Talk:Importance of Sthala Purāṇas

By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami

In my opinion, the Sthala Purāṇas not only enable us to have an insight into history but also enrich our knowledge of local culture and local customs. It seems to me that if they are read together in a connected manner, they will throw more light on our history than even the 18 major Purāṇas and Upapurāṇas. In fact, they fill the gaps in the major Purāṇas.

Local legends do help in a proper understanding of history. For instance, educated people today do not believe that Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda visited any of the temples or that he brought the pūjā performed there under a certain system. "The great non-dualist that he was and exponent of the path of jñāna," they argue, "he would not have concerned himself with devotion, temple worship, the Āgamas, and the like."

But let us examine the stories that tell us that he gave new life to certain temples — temples that are thousand miles or more apart. Their connection with the Ācārya is confirmed from such stories and local legends. The priest who conducts the pūjā in Badarīnātha in the Himalaya is a Nampūtiri Brāhmaṇa from Kerala — he is called "Rāwal". Here, in Madras, the pūjā at the Tripurasundarī temple at Tiruvorriyūr is also by a Nampūtiri.

This is proof of the oral tradition according to which the Ācārya was a Nampūtiri who engaged fellow Nampūtiris to conduct pūjā in the temples he revived.

In teaching us lessons in dharma also the Sthala Purāṇas are in no way inferior to the major Purāṇas. It is in fact these local Purāṇas, which are a few hundred in number, that throw light on the finer points of dharma. Unfortunately, even the religious-minded among the educated class today think poorly of them.

But, until recently, these Purāṇas were treated with respect by learned men in Tamil Nadu. Distinguished Tamil scholars have written Purāṇas after those existing in the name of great sages and also a number of Sthala Purāṇas. There are works in Tamil describing the importance and significance of places and temples — they are known variously as Sthala Purāṇas, maṉmiyam, kalaṁbagam, uḷā, etc. (Mahimā means greatness or glory; maṉmiyam is its Tamil form.)

Tamil literature is divided into the Saṅgam, Tēvāram-Divyaprabandham, and Kampaṉ-Oṭṭakuttaṟ periods. Scholars describe the 16th century as the period of the Sthala Purāṇas.

The chief authors of such works are Kamalai Jñānaprakāśar and Śaiva Eḷḷappa Nāvāḷar. We know the worthiness of Sthala Purāṇas from the fact that among their authors are:

• Kācchiyappa Śivācāriyar (he composed the Kanda Purāṇam)
• Parañjyoti Munivar (author of the Tiruvilayādal Purāṇam)
• Umāpati Śivācāriyar (a distinguished teacher of Śaivism)
• Śivaprakāśa Svāmin
• The Iraṭṭai Pulavars
• Antakkavi Vīrarāghava Muḍaliyār
• Koṭṭaiyūr Śivakkoḻundu Dēśikar
• Trikūṭa Rasappa Kavirāyar

In recent times, there was Mahāvidvan Mīnākṣisundaram Piḷḷai, who was the guru of U. V. Svāminātha Ayyar. He has written a number of Sthala Purāṇas.

We learn from this that Sthala Purāṇas have a place of honour in the Tamil religious tradition and literature.

A distinguished Sanskrit scholar and authority on the śāstras, Karuṅgulam Kṛṣṇa Śāstri, has written a Tamil work called Vedāraṇya Māhātmyam.

Tamil rulers gave their support to Sthala Purāṇas and their propagation. More than four and half centuries ago, the Purāṇa relating to Pañcanādakṣetra (Tiruvaiyāru, Tañjāvūr) was translated into Tamil. The translator mentions that he undertook the work as desired by Govinda Dīkṣita, who was responsible for the founding of the Nāyaka kingdom of Tañjāvūr.