Civanana Munivar

Civanana Munivar, also known as Caminata Tecikar or Icana Tecikar, was a Tamil poet who belonged to the Tiruvavatuturai mutt. He composed several literary works in Tamil language which includes kalampakam and a grammatical work titled Ilakkanakkottu. Cankara Namaccivayar was one of his disciples, who was also a great scholar in both the languages of Tamil and Sanskrit. He constructed a rather detailed commentary on the first Sutra of the literary work of Tolkappiyam. Civanana Munivar composed one of the best Talapuranams, known as Kanchipuranam. The work is popular for its uniqueness and literary merit. Caminata Tecikar also wrote Comecar Mutumolivenpa, which is an ethical work of didactic nature, composed in the venpa metre of Tamil literarture.

Every verse in the Tamil poetic work comprises of some lines from the Tirukkural, along with some historical incidents and tales that are relevant to the subject matters of the Kural mentioned in the work. Civanana Munivar also wrote a scholarly and intellectual work, an intricately detailed as well as a brief commentary (Maha Bashyam or mapatiyam) on the fundamental text for the Shaiva Siddhanta philosophy called Civananpotam. The prose works composed by the Tamil poet reveal his erudition and expertise in Sanskrit, grammar and logic. The protest notes written by him, the form of books, were dread even by the erudite and scholars of that period. The protest note of Ilakkana Vilakkac Curavali is against Ilakkana Vilakkam, which is a grammatical work. Caminata Tecikar wrote another protest note under the pseudonym of Vairakkuppdyam. This work is against a section of commentary on a Sutra in Civanana Citiyar. The eminent poet has also translated a number of Sanskrit works into the Tamil language.

Other minor literary works composed by him, such as Cekalunir Vinayakar Pillaittamil and Amutampikai Pillaittamil have also gained immense popularity in Tamil literary world. Civanana Munivar wrote some talapuranams for several of the shrines in the Tamil nation. A disciple of Kacciyappa Munivar (Civanana Munivar) named Civanana Cuvamikal composed a fascinating talapuranam which eulogises the shrine at Tiruttani and the magnificence of Lord Kartikeya (Murugan), the presiding deity. He was inspired to compose the puranam in a very interesting in order to prevent the general people from reading Civaka Cintamani, the Jain epic. Thus the work of Civanana Cuvamikal personifies the best characteristics in the epic Civaka Cintamani. His disciple Kantappaiyar composed Tiruttanikai Arruppatai, Vantuvitututu, Puvalurappuranam Kacci Anan Taruttirecar, Vindyakapuranam and Perurppuranam.

Another one of his disciples, Tottikalai Cuppiramaniya Munivar, composed many literary works in Tamil namely, Citamparecar Vannam, Kalaicaik Kovai, Turaicaik Kovai, Tiruttanit Tiruviruttam, Tiruttanit Tiruviruttam and Ampalavana Tecikar Anantakkalippu. Some of these works were composed in praise of the leaders of the Shaiva mutts. Ampalavana Tecikar Anantakkalippu and Tiruttanit Tiruviruttam were inspired from Tamil folk songs.