Muniyandi (முனியாண்டி)

Muniyandi (முனியாண்டி) is a regional Tamil guardian deity. The deity Muniyandi refers to the Munis worshiped by the Tamil people.

Munis are a class of guardian deities which are classified as Siva Gana. They are servants of the Supreme God Siva and his female half Sakthi.

The Munis could be former warriors, kings, sorcerers or sages who achieved the status of a Muni after their human death. Some of the Munis worshiped were created as Munis and did not go through the human life cycle.

The Munis are worshiped as Guardian Deity (Kaaval Deivam), Favorite Deity (Ishta Deivam) and Clan/Family Deity (Kula Deivam). Muniyandi is also known as Muniyappan, Aandiyappan, Munisamy and Munishwaran.

Origin of Muniyandi:

There are many theories on the origins of these Munis. There are also mythological stories passed down orally for generations.

According to one of the oral tradition, the Saptha Muni (7 Munis) were created to protect Goddess Sakthi in the form of Goddess Pachaiamman against 7 Arakar Veerars (Demonic Warriors - Asuras). Various Pachaiamman temples in Tamil Nadu, India has statues for these Munis.

These are the names of the 7 Arakar Veerars:

Agni Veeran
Anithanthira Veeran
Thakkapathala Veeran
Thanathanthiran Veeran
Ilakana Veeran
Elilkana Veeran
Ugra Veeran

During the last few decades, some Gurukkals in Malaysia and Singapore have been trying to equate the Munis to Sivan himself by fusing the story of Muni into the story of Daksha Yagam.

According to these Gurukkals the Saptha Muni emerged from the face of Siva to destroy Daksha's fire sacrifice(Yagam).

However, reference in written puranas such as Vayu Purana has proven that the Munis worshiped today as Munishwaran or Muniyandi have got nothing to do with Daksha Yagam. They were never mentioned in these Puranas.

Besides mythological origins, some Muni may have their own historical origin.

Forms of Muniyandi:

There are many forms of Muni. Here are the list of 7 Munis known as Saptha Muni in one of the ancient temples for Pachaiamman:

Muttaiyar Muni
Chinna Muttaiyar Muni
Raya Muni alias Nondi Muni
Jada Muni
Poo Muni
Sem Muni
Vaal Muni

Kottai Muni is the presiding deity of the annual Jallikattu bullfight in Alangganallur, Tamil Nadu.

Paandi Muni, the guardian of the North Gopuram (Tower) of the Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple is believed by some to be the chief of the Munis. According to one legend, he was Emperor Neduncheliyan of Pandyan Kingdom.

The other known Munis are Raja Muni, Lada Muni, Karu Muni, Agni Muni, Veera Muni, Rettai Muni, Kaavu Muni and Yellai Muni.

There is also another concept of Nava Muni (9 Muni) instead of 7.

Meaning of Muniyandi:

The word Muniyandi is a combination of two words, Muni and Andi. The word Andi could be defined in two ways. One referring to slave of God and the other ruling (as in ruler).

The second explanation could be derived from the word Aandavar which literally means he who rules. The reason for this explanation is the word Andi being used for other Gods in the Tamil Hindu pantheon.

Brahma - Virumandi
Vishnu - Mayandi
Siva - Peyandi
Murugan - Malayandi

As such, the word Muniyandi could refer to a slave Muni or he who rules in the form of Muni. Munis like Vaal Muni are also known as Vaal Muni Andavar and Vaal Munishwaran.

Muniyandi to Munishwaran:

Eventually Muniyandi came to be identified as Munishwaran. The Munis who were worshiped as Muniyandi in the past were later given the suffix Eswaran which means Lord or Ruler.

This may not necessarily refer to Siva. The King of Lanka in the epic Ramayana, Ravanan, is also known as Lankeswaran. Siva, hailed as the Supreme God of the universe is known as Sarveswaran, Maheswaran, Parameswaran and even Visveswaran.

Tree Worship (Maram Vallipadu)

The trees as such as Banyan (Ala Maram), Sacred Fig (Arasa Maram) and Palmyra (Panai Maram) are believed to be the gateways used by the Munis to travel between different dimensions.

The Munis are also believed to reside in such trees. Tree Worship is the oldest form of Muni worship.

Stone Worship (Nadukkal Vallipadu)

The Stone Worship was mentioned even during Tamil Sangam ages more than 2,500 years ago. Nadukkal or Veerarkal (for warriors) were planted to commemorate the death of someone important.

In the Muni worship, it can be divided to either a single stone or three stones (or bricks), decorated with Saivite sacred ash (vibuthi) marks, sandal paste (santhanam) and saffron paste (kungkumam). A trident (soolam) is planted as a mark of Sivan and Sakthi.

Statue worship (Uruvam Vallipadu)

This is the most contemporary form of worship. Statues are erected and decorated to help the devotee visualize on the Muni. Other insignias such as sickle (aruval), sword and mace will be used depending on the type of Muni.

Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes are served as Padayals (food offerings) depending on the type of Muni.

For example, in one of the Pachaiamman temple, non-vegetarian dishes are only served for Sem Muni.

Paal Muni believed to be of Brahmin origin is only served vegetarian dishes.

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