Ma ̄n.ikkava ̄cakar, a S ́aiva poet, only later accepted as one of the classical
Nayan
̄
marpoets and variously dated between the sixth and ninth centuries,
co-opted imageries of love and sexuality to describe the relationship with
the divine. The natural landscape was sensually described but was thought
to fade into insignificance in the presence of the divine. To be “possessed”
by the god was like a form of madness – it transcended all other experiences.
Relationships with women similarly faded in comparison with the
relationship to S ́iva. Indeed, the poet was like the beloved who was offered
love (an
̄
pu) by the god and united with God as if in sexual union.
Ma ̄n.ikkava ̄cakar described the bliss of being “possessed” by S ́iva:
He grabbed me
lest I go astray.
Wax before an unspent fire,
mind melted,
body trembled.
I bowed, I wept,
danced, cried aloud,
I sang, and I praised him.Unyielding, as they say,
as an elephant’s jaw
or a woman’s grasp,
was love’s unrelenting
seizure.
Love pierced me
like a nail
driven into a green tree.
Overflowing, I tossed
like a sea,heart growing tender,
body shivering,
while the world called me Demon!
and laughed at me,
I left shame behind,
took as an ornament,
the mockery of the local folk.
Unswerving, I lost my cleverness
in the bewilderment of ecstasy.^792 The Post-classical Period