Bogar, Bhogar, or Boganathar was a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

Shaivite Siddhar. He was a disciple of

Kalangi Nathar Kalangi Nathar was an Indian ascetic who belonged to both the natha tradition of northern India and the siddha tradition of southern India. He was the guru of saint Bhogar and was born in Varanasi and belonged to the ancient tradition of Navnath ...

. He was born in Vaigavur near

Palani Hills The Palani Hills are a mountain range in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Palani Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palani Hills adjoin with t ...

. He received his education from his mother and his grand father described in several traditions and texts. Bogar himself describes his native roots in his book "Bogar 7000". Bogar went from Tamil Nadu to China and taught about enlightenment, this is also mentioned in his book Bogar 7000. Bogar is said to be in "

nirvikalpa samadhi file:Shiva meditating Rishikesh.jpg, Statue of a meditating Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditation, meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultiv ...

" below the sanctorum of Palani Murugan hill temple. The Tamraparniyan sea route was adopted by Bogar in his travels from South India to China via Sri Lanka (ancient Tamraparni).

Legacy

A disciple of

Agastya Agastya was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the Indian tradition, he is a noted recluse and an influential scholar in diverse languages of the Indian subcontinent. He is regarded in some traditions to be a Chiranjivi. He and his wife ...

's teachings, Bogar himself taught

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

, yantric designs and Kriya yoga at the Kataragama Murugan shrine, inscribing a yantric geometric design etched onto a metallic plate and installing it at the sanctum sanctorum of the Kataragama temple complex. Bogar is one of the earliest pilgrims to have traversed the Murugan Tiruppadai of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. According to legends and the temple scriptures of Palani temple, Bogar crafted the

murti In the Hinduism, Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' (, ) is a devotional image, such as a statue or icon, of a Hindu deities, deity or Hindu saints, saint used during ''Puja (Hinduism), puja'' and/or in other customary forms of actively expressing d ...

Murugan Kartikeya (/ kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), also known as Skanda ( /skən̪d̪ə/), Subrahmanya (/ sʊbɾəɦməɲjə/, /ɕʊ-/), Shanmukha ( /ɕɑnmʊkʰə/) and Murugan (/ mʊɾʊgən/), is the Hindu god of war. He is generally described as the ...

at the hill temple in Palani by mixing nine poisonous herbs ( Navapashanam) using a unique procedure. He also established the temple for Murugan in Poombarai Kuzhanthai Velappar temple Kodaikanal

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, India. There is an extant statue of lord Murugan in Navapashanam. The milk that was poured on this statue has been said to have mixed with some of the herbs thereby proving to be an effective cure for the diseases during the timePalani temple , Official Link , url=http://palani.org/bhogar-life.htm? According to

Siddhar The Siddhar (Tamil language, Tamil (romanized) ''cittar)'' in Tamils, Tamil tradition is a perfected individual who has attained spiritual powers called ''siddhi''. Historically, Siddhar also refers to the people who were early-age wandering ...

medicine documents, Bogar was the discoverer of an elixir of

immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess "biological immortality" due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit. From at least the time of the Ancient Mesopotamian religion, ancient Mesopotamians, there has been a con ...

. The '' Pharmacognosy'' is the best known of his treatises. His other works are on

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

and archery, and a glossary of medicine.

Notable works

* Bogar Saptha Kaandam 7000 * Bogar Jananasaagaram 550 * Bogar Nigandu 1200 * Bogar Nigandu karukidai * Bogar Nigandu kaiyedu * Bogar Vaithiya kaaviyam 1000 * Bogar 700 * Bogar Panchapatchi Sathiram * Bogar Karpam 300 * Bogar Varma Soothiram 100 * Bogar Malai Vaagadam * Bogar 12000 * Bogar Nigandu 1700 * Bogar Vaithiyam 1000 * Bogar Sarakku Vaippu 800 * Bogar Updesam 150 * Bogar Rana Vaagadam 100 * Bogar Gnanasaaraamsam 100 * Bogar Karppa Soothiram 54 * Bogar Vaithiya Soothiram 77 * Bogar Muppu Soothiram 51 * Bogar Gnana Soothiram 37 * Bogar Attanga Yogam 24 * Bogar Poojavithi 20 *

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' () or ''Laozi'' is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship and date of composition and compilation are debated. The oldest excavated por ...

(the saint is often identified with

Laozi Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...

in India)

Notable disciples

* His first disciple is Shri Pulippani Siddhar (Pulikaisar), who’s also one among the 18 siddhars *

Mahavatar Babaji Mahavatar Babaji (; ) is a legendary immortal yogi and guru, who is said to be living in the Himalayas. He is said to have taught multiple revered historic yogis, including Lahiri Mahasaya (1828–1895). Babaji first became recognized through ...

* Karuvoorar

References

Ayyavazhi mythology Tamil Hindu saints Indian Hindu saints Laozi Indian expatriates in China People from Dindigul district Indian Shaivite religious leaders Indian yogis Siddha medicine Ayurvedacharyas Indian Hindu missionaries Rishis Indian male poets Tamil poets {{India-reli-bio-stub

Legacy

Notable works

Notable disciples

See also

References