Agasthiyar Falls in the Western Ghats mountain range of southern India. Agasthiyar temple adjoining the falls named Agasthiyar falls is located half way to Panatheertham, which is at a distance of 4-km from Papanasam Shiva temple. A temple dedicated to the sage Agasthiyar clings to the rocky mountain above the Falls. Legend has it that when Shiva married Parvati, he was worried that the influx of people from the South attending the wedding in the North would cause the North to sink, so he dispatched Agasthiyar to the South (to this waterfall, naturally) in order to balance the world. To commemorate the visit of the divine couple, The Agasthya temple was built there This is located half way to the Panatheertham which is at a distance of 4 km from Papanasam Siva Temple. One can reach these Agasthiyar Falls and temple by trekking a distance of 3 km.
The waters that supply the Falls flow through forests filled with medicinal herbs, past Agasthiyars pure abode, and feed the verdant fields below, contributing to the belief that the waters at Agasthiyar Falls have healing powers. Of course theres also a strong recreational component to the Falls popularity: its fun and cooling to be pummelled by the force of the waters 100-metre drop." Richard Rapfogel recently traded a 25-year career as a psychologist for the full-time pursuit of his 40-year passion for photography. He describes his work as a means of engaging with, more fully experiencing and better understanding the layering of meaning which resides below the surface of life. Richards photographs are quite varied in subject matter, ranging from images of people in India and elsewhere, to graffiti-laden walls, to studies of a single forested acre in North Carolina, but they share a common artistic impulse: to participate in life by looking, to allow oneself to be touched and influenced by what one sees, to articulate that experience and, hopefully, to illuminate it.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
ABOUT SIDDHARS
A siddhar is one who has attained "Ashtama Siddhis". The ashtama siddhis are
as follows:
1. Anima (shrinking) -- Power of becoming the size of an atom and entering
the smallest beings.
2. Mahima (illimitability) -- Power of becoming mighty and co-extensive
with the universe. The power of increasing one's size without limit.
3. Lagima (lightness) -- Capacity to be quite light though big in size.
4. Garima (weight) -- Capacity to weigh heavy, though seemingly small size.
5. Prapthi (fulfillment of desires) -- Capacity to enter all the worlds from
Brahma Loga to the neither world. It is the power of attaining everything
desired.
6. Prakasysm (irresistable will) -- Power of disembodying and entering into other bodies (metempsychosis) and going to heaven and enjoying what everyone aspires for, simply from where he stays.
7. Isithavam (supremacy) -- Have the creative power of God and control
over the Sun, the moon and the elements and
8. Vasithavam (dominion over the elements) -- Power of control over King
and Gods. The power of changing the course of nature and assuming any
form.
Generally siddhars are considered to be super human beings who have defined age and other laws of nature to which all human beings are defined to. The historians of Alexander the great, spoke of the existence of a class of mystics called Gymnosophists in all countries from Egypt to India .These siddhars were
found in Alexandria in as late as the fourth century A.D.
There are 18 siddhars in the Tamil siddha tradition. Each of the siddhars had lived in varied places under different names. The following are most common names of the 18 siddhars. They are listed in the order of their time period.
1. Sri Agasthiyar Siddhar
2. Sri Pathanjali Siddhar
3. Sri Kamalamuni Siddhar
4. Sri Thirumoolar Siddhar
5. Sri Kuthambai Siddhar
6. Sri Korakkar Siddhar
7. Sri Thanvandri Siddhar
8. Sri Sundaranandar Siddhar
9. Sri Konganar Siddhar
10. Sri Sattamuni Siddhar
11. Sri Vanmeegar Siddhar
12. Sri Ramadevar Siddhar
13. Sri Nandeeswarar Siddhar
14. Sri Edaikkadar Siddhar
15. Sri Machamuni Siddhar
16. Sri Karuvoorar Siddhar
17. Sri Bogar Siddhar
18. Sri Pambatti Siddhar
The Other Siddhars
Apart from the 18 siddhars given above, there are also other siddhars. It is possible that the siddhars given below are the same siddhars (the 18 siddhars), but under different name. They might also be the disciples of the siddhars, who by the process 'Transmigration of Souls' became the one and same as the Guru himself.
PATHANJALI SIDDHAR
Sri Pathanjali is considered the first siddhar. The information on Pathanjali is available only in Purana's. Pathanjali is considered as a form / incarnation of Adiseshan (the snake associated with Lord Vishnu). Lord Vishnu sleeps over Adiseshan. Once, Lord Vishnu saw the Siva Thandava (the divine dance of Lord Siva) and got extremely happy. Adisheshan could not bear the weight of Lord Vishnu in such a state. So, when Adiseshan informed Lord Vishnu of his difficulty, He was told about the Siva Thandava. Adiseshan also wanted to see the Siva thandava. So he did penance and Lord Siva appeared before him and granted his wish to see the divine dance. Lord Siva told him that he and Viyakramabathar would see his dance in the southern city of Thillai. Thillai is the other name of Chidambaram and it houses the famous Nataraja temple (please refer to the note below for details about the dance of Lord Siva).
Hence, Adisesha came to Thillai in South India and performed poojas for Lord Siva along with Viyakramabathar. Eventually, both of them witnessed the Siva Thandava.
Afterwards, Pathanjali (Adisesha) stayed in Thillai forests for a long time. He wanted to teach his script (Vyagarana Suthiram) to his disciples in the thousand- pillar structure in Thillai. However, Pathanjali was afraid that Himself being the form of Adisesha, his disciples would be burnt when they come near his breath.
Hence, he arranged for a partition between himself and his disciples. He taught
his disciples sitting behind the partition. Sixty students (disciples) were learning
under him. The students were very much impressed with their master and were
anxious to see his face.
Once, a student got very apprehensive and pulled the partition to see the face of the master. All the students were burnt at the same instant. However, one of the students, Kaubathar did not attend the lecture on that day due to an external work. On seeing his fellow students being burnt to ashes, Kaubathar was terrified. Pathanjali changed his form and pacified his student. Pathanjali was very happy that one of his disciples is alive and he taught all the skills to his disciple, Kaubathar. Kaubathar's disciple is Govinda Bhawat Badal, who is also considered as the Guru of Adi Sankaracharya.
There are varied schools of thought that the Pathanjali who wrote "Maha Bashyam" in North India is different from the Pathanjali who wrote "Gyana Sutra" in Tamil. As siddhars have been known to live for ages, the period of the life of Pathanjali and the exact duration of his life can not be known. Moreover, there are no definitive texts available about Pathanjali. Both Pathanjali and Viyakramabathar had lived in Tamil Nadu in a period where siddhars had also lived there. Both of them had observed the divine dance of Lord Siva at Thillai in
Tamil Nadu. Both of them attained their Samadhi at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. Hence the argument that Pathanjali could not have written texts in Tamil could
not be true.
KAMALAMUNI SIDDHAR
The following information is available about Sri Kamalamuni in the book " Bogar
7000 " written by siddhar Bogar.
Song 5729: Kamalamuni was born on the Tamil month of Vaikasi (May - June),
his birth star being 2nd part of Poosam. He lived for six-eight generations.
Song 5841: Kamalamuni is 4000 years and some 300 odd (days) old. He lived in China for a long time.
Many people believe that Sri Kalangi Nathar is siddhar Kamalamuni. In the 63 rd song of " Kamalamuni Suthiram 76 ", a line says that " Kamalamuni alias Kalangi ". Hence it can me true that Sri Kalangi Nathar is siddhar Kamalamuni himself.
In " Bogar Janana Sasthra ", it is mentioned that Kamalamuni attained samadhi
at Madurai .
PAMBATTI SIDDHAR
The most popular and well known of the siddhar’s is "Pambatti Siddhar”. He
takes the snake for a symbol to represent the human Soul and uses the expression: "AODU PAMBE" (De thou, Dance Snake) as a refrain at the end of each stanza of his poem. The poem of this siddhar is in fewer than six hundred lines and deals with philosophic and spiritual matters in the authentic siddhar pattern with great passion. He sings Lord Siva as the Supreme Power of the Universe. There is a poem on his Guru, Who is credited with super natural powers. “We can make men women", he says and adds, "We can destroy" this great universe. He asserts that they have power equal to that of God and can control the elements. He is there, merely expatiating on the Ashtama Siddhis, which is believed to confer eight kinds of devises and super natural powers on those who have achieved it.
MACHAMUNI SIDDHAR
In the Encyclopedic dictionary authored by T.V. Sambasivam Pillai (Reference
1), a strange story is told.
" Machamuni is a siddhar. He was the child brought up by Pinnakeesar. He is also Pinakeesar's disciple. There is a story that once Lord Siva was preaching Uma Devi. Uma Devi had slept when Lord Siva was preaching her. However, a fish was listening to the lecture. Later on that fish was transformed into Siddhar Machamuni by Lord Siva."
Also in song 5873, he says that Machamuni was born on the Rohini star in the Tamil month of Adi (July-August). Machamuni in his 97th song of his book " Machamuni Thandagam 100 ", mentions the words "Guru Nandhi" and "Guru Bogar", while offering prayers to his guru. Hence, it can be said that Siddhar Bogar and Siddhar Nandeeswarar were his gurus.
Machamuni also mentions about the Siva Thandava witnessed by siddhar Pathanjali in one of his songs. Hence, it can be said that he had lived in the period when siddhar Pathanjali and Sri Viyakrabathar witnessed the Siva Thandava in Thillai. Thillai is the other name of Chidambaram and is one of the 5 dance halls of Lord Siva.
In the book " Agasthiar 12000 ", in the fifth Kandam, siddhar Agasthiar says that Machamuni had taken lessons from Kaga Bugandar. He also says that he donated all his wealth to poor people on attaining spiritual salvation. Machamuni attained samadhi at Thiruparankundram.
Some of the books written by Machamuni are
· Machamuni Perunool Kaviyam 800
· Machamuni Sarakku Vaippu 800
· Machamuni Vagaram 800
· Machamuni Yogam 800
· Machamuni Vaithiyam 800
· Machamuni Thirumandiram 800
· Machamuni Gyanam 800
· Machamuni Vedantham 800
· Machamuni Gurunool 800
· Machamuni Thitchavidhi 100
· Machamuni Thandagam 100
· Machamuni Gyana Thitchai 50
· Machamuni Sthoola Sukkuma Karana Gyanam 30
· Machamuni Suthiram 21
SUNDARANANDAR SIDDHAR
Sri Sundaranandar is the disciple of siddhar Sattamuni. It is believed that he got
the Siva Linga of siddhar Agastiar, established it in Saduragiri and worshipped it.
Saduragiri Sundara Mahalingam temple comes under the Thaniparai area of Saptur reserve forests in Tamil Nadu. It is located in Watrap, Viruthunagar district. Srivilliputtur is the big city located near Saduragiri. For thousands of years, realized sages and siddhars lived there worshipping the Siva Linga called " Sundara Mahalingam ". " Sundaram " means, the handsome One, " Maha " means great and lingam means " Siva, the Supreme Self ". This mountain shrine
is a considered as a dwelling place of siddhars. This can also be attributed to the
numerous medicinal plants available in the Saduragiri Mountains . There is also a cave called " Thavasi Parai " in Saduragiri. Sundaranandar and his Guru Sattamuni lived there.
Siddhar Bogar sings about Sundaranandar in songs 5828 and 5829 in his book " Bogar 7000 ". He says that Sundarandar was an expert in space travel and samadhi yoga. In songs 5920 and 5921, Bogar gives the following information. Sundaranandar was born on the Tamil month of Aavani (August - September) on the star Revathi (3 rd part). He is the grand son of Navakanda Rishi living in the Kishkinta hills and that he belonged to Agamudayar (Thevar) class.
Siddhar Agasthiar in his book " Amudha Kalai Gyanam " also says that Sundaranandar is a Reddy in song 218. Sundaranandar attained his samadhi at Madurai .
The following are the books of Sundaranandar.
· Sundaranandar Vaithiya Thirattu 1500
· Sundaranandar Vaithya Kaviyam 1000
· Sundaranandar Merpadi Suthiram 500
· Sundaranandar Vagaram 200
· Sundaranandar Aathetha Suthiram 104
· Sundaranandar Vatha Suthiram 100
· Sundaranandar Visha Nivarani 100
· Sundaranandar Vakiya Suthiram 66
· Sundaranandar Kesari 55
· Sundaranandar Suttha Gyanam 51
· Sundaranandar Thitchavithi 50
· Sundaranandar Thandagam 47
· Sundaranandar Kesari Poojavithi 37
· Sundaranandar Athisaya Karanam 36
· Sundaranandar Sivayoga Gyanam 32
· Sundaranandar Muppu 25
· Sundaranandar Sivagyana Botham 16
VAANMEEGAR SIDDHAR
Sri Vaanmeegar's birth star is Anusham in the Tamil month of Purattasi (September-October). There is an argument that the Valmiki who wrote Valmiki
Ramayana is different from the siddhar Vaanmeegar of the south. However,
siddhar Bogar in his script "Bogar 7000" proclaims that they are one and the same. He says that Vaanmeegar is the name of the siddhar who wrote Valmiki Ramayana in song (verse) number 5834. He makes a clear distinction between the names Vaanmeegar and Valmiki. Further, in his next song (verse number
5835), Bogar says that Vaanmeegar's age is 700 and some odd days. He also says that he is a learned scholar in Tamil language. He also makes a reference about his samadhi. It is also said that Sri Vaanmeegar alias Valmiki wrote the epic Ramaya on getting the spiritual knowledge from Narada. Sri Vaanmeegar's samadhi is located at Ettukudi in Tamil Nadu.
A siddhar is one who has attained "Ashtama Siddhis". The ashtama siddhis are
as follows:
1. Anima (shrinking) -- Power of becoming the size of an atom and entering
the smallest beings.
2. Mahima (illimitability) -- Power of becoming mighty and co-extensive
with the universe. The power of increasing one's size without limit.
3. Lagima (lightness) -- Capacity to be quite light though big in size.
4. Garima (weight) -- Capacity to weigh heavy, though seemingly small size.
5. Prapthi (fulfillment of desires) -- Capacity to enter all the worlds from
Brahma Loga to the neither world. It is the power of attaining everything
desired.
6. Prakasysm (irresistable will) -- Power of disembodying and entering into other bodies (metempsychosis) and going to heaven and enjoying what everyone aspires for, simply from where he stays.
7. Isithavam (supremacy) -- Have the creative power of God and control
over the Sun, the moon and the elements and
8. Vasithavam (dominion over the elements) -- Power of control over King
and Gods. The power of changing the course of nature and assuming any
form.
Generally siddhars are considered to be super human beings who have defined age and other laws of nature to which all human beings are defined to. The historians of Alexander the great, spoke of the existence of a class of mystics called Gymnosophists in all countries from Egypt to India .These siddhars were
found in Alexandria in as late as the fourth century A.D.
There are 18 siddhars in the Tamil siddha tradition. Each of the siddhars had lived in varied places under different names. The following are most common names of the 18 siddhars. They are listed in the order of their time period.
1. Sri Agasthiyar Siddhar
2. Sri Pathanjali Siddhar
3. Sri Kamalamuni Siddhar
4. Sri Thirumoolar Siddhar
5. Sri Kuthambai Siddhar
6. Sri Korakkar Siddhar
7. Sri Thanvandri Siddhar
8. Sri Sundaranandar Siddhar
9. Sri Konganar Siddhar
10. Sri Sattamuni Siddhar
11. Sri Vanmeegar Siddhar
12. Sri Ramadevar Siddhar
13. Sri Nandeeswarar Siddhar
14. Sri Edaikkadar Siddhar
15. Sri Machamuni Siddhar
16. Sri Karuvoorar Siddhar
17. Sri Bogar Siddhar
18. Sri Pambatti Siddhar
The Other Siddhars
Apart from the 18 siddhars given above, there are also other siddhars. It is possible that the siddhars given below are the same siddhars (the 18 siddhars), but under different name. They might also be the disciples of the siddhars, who by the process 'Transmigration of Souls' became the one and same as the Guru himself.
PATHANJALI SIDDHAR
Sri Pathanjali is considered the first siddhar. The information on Pathanjali is available only in Purana's. Pathanjali is considered as a form / incarnation of Adiseshan (the snake associated with Lord Vishnu). Lord Vishnu sleeps over Adiseshan. Once, Lord Vishnu saw the Siva Thandava (the divine dance of Lord Siva) and got extremely happy. Adisheshan could not bear the weight of Lord Vishnu in such a state. So, when Adiseshan informed Lord Vishnu of his difficulty, He was told about the Siva Thandava. Adiseshan also wanted to see the Siva thandava. So he did penance and Lord Siva appeared before him and granted his wish to see the divine dance. Lord Siva told him that he and Viyakramabathar would see his dance in the southern city of Thillai. Thillai is the other name of Chidambaram and it houses the famous Nataraja temple (please refer to the note below for details about the dance of Lord Siva).
Hence, Adisesha came to Thillai in South India and performed poojas for Lord Siva along with Viyakramabathar. Eventually, both of them witnessed the Siva Thandava.
Afterwards, Pathanjali (Adisesha) stayed in Thillai forests for a long time. He wanted to teach his script (Vyagarana Suthiram) to his disciples in the thousand- pillar structure in Thillai. However, Pathanjali was afraid that Himself being the form of Adisesha, his disciples would be burnt when they come near his breath.
Hence, he arranged for a partition between himself and his disciples. He taught
his disciples sitting behind the partition. Sixty students (disciples) were learning
under him. The students were very much impressed with their master and were
anxious to see his face.
Once, a student got very apprehensive and pulled the partition to see the face of the master. All the students were burnt at the same instant. However, one of the students, Kaubathar did not attend the lecture on that day due to an external work. On seeing his fellow students being burnt to ashes, Kaubathar was terrified. Pathanjali changed his form and pacified his student. Pathanjali was very happy that one of his disciples is alive and he taught all the skills to his disciple, Kaubathar. Kaubathar's disciple is Govinda Bhawat Badal, who is also considered as the Guru of Adi Sankaracharya.
There are varied schools of thought that the Pathanjali who wrote "Maha Bashyam" in North India is different from the Pathanjali who wrote "Gyana Sutra" in Tamil. As siddhars have been known to live for ages, the period of the life of Pathanjali and the exact duration of his life can not be known. Moreover, there are no definitive texts available about Pathanjali. Both Pathanjali and Viyakramabathar had lived in Tamil Nadu in a period where siddhars had also lived there. Both of them had observed the divine dance of Lord Siva at Thillai in
Tamil Nadu. Both of them attained their Samadhi at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. Hence the argument that Pathanjali could not have written texts in Tamil could
not be true.
KAMALAMUNI SIDDHAR
The following information is available about Sri Kamalamuni in the book " Bogar
7000 " written by siddhar Bogar.
Song 5729: Kamalamuni was born on the Tamil month of Vaikasi (May - June),
his birth star being 2nd part of Poosam. He lived for six-eight generations.
Song 5841: Kamalamuni is 4000 years and some 300 odd (days) old. He lived in China for a long time.
Many people believe that Sri Kalangi Nathar is siddhar Kamalamuni. In the 63 rd song of " Kamalamuni Suthiram 76 ", a line says that " Kamalamuni alias Kalangi ". Hence it can me true that Sri Kalangi Nathar is siddhar Kamalamuni himself.
In " Bogar Janana Sasthra ", it is mentioned that Kamalamuni attained samadhi
at Madurai .
PAMBATTI SIDDHAR
The most popular and well known of the siddhar’s is "Pambatti Siddhar”. He
takes the snake for a symbol to represent the human Soul and uses the expression: "AODU PAMBE" (De thou, Dance Snake) as a refrain at the end of each stanza of his poem. The poem of this siddhar is in fewer than six hundred lines and deals with philosophic and spiritual matters in the authentic siddhar pattern with great passion. He sings Lord Siva as the Supreme Power of the Universe. There is a poem on his Guru, Who is credited with super natural powers. “We can make men women", he says and adds, "We can destroy" this great universe. He asserts that they have power equal to that of God and can control the elements. He is there, merely expatiating on the Ashtama Siddhis, which is believed to confer eight kinds of devises and super natural powers on those who have achieved it.
MACHAMUNI SIDDHAR
In the Encyclopedic dictionary authored by T.V. Sambasivam Pillai (Reference
1), a strange story is told.
" Machamuni is a siddhar. He was the child brought up by Pinnakeesar. He is also Pinakeesar's disciple. There is a story that once Lord Siva was preaching Uma Devi. Uma Devi had slept when Lord Siva was preaching her. However, a fish was listening to the lecture. Later on that fish was transformed into Siddhar Machamuni by Lord Siva."
Also in song 5873, he says that Machamuni was born on the Rohini star in the Tamil month of Adi (July-August). Machamuni in his 97th song of his book " Machamuni Thandagam 100 ", mentions the words "Guru Nandhi" and "Guru Bogar", while offering prayers to his guru. Hence, it can be said that Siddhar Bogar and Siddhar Nandeeswarar were his gurus.
Machamuni also mentions about the Siva Thandava witnessed by siddhar Pathanjali in one of his songs. Hence, it can be said that he had lived in the period when siddhar Pathanjali and Sri Viyakrabathar witnessed the Siva Thandava in Thillai. Thillai is the other name of Chidambaram and is one of the 5 dance halls of Lord Siva.
In the book " Agasthiar 12000 ", in the fifth Kandam, siddhar Agasthiar says that Machamuni had taken lessons from Kaga Bugandar. He also says that he donated all his wealth to poor people on attaining spiritual salvation. Machamuni attained samadhi at Thiruparankundram.
Some of the books written by Machamuni are
· Machamuni Perunool Kaviyam 800
· Machamuni Sarakku Vaippu 800
· Machamuni Vagaram 800
· Machamuni Yogam 800
· Machamuni Vaithiyam 800
· Machamuni Thirumandiram 800
· Machamuni Gyanam 800
· Machamuni Vedantham 800
· Machamuni Gurunool 800
· Machamuni Thitchavidhi 100
· Machamuni Thandagam 100
· Machamuni Gyana Thitchai 50
· Machamuni Sthoola Sukkuma Karana Gyanam 30
· Machamuni Suthiram 21
SUNDARANANDAR SIDDHAR
Sri Sundaranandar is the disciple of siddhar Sattamuni. It is believed that he got
the Siva Linga of siddhar Agastiar, established it in Saduragiri and worshipped it.
Saduragiri Sundara Mahalingam temple comes under the Thaniparai area of Saptur reserve forests in Tamil Nadu. It is located in Watrap, Viruthunagar district. Srivilliputtur is the big city located near Saduragiri. For thousands of years, realized sages and siddhars lived there worshipping the Siva Linga called " Sundara Mahalingam ". " Sundaram " means, the handsome One, " Maha " means great and lingam means " Siva, the Supreme Self ". This mountain shrine
is a considered as a dwelling place of siddhars. This can also be attributed to the
numerous medicinal plants available in the Saduragiri Mountains . There is also a cave called " Thavasi Parai " in Saduragiri. Sundaranandar and his Guru Sattamuni lived there.
Siddhar Bogar sings about Sundaranandar in songs 5828 and 5829 in his book " Bogar 7000 ". He says that Sundarandar was an expert in space travel and samadhi yoga. In songs 5920 and 5921, Bogar gives the following information. Sundaranandar was born on the Tamil month of Aavani (August - September) on the star Revathi (3 rd part). He is the grand son of Navakanda Rishi living in the Kishkinta hills and that he belonged to Agamudayar (Thevar) class.
Siddhar Agasthiar in his book " Amudha Kalai Gyanam " also says that Sundaranandar is a Reddy in song 218. Sundaranandar attained his samadhi at Madurai .
The following are the books of Sundaranandar.
· Sundaranandar Vaithiya Thirattu 1500
· Sundaranandar Vaithya Kaviyam 1000
· Sundaranandar Merpadi Suthiram 500
· Sundaranandar Vagaram 200
· Sundaranandar Aathetha Suthiram 104
· Sundaranandar Vatha Suthiram 100
· Sundaranandar Visha Nivarani 100
· Sundaranandar Vakiya Suthiram 66
· Sundaranandar Kesari 55
· Sundaranandar Suttha Gyanam 51
· Sundaranandar Thitchavithi 50
· Sundaranandar Thandagam 47
· Sundaranandar Kesari Poojavithi 37
· Sundaranandar Athisaya Karanam 36
· Sundaranandar Sivayoga Gyanam 32
· Sundaranandar Muppu 25
· Sundaranandar Sivagyana Botham 16
VAANMEEGAR SIDDHAR
Sri Vaanmeegar's birth star is Anusham in the Tamil month of Purattasi (September-October). There is an argument that the Valmiki who wrote Valmiki
Ramayana is different from the siddhar Vaanmeegar of the south. However,
siddhar Bogar in his script "Bogar 7000" proclaims that they are one and the same. He says that Vaanmeegar is the name of the siddhar who wrote Valmiki Ramayana in song (verse) number 5834. He makes a clear distinction between the names Vaanmeegar and Valmiki. Further, in his next song (verse number
5835), Bogar says that Vaanmeegar's age is 700 and some odd days. He also says that he is a learned scholar in Tamil language. He also makes a reference about his samadhi. It is also said that Sri Vaanmeegar alias Valmiki wrote the epic Ramaya on getting the spiritual knowledge from Narada. Sri Vaanmeegar's samadhi is located at Ettukudi in Tamil Nadu.
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