Thirumanthiram is the tenth Thirumurai in the Tamil Saivaite Panniru Thirumurai. It has been divided into nine sections called Tantras, containing the quintessence of the Saiva Agamas. Sekkizhar, the author of Periyapuranam, designated this Tamil classic as 'Tamizh Moovaayiram' since it possesses 3000 poems each of which has unique metrical structure, each line consisting of 11 or 12 syllables, depending upon the initial syllable.
It is the earliest exposition of Saiva Agamas in Tamil, discussing in detail the four related steps of spiritual progress viz.,
1) Carya
2) Kriya
3) Yoga
4) Jnana
Tirumoolar, the author of the text, has been hailed as one of the 63 Nayanmars. He was a great mystic and Yogi. For a very long period he was absorbed in meditation and contemplation beneath the shade of a Bodhi tree at Tiruvavaduthurai and delivered the poems which are collectively called the Tirumandiram i.e. the divine incantations. Historically, the author belonged to 500 A.D., long before the period of the Thevaram trio.
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