The story of the canonization of the Thevaaram is told in a fourteenth century work, the Thirumuraikanta Puranam (“The Story of the Discovery of the Thirumurai”). According to the Puranam, the eleventh-century Chola King, Apaya-kula-cEkaraN, asked the poet Nambi-Andar-Nambi of NaaraiyUr to reveal the hymns and lives of the Saiva saints to the world. At the king’s request that the lost hymns of the saints be recovered, Nambi-Andar-Nambi worshipped his chosen deity, Ganapathi (Son of Siva and God of Beginnings) in his persona of “Pollaap-pillaiyaar of Thiru-naaraiyUr.”
Lord Ganesha revealed the location of the hymns to Nambi — the sealed room near the golden hall of the great Siva temple in Chidambaram. Upon further prayers from Nambi, Sri Ganesha revealed the termite-eaten manuscripts to the king. Later, a heavenly voice (Siva himself) commanded Nambi to learn the tunes of the hymns. It is said that termites had eaten a large number of hymns and that the hymns compiled by Nambi consisted only of the remaining hymns.
Having compiled these hymns of Sambanthar, Appar, and Sundarar into seven books (Books 1-7 of the Thirumurai), Nambi set out to recover the lost musical tradition of the songs. The scholar finally managed to reconstruct the melodic and rhythmic aspects of the hymns with the help of a female descendant of the musician (Thiru-Nilakantha Yalpannar Nayanar) who had accompanied Sambanthar on his travels. The recovery of the sacred hymns establishes the authenticity of the Thevaaram hymns as “revealed” scriptures, attested by the miraculous communications from Lord Ganesha and by Lord Siva.
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To enhance your puja experience, you might want to consider using the following files along side the mantra chanting. Just click on the Naathasvaram files and you’ll have background music to accompany your chants.
Maha Ganapathi Puja – Naathasvaram
Sri Skanda Jyothi Vidhana [Pancha/Shodasa/Raja] Upachara Puja – Naathasvaram
Victory, victory to the Great Hero Lord Skanda, whom we worship