Murkha Nayanar

2025-10-16T19:36:07Z

2409:40F4:19:3468:10A0:BFFF:FE4D:BF59: fixed issues

{{Short description|32nd Nayanar saint}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox Hindu leader
|name= Murkha Nayanar
|image= Murkha Nayanar.JPG
|caption =
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
|birth_place= [[Tiruverkadu]]
|birth_name=
|death_date=
|death_place=
|philosophy= [[Shaivism]], [[Bhakti]]
|honors= [[Nayanars|Nayanar]] saint,
|footnotes=
}}

'''Murkha Nayanar''', also known as '''Moorka Nayanar''', '''Murka Nayanar''', '''Moorkha Nayanar''', '''Murgga Nayanar''', '''Moorkka Nayanar''' and '''Murkhar''', is a [[Nayanars|Nayanar]] saint, venerated in the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] sect of [[Shaivism]]. He is generally counted as the thirty-second in the list of 63 Nayanars.<ref name="Dalal2011">{{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|date=2011|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6|page=281}}</ref>

==Life==
[[File:Vedapureeswar temple, Thiruverkadu1.JPG|thumb|left|250px|[[Vedapureeswarar Temple, Thiruverkadu]] where there is a shrine of Murkha Nayanar]]
The life of Murkha Nayanar is described in the ''[[Periya Puranam]]'' by [[Sekkizhar]] (12th century), which is a hagiography of the 63 Nayanars.<ref name="Dalal2011"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.shaivam.org/english/sen_th12_moorkka.htm | title=The Puranam of Moorkka Nayanar | accessdate=12 December 2014 | author=T N Ramachandran}}</ref>

Murkha was born in [[Tiruverkadu]] (Thiruverkadu), which was part of [[Tondai Nadu]], then part of the [[Pallava]] kingdom. Tiruverkadu is currently a western suburb of the Indian city of [[Chennai]]. He is described as great devotee of the god [[Shiva]], the patron god of Shaivism. Murkha Nayanar cultivated devotion for Shiva from his childhood. He used to serve Shiva, by serving Shaivas, the devotees of Shiva. He used to prepare rice with [[ghee]] and various sweet and savoury delicacies and feed the devotees. The saint spent all his wealth in feeding the devotees. He sold all his possessions, including his properties and his slaves.<ref name="Dehejia1988"/><ref name="swami"/>

To gain wealth and feed the devotees, Murkha turned to gambling and mastered "the art". Since people of Tiruverkadu did not want to gamble, he travelled to various towns, gambling and spending the money in serving Shiva and his devotees. He finally reached Tirukkudanthai (present-day [[Kumbakonam]]), home of numerous Shiva temples. To serve a feast to the devotees, he went to the gambling houses of the town. He strategically lost money in the initial rounds, forcing the opponents to gamble more money in the later rounds, winning great amount of money. He used to stab rivals, who cheated or used deception to win or refused to pay after losing. His actions earned him the name Murkha Nayanar, translated variously as "wicked Nayanar", "fierce Nayanar" and "violent Nayanar". The money was given to cooks, to prepare a feast for the devotees. He used to eat only after all the devotees had eaten. He lived his life, gambling and serving devotees, finally reaching [[Kailash]] - Shiva's abode, after his death.<ref name="Dehejia1988">{{cite book|author=Vidya Dehejia|title=Slaves of the Lord: The Path of the Tamil Saints|year=1988|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal|isbn=978-81-215-0044-9|pages=154–5, 177}}</ref><ref name="swami">{{cite book | author = Swami Sivananda | author-link = Swami Sivananda | title = Sixty-three Nayanar Saints | edition = 4 | publisher = The Divine Life Society | year = 1999 | location = Sivanandanagar }}</ref>

==Remembrance==
[[File:Sri Kokarneshvarar Temple in Tirukokarnam.JPG|thumb|The images of the Nayanars are found in many Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu.]]

Murkha Nayanar is depicted with folded hands (see [[Anjali mudra]]). A holy day in his honour is observed in the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil month]] of [[Kartik (month)|Karthikai]] (November–December).<ref name="Dehejia1988"/> One of the most prominent Nayanars, [[Sundarar]] (7th century) refers to him as Murkkan (Murkha Nayanar) in a hymn to Nayanar saints. In another hymn to Shiva, he praises Shiva who accepts of the "skillful gambler" (''karra cutan''), a reference to Murkha Nayanar.<ref>{{cite book|title=Poems to Śiva: The Hymns of the Tamil Saints|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GPmq8fcOa9wC&pg=PA331|year=1991|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0784-6|pages=333}}</ref>

A shrine is dedicated to Murkha Nayanar in the outer corridor of the [[Vedapureeswarar Temple, Thiruverkadu|Vedapureeswarar Temple]], the Shiva temple in his home-town Tiruverkadu. A festival is celebrated in his honour in the month of Karthikai when the moon moves into the [[Nakshatra]] ([[Lunar mansion]]) of [[Kṛttikā|Krittika]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=304 | title=Sri Vedapureeswarar temple | publisher=[[Dinamalar]] | access-date=12 December 2014}}</ref>

Murkha Nayanar is worshipped in the [[Tamil month]] of [[Kartik (month)|Karthikai]], when the moon enters the [[Mula (nakshatra)|Mula]] [[nakshatra]] (lunar mansion). He receives collective worship as part of the 63 Nayanars. Their icons and brief accounts of his deeds are found in many Shiva temples in [[Tamil Nadu]]. Their images are taken out in procession in festivals.<ref name="Dalal2011"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Nayanars}}

[[Category:Nayanars]]
[[Category:Pallava poets]]

Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]

Murkha Nayanar