The Saivasiddhanta is one of the ancient religio-philosophical systems. It was wide spread in many parts of India as well as in many countries of the South-East Asia since the first millennium. It is still very much in practice–both in private and in public—in Tamilnadu. In the course of its spread and development since the second millennium in the Tamil country, many texts have been composed in the form of commentaries, elucidations and manuals dealing with rituals and philosophical doctrines. The French Institute of Pondicherry possesses a rich collections of such texts, composed in Sanskrit and Tamil, in the form of manuscripts.
A detailed analytical study of all the available works of some of the important Saiva authors who lived in Tamilnadu is undertaken by highlighting their contributions for the development of Saivasiddhanta in the domain of rituals and doctrines.
The available manuscripts of Saiva texts housed in the prestigious UNESCO Memory of the World collection of the French Institute of Pondicherry is the basic resource for the project.
All the available works of important Saiva authors who lived in Tamilnadu are analytically studied with a view to highlight their contributions for the development and spread of Saivasiddhanta principles.
- Two Śaiva Teachers of the 16th century: Nigamajñāna I and his disciple Nigamajñāna II., a Monograph Published in 2009 in the French Institute of Pondicherry Series.
- One more monograph fully devoted to an analytical study all the œuvres of Sivagra Yogi, another Saiva teacher of the 16th century who has composed very important texts and commentaries will be forthcoming in 2018.