Sekkizhar — 12th-century Tamil poet and author of the Periya Puranam

Life and patronage

Sekkizhar lived during the reign of Kulothunga Chola II and worked within the royal circle; later tradition describes him as a learned courtier who composed his major work under royal encouragement. Exact details of his birth, education and private life are not well documented; most accounts emphasize his role as a devotional scholar and a literary organizer of earlier oral and written traditions.

Major work: the Periya Puranam

His principal composition, commonly called the Periya Puranam, is a lengthy Tamil poetic account of the sixty-three Shaiva saints known as the Nayanars. Traditionally regarded as containing about 4,253 stanzas, the work weaves biography, miracle narratives and devotional examples into a single collection that aims to inspire faith and moral emulation.

Style and structure

Sekkizhar wrote in classical Tamil poetic forms, blending narrative biography with hagiographic exempla. The poems range in tone from austere praise to vivid storytelling and are organized to present different regional and social backgrounds of the saints, demonstrating the inclusive reach of Shaiva devotion across caste and locality.

Importance and legacy

The Periya Puranam became an integral part of the Saiva canon in Tamil tradition and is often listed as the twelfth Tirumurai in devotional compilations. Its influence extends to temple ritual, visual art, performance traditions and later devotional literature. The work remains a primary source for understanding medieval Tamil piety and the cult of the Nayanars.

Notable distinctions

• Bridges oral and written devotional traditions by collecting diverse saints' lives into one epic.
• Serves both literary and religious functions: admired for style and used as a devotional text.
• Continues to be studied, translated and performed in South Indian cultural contexts.