Saint Thirumoolar acknowledges in his Thirumandiram that Lord Siva revealed to him the Saiva agamas. Having acquired knowledge of these sacred texts, Thirumoolar visited Chidambaram, where Siva as Lord Nataraja is seen doing His Cosmic dance. Having witnessed this divine dance, Thirumoolar no longer wanted to inhabit a human body, said R. Narayanan in a discourse. And yet he remained in the human body. Everyone in this world must see the Lord’s dance in Chidambaram, says Thirumoolar.
Thirumoolar had done tapas for a long time, and as a result, he was blessed with longevity. However, his inclination was to quit this world and be with Lord Siva. With such an ardent desire to be with the Lord, every day he spent on the earth seemed like a yuga to the saint. Thirumoolar was a jnani, and naturally, his desire was to exit the world. He says he lived for one crore yugas. Sekkizhar, in his Peria Puranam, which details the lives of the sixty-three Saivite saints, says Thirumoolar lived for three thousand years. But this should be taken to mean that he lived for many years. A literal interpretation must not be given to these words.
In his Thirumandiram, Thirumoolar explains to one of his students the reason for his long life on earth. The student is called Indra, and Thirumoolar tells him that he (Thirumoolar) served Goddess Sakthi. She is the Goddess of the Universe, and She has ensured that he lives long. It is penance which destroys one’s enemies and saves devotees. Tapas governs the world. Here Thirumoolar personifies tapas as a divine being, and shows the benefits of doing penance. Thus, Thirumoolar explains that while he was disinclined to dwell in a human body, his penance extended his life span on earth. To be with Lord Siva was what he wanted.
