Every year in the Tamil month of Panguni (March-April), Arupaththumoovar festival is celebrated in Sri Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore, Chennai. There is no such thing as a single day for these 63 saints. Actually it is the anniversary day of the miraculous resurrection of Angam Poompavai from her ashes by the Saint Thiru Gnana Sambandhar. This work is the narration about the 63 Saivite devotees, to write about whom Lord Shiva ordered Alala Sundarar, who was his attendant in Mount Kailash, to be born in Tamil Nadu.

The life span of Sundarar was only 18 years, and he had accomplished this task in his last 2 years. These 63 devotees are known as Nayanmars, and their icons can be seen in major Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu, mainly in the outer circuit around the main Shiva Lingam deity. Interestingly all these icons will be in standing position, except one. That exception is a woman devotee by name Karaikal Ammaiyar. Translated it would mean ‘the lady from the town Karaikal’. Only she will be in the sitting position, for special reasons. The original abridged Sundarar’s work was elaborately written in the 12th century by Sekkizhar as “Periya Puranam” which is famous for one other reason. Whereas Ramayana and Maha Bharatha were translated from Sanskrit into Tamil, Periya Puranam is the only epic work translated from Tamil into Sanskrit, as “Sivabhakta Vilasam”. Some call it also as “Upamanyu Bhakta Vilasam”. Some say that Sundarar wrote only about 60 devotees, but the later writers added him as well as his parents to make up the total of 63. Some of the narrations may contain logically unacceptable incidents, bizarre events, and the like, especially for people of the present generation.

It is up to the listener to understand the moral behind or the affectionate emotions that had led to those events rather than the bare details themselves. Narration of each of the Nayanmars ends with their “Videha Mukthi” days, with details on the Tamil month and the Star of that day. To remind us that we are their devotees, significantly they are called the “Guru Puja” days.