Thiruppugazh, which is a set of prayers, is addressed to the Lord in musical verses. Music is the expression of love and devotion.
There are various works of devotion that hail the glory of the Lord but only Arunagiri's works have got the title: "Thiruppugazh" as he succeeded to a great extent in bringing the glory of Muruga into full focus. The best example would be the 'muthai tharu bakthi' thiruppugazh.Īrunagirinathar describes all the infinite qualities of the Lord in vivid details and hail His glory in his verses and so his works have got the name: "Thiruppugazh" Glory to Lord Muruga. At the beginning of each poem in the Thiruppugazh, Arunagirinathar gives the rhythm notations. By combining the Tamil hard or soft consonants and long or short vowels in different ways, Arunagirinathar produces hundreds of compound rhythmic words such as, tatta, taatta, tantha, thaantha, thaiya, thanna, thaana, thanana, etc. Just like the seven octaves in music, Arunagirinathar, is known as a santhakkavi – musical poet, utilises certain repetitive phrases rhythmically to achieve movement and colour in his poems. Arunagirinathar was the pioneer in the art of setting his poems to the sweet sounds of music. Although music had always been an integral part of the Tamil religious hymns such as Tevaram, Arunagirinathar was one of the first poet to set all his compositions to reverberating music in the style of "Santham" which means setting the verses within a certain length to conform with rhythm (thala). The poet Arunagirinathar represents a remarkable blend of Tamil literary genius, a high degree of devotion to Murugan and a musical expertise.
It is an invaluable treasure a seeker of salvation can draw inspiration from. Thiruppugazh is a set of songs that kindles the music of devotion in one's heart and stimulates spiritual awakening in the mind. The anthology is considered one of the central works of medieval Tamil literature, both for its poetical and musical qualities, and for its religious, moral and philosophical content. Thiruppugazh (Tamil திருப்புகழ் tiruppukazh "Glory to the Lord" or "Divine glory") is a 15th century anthology of Tamil religious songs dedicated to Murugan, the son of Shiva, written by the poet-saint Arunagirinathar.