Thiruvarutpa in the Perspective of Comparative Religion (English Translation of Oppiyal Samaya Nokil Thiruvarutpa by Rm. Malarvizhi Mangaiarkarasi)

Ramalingar, known as Vallalar Ramalinga Adigalar (5-10-1823 – 30 January 1874) was a mystic poet in Tamil. He engaged himself in spiritual quest and had a broad multi-religious outlook. He composed many devotional poems with mystical overtones. Thiruvarutpa is a collection of his poems numbering 5818 songs. The literary work goes beyond religions and exemplifies the poet’s doctrine of samarasa sanmargam (the path of wisdom for harmony). Dr. Mangaiarkarasistudied them with a comparative religious perspective. In this book, she explains the theory of comparative religion. She applies them to Thiruvarutpa in five chapters. She explores the relationship between God and man in the second chapter. She identifies the mystic symbolism in Thiruvrutpa in the next. In the other chapters, she compares the religious and spiritual elements present in Thiruvrutpa with those of Jainism, Sufism and Christianity. Dr. S. Vincent has translated the book into English.