நமச்சிவாய வாழ்க நாதன் தாள் வாழ்க இமைப்பொழுதும் என் நெஞ்சில் நீங்காதான் தாள் வாழ்க கோகழி ஆண்ட குருமணி தன் தாள் வாழ்க ஆகமம் ஆகிநின்ற அண்ணல் தாள் வாழ்க... பிறப்பினில் பல பிறவி பேணீ வந்து மறப்பு அறியேன் உன்னை — மாயப் பிறவியில் மறந்தாலும் தில்லை வாழ் தேனே! தி- கறந்ததும் நின்னாலே கண்டு கொண்டேன்
"Praise to Namashivaya — praise to the feet of the Lord — praise to the feet of the one who never leaves my heart for a moment. Praise to the jewel-guru who ruled Kokazhi — praise to the feet of the master who is himself the scripture... Through birth after birth after birth I came without knowing rest, and I have not forgotten you — but even if I forgot in this world of illusion, O honey of Chidambaram, even my forgetting was known to you."
The Periyapuranam, which tells Manikkavacakar's story, was composed by Sekkizhar under Chola patronage in the 12th century. The story of the Pandya king's prime minister choosing God over king is a politically charged narrative: it asserts that divine loyalty supersedes royal loyalty. In a period when the Cholas had displaced the Pandyas, this story served the Chola political project of presenting themselves as the rightful protectors of Shaivism.
The Sivapuranam opens with a sustained series of praises — but it is not standard panegyric. Each line of praise is simultaneously a biographical statement about Manikkavacakar's relationship with Shiva. "The one who never leaves my heart for a moment" is not a theological claim about God's omnipresence — it is a personal report about his own mental state. By the end of the excerpt, the extraordinary claim: even my forgetting of you was known to you. This is not consolation — it is an absolute dissolution of the boundary between devotee and deity.