The harbinger of this post-Co ̄
̄la trend was
Arun:akirina ̄tar (c. 1475–1550). His poetry was characterized
by an ingenious use of meter and sound as an accompani-
ment to dance; by a skillful combination of Sanskrit and
Tamil terms, albeit in a Tamil idiom that celebrated its very
Tamilness; by lavish praise of Murukan
̄
and that deity’s con-
sorts and sacred places; and by a call both to egalitarian issues
and to a devotion to God. Arun:akir likened the religious ex-
perience to a profound silence.
By the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries bhakti liter-
ature had mushroomed. Such poets as Ta ̄yuma ̄n
̄
avar, Kacci-
yapaciva, and Kuma ̄rakurupara celebrated the mythology,
sacred places, and devotionalism of S ́aivism. Tamil
Ta ̄lapura ̄n:as, or mythologies of temple sites, proliferated in
the fifteen and sixteenth centuries, each purporting to de-
scribe the mythical history and grandeur of local temples by
localizing and re-enforcing themes that had been part of the
Tamil landscape for centuries, especially the sacrality and
power of land and waters. The role of the Goddess was an
important theme in these temple myths, especially her iden-
tity with the land and the necessity to channel her consider-
able power into the patterns of normative theism.
The late Vijayanagar period saw a resurgence of temple
construction. The number of temples almost tripled in the
two centuries between 1550 and 1750. While the construc-
tion of S ́aiva temples was relatively moderate, particularly in
eastern portions of the Tamil region, temples to Vis:n:u, the
Goddess, and S ́iva’s sons Murukan
̄
and Gan:e ́sa proliferated
much more rapidly than in earlier centuries, especially in
western portions of the region. Further, these temples more
frequently became the arena for public events, including
marriages and festivals. Festivals such as the Cittarai festival
(April–May) in Madurai and the Maha ̄navam ̄ı festival (Sep-
tember–October) in Vijayanagara were described by com-
mentators in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as enor-
mous celebrations and paradigmatic events. Such festivals
came to express a wide range of social and religious realities;
relationships between castes and sectarian groups; the role of
the king as presiding presence, warrior par excellence, and
agent of prosperity; celebration of harvest or significant sea-
sonal transition; and the reenactment of the career of the
deity and the extolling of him or her as celestial prototype
of the king and cosmic ruler. Extant temples were enlarged,
gopuras, or entranceways, were donated by numbers of
wealthier families, and the temple environs took on the char-
acter of a miniature city.
These centuries were also a time when some Sanskrit
Pura ̄n:as and epic literature were transcreated into Tamil. In
the seventeenth century, for example, the Tamil version of
the Skanda Pura ̄n:a appeared, giving to the epic deity a flavor
that incorporated all his appropriate Tamil heritage.
Another form of bhakti literature that proliferated by
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was a form of poetry
known as pil:l:aitamil, which worshiped the deity in the form
of a child. While the A ̄
̄
lva ̄r A ̄n:t:a ̄
̄l was apparently the firstpoet to celebrate in Tamil the childhood of Kr:s:n:a, there is
increased use of this form of poetry in both Vais:n:ava and
S ́aiva contexts. In this type of bhakti the poet often assumes
the form of the deity’s parent and equates the stages of child-
hood to rhythms of the cosmos and of the poetic medium.
However, there was also a religious countermovement
to be found in Tamil country during much of this period.
Primarily between the tenth and fifteenth centuries a cryptic
“antiestablishment” form of religion found its expression in
the poetry and lifestyle of persons known as cittars (Skt., sid-
dhas). Primarily S ́aiva, the cittars were nonetheless commit-
ted to the notion that S ́iva or Civan was not to be worshiped
in iconic form but rather as the supreme limitless one who
was virtually identifiable with individual life-forms
(j ̄ıvana ̄tman). Theirs was a lifestyle therefore given to yoga,
bodily disciplines, meditation, and healing practices. Temple
cults, iconic worship, caste, and Brahmanism were criticized,
and such notions as karman and reincarnation de-
emphasized. Rather, the body was believed to be temple and
microcosm, and internal power the noblest of virtues. In
their poetry, natural objects became images of the individu-
al’s spiritual quest: The dancing snake, for example, could
be seen as the individual’s personhood or spirit, and the bee
came to represent the life force. Pattin
̄a ̄ttar II (fourteenth-
fifteenth centuries) and his disciple Pattirakiriyar, on the
other hand, were more pessimistic: Life is tragic, the body
filthy, and the beauty of women detestable. The human is
a frustrated beggar who longs to be delivered and liberated
by God. This is a mood that appears, to varying extents, in
the writings of Arun:akirina ̄tar (fifteenth century),
Tayuma ̄n
̄avar (1706–1744), and Ra ̄malin ̇ ka Cuva ̄mikal
(nineteenth century).In summary, the Vijayanagar period was a time when
religion subtly reaffirmed Hindu and Tamil identities in the
wake of the extensive Sanskritization of the Co ̄
̄la period and
in the face of Muslim and Telugu influence throughout the
period. Literary and architectural expressions of religion re-
flected a resurgence of devotionalism and participation. The
cultus of the Goddess had become widespread and devotion-
al Vais:n:avism and S ́aivism were resurgent, most frequently
expressing themselves in worship of the deity’s childhood,
the building of shrines, and the incorporation of aspects of
popular religion. In the meanwhile the tradition had also
produced a self-critical movement, focusing on the body as
medium of worship and raising questions about the public
cultus.
PRE-MODERN PERIOD. By the seventeenth century Europe-
an influence had begun to leave its impact on Tamil culture
and religion. As early as the fourth century Christians had
inhabited areas along the southwest coast. Pockets of Jewish
merchants settled in such western cities as Cochin where, by
the eleventh century, they had negotiated extensive privileges
and rights with local rulers. While these groups remained
economically active in the area now known as Kerala, they
tended to be socially insular and their impact on Tamil-TAMIL RELIGIONS 8977