Translating Yoga for Śaivas: the case of the Civatarumōttaram

This paper examines Chapter 10 of the Civatarumōttaram (c. sixteenth century), an adaptation of the Sanskrit Śivadharmottara (c. seventh century). It argues that the author of this Tamil version, Maṟaiñāṉa Campantar, articulates a theological basis for the relationship between knowledge and yoga as the soteriological axis. The paper will then seek to trace the doctrinal shift between the two works by comparing how each of them incorporates this dyad into their respective perspectives of salvation, and will situate the Civatarumōttaram in relation to other Tamil Śaiva texts that engage with yoga, notably the Tirumantiram, illustrating how yoga was rearticulated at the intersection of lay Śaivism and the Tamil Śaiva Siddhānta tradition.