Worship Traditions in Pictorial Poetry

Abstract

Praying to a deity for the sake of devotion is called worship. Tolkappiyam, the oldest book of Tamil, beautifully demonstrates that the deity has always been given priority in Tamil society. Even today, when we start an activity, it is customary for the Tamil community to start worshipping the deities of their clans and the deities of their choice. Worship arises from the lifestyle of the worshippers. Faith in God arises on the basis of the kind of social system a society has created and the system in which it receives its external necessities of life, such as food, clothing, and books. Just as the deities worshipped differed, so did the methods of worship in various ways. This can be understood from the literature created during the respective periods. That the worship of God was the first act of any action is evidenced by the fact that whatever kind of literature it may be, it began with the prayer to God. The pictorial poems, which are highlighted as one of the four poets sung together with the richness of literature combining painting, mathematics, and musical skills, are often sung in praise of God. Although there are many varieties of pictorial poems, among them, the types of pictorial poems that are in the form of bandham (a type) are the vehicles of God and are written in a form of worship associated with a God, which enriches the cult tradition of the Tamil community. In this way, the study identifies the pictorial poems arranged in the categories of Naga Bandham, Peacock Bandham, Anna Bandham, Vel Bandham, Ratha Bandham, Sivalinga Bandham, Malai Bandham, and Kamala Bandham.