The classical language of Tamil Shaiva and Vaishnava scripture, among the oldest living literary traditions in the world.
Tagged: Hindu
Tamil possesses one of the oldest continuous literatures on earth. Its classical stratum carries the devotional hymns of the Shaiva Nayanars and the Vaishnava Alvars — the Tevaram and the Divya Prabandham, sung in Tamil temples to this day alongside Sanskrit.
Prayers & Creeds in Its Traditions
- Gayatri Mantra Hindu — The most revered mantra of the Rig Veda, a meditation on the divine light that illumines the mind.
- Mahavakyas Hindu — The four "great sayings" of the Upanishads declaring the identity of the self (atman) and ultimate reality (Brahman).
Learning and Reference Resources
- Tamil devotional literature (see the Libraries page) Free / open access
Related Across the Site
- dharma Glossary Term — That which is upheld; order; duty.
- karma Glossary Term — Action; deed.
- moksha Glossary Term — Release; liberation.
- Sanskrit Language — The sacred language of Hinduism and a scriptural language of Buddhism and Jainism: Vedic first, then the classical language of Indian theology.
- St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology Library — An open-access, multi-author theological reference with advanced articles on Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
- Gayatri Mantra Prayer or Creed — The most revered mantra of the Rig Veda, a meditation on the divine light that illumines the mind.
- Mahavakyas Prayer or Creed — The four "great sayings" of the Upanishads declaring the identity of the self (atman) and ultimate reality (Brahman).
- Hinduism World View — Hinduism gathers many traditions around one conviction: the soul is bound to rebirth by karma, and liberation comes when it realizes its oneness with the divine.
Provenance
Classification follows Ethnologue and standard Dravidian linguistics; identifiers verified at build time.