Nakkīraṉãr

Nakkīraṉãr, sometimes spelled Nakkirar or Nakkiranar, was a Sangam era Tamil poet.[1][2] He is credited with the devotional poem to the Hindu god Murugan in the Pattuppāṭṭu anthology, titled Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai.[1][3] In the historic Tamil tradition, he is believed to have also authored a second poem in the Sangam collection titled Neṭunalvāṭai, as well as a detailed commentary on Iraiyanar Akapporul (lit. Grammar of Stolen Love). However, according to the Tamil literature scholar Kamil Zvelebil, the Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai and the Neṭunalvāṭai were likely authored by two different Nakkirar, and Nakkīraṉãr and the older Nakkīrar were different individual.[1][3] It is uncertain as to which century Nakkiranar lived, much like the chronology of the Sangam literature. Scholars variously place his works between 3rd- and 8th-century CE, with Zvelebil suggesting late classical.[4][5]

Nakkīraṉãr's poem Tirumurukarruppatai is the most ancient known bhakti genre poem of 312 akaval verses on Murugan (also known as Subrahmanya, Kumara, Skanda, Kartikeya in other parts of India). The Tirumurukarruppatai is held in "very high esteem" in the Murugan tradition as well as the Murugan's father Shiva tradition.[6] It is of interest to history, architecture and religious studies because it describes different temples of Murugan in ancient Tamil Nadu, devotional practices, and the theological legends. The author paints in words the scenes of nature near these temples, towns, and the culture of ancient South Indian Hinduism.[6]

He is one of the prominent characters in the Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam. The Thiruvilaiyadal episodes of the confrontation of Sundareswarar (Shiva) with Nakkeerar are enacted as a part of the Meenakshi Amman Temple festival traditions of Madurai.