Nov 06, 2012 08:03am


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A figure representing Siddha inTropenmuseum, Amsterdam

A Siddham in Tamil means "one who is accomplished" and refers to perfected masters who, according to Hindu belief, have transcended the ahamkara (ego or I-maker), have subdued their minds to be subservient to their Awareness, and have transformed their bodies (composed mainly of dense Rajo-tama gunas) into a different kind of body dominated by sattva. This is usually accomplished only by persistent meditation.

Accordi- ng to Jain belief Siddha are liberated souls who have destroyed all the karmabondings. Siddha do not have any kind of body, they are soul at its purest form. They reside in Siddha-shila which is situated at the top of the Universe.

A siddha has also been defined to refer to one who has attained a siddhi. The siddhis as paranormal abilities are considered emergent abilitie- s of an individual that is on the path to siddhahood, and do not define a siddha, who is established in the Pranav or Aum – the spiritual substrate of creation. The siddhi in its pure form means "the attainment of flawless identity with Reality (Brahman); perfection of Spirit."




[edit]Siddha or Siddhar (Tamil tradition )


The well known 18 siddhars are listed below. The head of all siddhars is Sri Kagapujandar

  1. Sri Patanjali Siddhar
  2. Sri Agastya Siddhar
  3. Sri Kamalamuni Siddhar
  4. Sri Thirumoolar Siddhar
  5. Sri Kuthambai Siddhar
  6. Sri Korakkar Siddhar
  7. Sri Thanvandri Siddhar
  8. Sri Konganar Siddhar
  9. Sri Sattamuni Siddhar
  10. Sri Vanmeegar Siddhar
  11. Sri Ramadevar Siddhar
  12. Sri Nandeeswarar (Nandidevar) Siddhar
  13. Sri Edaikkadar Siddhar
  14. Sri Machamuni Siddhar
  15. Sri Karuvoorar Siddhar
  16. Sri Bogar Siddhar
  17. Pambatti Siddhar
  18. Sundarandandar

[edit]Sid- dha in Jainism


According to Jains, Siddhas have eight specific characteristics or qualities (8 guñas). Ancient Tamil Jain Classic 'Choodamani Nigandu' describes the eight characteristics in a beautiful poem, which is given below.[1]

"கடையில- ஞானத்தோடு காட்சி வீரியமே இன்ப
மிடையு- று நாமமின்மை விதித்த கோத்திரங்க- ளின்மை
அடைவ- ிலா ஆயுஇன்மை அந்தராயங்க- ள் இன்மை
உடையவ- ன் யாவன் மற்று இவ்வுலகினு- க்கு இறைவனாமே"

This means,the soul that has infinite knowledge (Ananta jnāna, கடையிலா ஞானம்), infinite vision or wisdom (Ananta darshana, கடையிலா காட்சி), infinite power (Ananta labdhi, கடையிலா வீரியம்), infinite bliss (Ananta sukha, கடையிலா இன்பம்), without name (Akshaya sthiti, நாமமின்மை), without association to any caste (Being vitāraga, கோத்திரமின- ்மை), infinite life span (Being arupa, ஆயுள் இன்மை) and without any change (Aguruladhutaa, அழியா இயல்பு) is God.

Thiruvalluvar in his Tamil book Thirukural refer to the eight qualities of God,[2] in one of his couplet poems.


Siddha- Shila as per the Jain cosmology

In Jain cosmology, siddha-shila is situated at the very top of universe. The siddhas (liberated souls who will never take birth again, who have gone above the cycle of life and death) go to the siddha-shila after being liberated and stays there till infinity. Siddha is a level of soul above Arihant who possess kevala jñana.

In Hindu cosmology, siddhaloka is a subtle world (loka) where perfected beings (siddhas) take birth. They are endowed with the eight primary siddhis at birth.


In Hindu theology, Siddhashrama is a secret land deep in the Himalayas, where great yogis, sadhus, and sages who are siddha live. The concept is similar to Tibetan mystical land of Shambhala.


[edit]Siddha- Sampradaya

Whenever siddha is mentioned the 84 siddhas and 9 nathas are remembered and it is this tradition of siddha which is known as theSiddha Sampradaya. Siddha is a term used for both mahasiddhas and nathas- . So a siddha may mean a siddha, a mahasiddha or a natha. The three words siddha, mahasiddha and natha are used interchangeably.

[edit]The eighty-four Siddhas in the Varna(na)ratnakara

A list of eighty-four Siddhas (though, actually only 76 names are mentioned) is found in a manuscript (manuscript no 48/34 of the Asiatic Society of Bengal) dated Lakshmana Samvat 388 (1506) of a medieval Maithili work, the Varna(na)ratnākara writ- ten byKaviśekharācārya Jyotirīśvara Ṭhākura, the court poet of King Harisimhadeva of Mithila (reigned 1300–1321). An interesting feature of this list is that the names of the most revered Nathas are incorporated in this list along with the Buddhist Siddhacharyas. The names of the Siddhas found in this list are[5][6]:

  1. Minanātha
  2. Gorakshan- tha
  3. Chauranginātha
  4. Chāmarinā- tha
  5. Tantipā
  6. Hālipā
  7. Kedāripā
  8. D- hongapā
  9. Dāripā
  10. Virupā
  11. Kapāli-
  12. Kamāri
  13. Kānha
  14. Kanakhala
  15. Mekhala
  16. U- nmana
  17. Kāndali
  18. Dhovi
  19. Jālandhara
  1. Tongi
  2. Mavaha
  3. Nāgārjuna
  4. Dauli
  5. Bh- ishāla
  6. Achiti
  7. Champaka
  8. Dhentasa
  9. B- humbhari
  10. Bākali
  11. Tuji
  12. Charpati
  13. Bh- de
  14. Chāndana
  15. Kāmari
  16. Karavat
  17. Dhar- mapāpatanga
  18. Bhadra
  19. Pātalibhadr- a
  1. Palihiha
  2. Bhānu
  3. Mina
  4. Nirdaya
  5. Sa- vara
  6. Sānti
  7. Bhartrihari
  8. Bhishana
  9. B- hati
  10. Gaganapā
  11. Gamāra
  12. Menurā
  13. Kum- āri
  14. Jivana
  15. Aghosādhava
  16. Girivara-
  17. Siyāri
  18. Nāgavāli
  19. Bibhavat
  1. Sā- ranga
  2. Vivikadhaja
  3. Magaradhaja
  4. Ach- ita
  5. Bichita
  6. Nechaka
  7. Chātala
  8. Nāch- ana
  9. Bhilo
  10. Pāhila
  11. Pāsala
  12. Kamalaka- ngāri
  13. Chipila
  14. Govinda
  15. Bhima
  16. Bhair- ava
  17. Bhadra
  18. Bhamari
  19. Bhurukuti

[edit- ]The Siddhas in the Hathayogapradipika

In the first upadeśa (chapter) of the Haṭhayogapradīpikā, a 15th century text, a list of yogis is found, who are described as the Mahasiddhas. This list has a number of names common with those found in the list of the Varna(na)ratnākara[5][7]- :

  1. Ādinātha
  2. Matsyendra
  3. Śāvara
  4. - nandabhairava
  5. Chaurangi
  6. Minanā- tha
  7. Gorakṣanātha
  8. Virupākṣa-
  1. Bileśaya
  2. Manthāna
  3. Bhairava
  4. Si- ddhibuddha
  5. Kanthaḍi
  6. Koraṃṭ- aka
  7. Surānanda
  8. Siddhapāda
  1. Char- paṭi
  2. Kānerī
  3. Pūjyapāda
  4. Nitya- nātha
  5. Nirañjana
  6. Kapālī
  7. Bindun- ātha
  8. Kākachaṇḍīśvarā
  1. Allāma
  2. Prabhudeva
  3. Ghoḍā
  4. Chhol- ī
  5. Ṭiṃṭiṇi
  6. Bhānukī
  7. Nār- adeva
  8. Khaṇḍakāpālika


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