Māṇikkavācakar
c. 9th century · Madurai, Tamil Nadu · Śaiva
Māṇikkavācakar, “he whose words are rubies”, was a minister of the Pāṇḍya king at Madurai who left court life for Śiva. His Tiruvācakam, a collection of deeply personal hymns of love, longing and surrender, forms the eighth book of the Tirumurai and is said to melt even a heart of stone; his Tirukkōvaiyār is a love poem read as an allegory of the soul and God.
Though not counted among the sixty-three Nāyanmārs, he is honoured with Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar as one of the four great Śaiva teachers of the Tamil land.
Tradition says the king sent him with gold to buy horses, but at Tirupperunturai he met Śiva as a guru and spent it all on a temple. When the angry king punished him, Śiva turned jackals into horses and brought them to the court — and when they turned back into jackals, he caused the Vaigai river to flood until the king understood.
Tiruvācakam · Madurai · 8th Tirumurai