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The name Manikkavacakar, sometimes written in English as Manikkavasagar, means "the one of ruby utterances." He is one of the most revered poet-saints of the Shiva tradition in southern India.
Manikkavacakar was the prime minister to the king of Madurai. Tradition says that, while on an errand for the king to buy horses, Manikkavacakar met the god Shiva. Manikkavacakar was so overwhelmed by this encounter that instead of buying horses, he spent all the money given to him on building a temple dedicated to Shiva. Hearing of this, the king had Manikkavacakar imprisoned, but later released him.
Manikkavacakar wrote love poems to God, striving to render the experience of divine ecstasy into words.
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