oppor-
tunity and I must leave the subject here.
A few words about the commentators on these works are also
necessary. There are two short commentaries published on Siva-

xvi SIVAGNANA BOTHAM.
gnana Botham. One is by Pandi Perumal and it is a very clear
and useful commentary for the beginner and nothing is known
about the writer and about his life except his mere name; but
from the way he describes himself, he must have lived very
near the time of Meikanda Deva. The other commentator is
a well known person, Sivagnana Yogi or Muniver who died
in the year Visuvavasu before last, 1785 A. D. The famous
Adhinam at Thiruvavaduthurai has produced very many great
sages, poets and writers in its days but it produced none
equal to Sivagnana Yogi. The Tamil writers do not think
that any praise is too lavish when bestowed upon him; and I have
heard pundits of even other faiths speak in awe and respect of his
mighty genius. He was a great Poet, and Rhetorician, a keen
Logician and Philosopher, and commentator and a great Sanskrit
Scholar. He with his pupil composed Kanchipuran which in the
opinion of many surpasses many of the Epics in the Tamil lan-
guage, so far as the imagery of its description and its great
originality and the difficulty of its style and diction are concerned.
He is the author of several commentaries and works on Tamil
Grammar and Rhetoric. He has translated into Tamil the Sanskrit
Tarka Sangraha and his commentaries on Sivagnana Botham and
Sivagnana Siddhi have been rarely equalled for the depth of per-
ception and clearness of exposition and the vastness of erudition
displayed by him. His short commentary on Sivagnana Botham is
the one now published and his other commentary called the Dravida
Bhashya has not been published yet. The original manuscripts
are in the possession of His Holiness the Pandara Sannadhigal of
Thiruvavaduthurai and very many attempts were made during the
life time of His Holiness the late Pandara Sannadhigal to induce
him to publish this work but without success. I have interviewed
His Holiness the Present Pandara Sannadhigal, and he appeared to
me to be very enlightened in his views and sentiment and I have
every hope that His Holiness will have no objection to publish the
work provided he sees that the people are really earnest about its

NOTE ON THE AUTHOR. xvii
publication. A few glimpses that have been obtained of the
work here and there fully justify the great expectations entertain-
ed of it as a work of very rare merit. Sivagnana Yogi has fully
followed in his dialectics the dictum laid down by the author of
Sivaprakasam that everything old is not necessarily true and
that everything new is not necessarily false. This view accounts
generally for the greater freedom of thought displayed by
Tamil Siddhantha Philosophers in the treatment of their subject
without being tied down too narrowly by any Vedic Text, &c.,
than Sanskrit writers.
In these days of boasted toleration, and the proclamation of
universal truths and universal religions from every little house
top, it will be interesting to note what an ideal of toleration and
universal religion the Siddhanta writers generally had. Says the
author of Sivagnana Siddhi, "Religions and truths as professed
in this world are various and differ from each other. If you ask,
which is then the true religion and which is the universal truth,
hear! That is an universal Religion and Truth, which without
contradicting this faith or that faith reconciles their differences
and comprises all and every faith and truth in its broad folds."
The gist of this is contained in the phrase 'எல்லாமாய் அல்லவு
மாய்' "all and not all or above all" which again is the Lakshana
of Adwaitham, as I have elsewhere explained. In India, at the
present day, certain phrases or forms of Idealism are put for-
ward as expressing universal Truth and a large body of ignorant
and credulous people are misled by it. Idealism is being exploded
and discredited in Europe, and as M. Barth truly observes, Idealism
when pushed to its logical conclusions leads one to Nihilism.
The Siddhanta Sastras are 14 in number. The first is Siva-
gnana Botham of Meikanda Deva; and two works of Arulnanthi
Sivachariar I have already mentioned. Another of Meikanda
Deva's pupils by name Manavasakam Kandanthar composed a
treatise called 'Unmai Vilakkam' 'Light of truth' and this little
c