தமழர கலசசரததல தரமல வழபட / Thirumal Worship in Tamil Culture

Tamil culture is a composite of daily activities that have been passed down through generations and are followed by the successors. In the life of Tamils, the worship of God is a virtue and has been with them since the time of their ancestors. The Tamils worshipped the five elements as gods and followed idol worship. In idol worship, they created various forms of God and gave names and worshipped them. Among them, the practice of worshipping Brahma as the deity of birth, Thirumal as the protecting deity and Lord Shiva as the deity of salvation/destruction. Culture is a treasure of the traditional customs and practices of a group of people. This article explores the worship of Thirumal in Tamil culture. It also mentions the devotion to God and the evidence of Thirumal worship in ancient Tamil literature. One can see that Thirumal worship has been in Tamil culture since the Sangam times. The Tamils had peculiar practices to worship Thirumal. They called Thirumal by different Thirunamams and realised its benefits. They pray to Thirumal’s 5 different forms and believe that Thirumal is protecting the people in those five forms. In the worship of Thirumal, the Alvars are the most revered by the people for their devotion. The Tamil Language has been glorified by the Alvars. Their descendants include the Guru Parampara, Acharyas, Adiyars worship Thirumal and have been among the Tamils in successive traditions. The Tamil people worship the 108 Divya Desas until today. Some days are considered very special days for Thirumal and Tamils hold festivals and worship Thirumal on those days from Sangam until today. Therefore, the paper makes clear that the worship of Thirumal existed and will exist in Tamil culture.