இலஙகயல சவசததநதக கலவ மரப / The Tradition of Saivasiddhanta Education in Sri Lanka

Saiva Siddhanta is one of the Saiva philosophies that have its own unique tradition. 'Saiva' is a belief system while 'Ideology' is a process of trying to develop that belief into a real thought with an intellectual level. Therefore, Saiva Siddhanta philosophy is a philosophy that unites religious life and philosophy. There is no evidence that there was any time gap between the origin and development of Sri Lankan Saivism and Saivasiddhanta ideological traditions and the emergence and development of Tamil Nadu's Saivism and Saivasiddhanta ideological traditions. This fact can be realized by the epic literature such as “Ramayana”, “Mahabharata”, “Kandhapurana”, “Mahavamsa” and other historical evidences showing that the primitive people of Sri Lanka are the people who worship Shiva Linga. Many books on Saiva ideology occupy a prominent place in Sri Lankan contributions to the development of Saivasiddhanta. Along with these, various activities have been carried out with the aim of popularizing Saivasiddhanta among people. Thus, Purana padanam (Epic enactment), Prasangam (Sermons), Kandanam (Critiques), Nadagam (Drama), Saivasiddhanta Education etc. are very significant. Nevertheless, this article examines the educational tradition of Saivasiddhanta in Sri Lanka.