# Nakkirar
**Nakkirar** is remembered as the author of two poems of the Pattuppattu anthology, the [Tirumurukarruppatai](https://www.edgepedia.org/tirumurukarruppatai) and the Nedunalvatai, and of a commentary on the [Iraiyanar Akapporul](https://www.edgepedia.org/iraiyanar-akapporul).[1](https://www.projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/utf8/pmuni0070.html) • [2](https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/nakkirar) [Tradition](https://www.edgepedia.org/tradition) counts him among the poets of the last (third) Sangam academy at Madurai,[2](https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/nakkirar) and the century in which he lived is disputed, with serious sources placing him in the 2nd century AD and others in the 8th or 9th century.[3](https://www.shaivam.org/devotees/nakkirar-history) • [4](https://www.thiruvarul.net/posts/nakkeerar)
| Key fact | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Native name | நக்கீரர் (Nakkirar) |
| Place | Madurai, Tamil country |
| Father | Maduraik Kanakkayanaar[1](https://www.projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/utf8/pmuni0070.html) • [2](https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/nakkirar) |
| Poems | Tirumurukarruppatai (317 lines) and Nedunalvatai (188 lines), both in the Pattuppattu anthology[5](https://tamilnation.org/literature/krishnamurti/02sangam) • [6](https://www.tamilvu.org/tdb/titles_cont/lite/html/n_keerar.htm) |
| Commentary | Iraiyanar Kalaviyalurai, on the 60-sutra Iraiyanar Akapporul[7](https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP1217-1-305) |
| Period | Disputed: sources place him in the 2nd century AD and others in the 8th or 9th century[3](https://www.shaivam.org/devotees/nakkirar-history) • [4](https://www.thiruvarul.net/posts/nakkeerar) |
| Kings praised | The Pandyan Neduncheliyan, victor of Talaiyalanganam, and the Chola Killivalavan, among others[6](https://www.tamilvu.org/tdb/titles_cont/lite/html/n_keerar.htm) |
## Origins and family
The colophon of the Nedunalvatai names the poet as Nakkirar, son of Maduraik Kanakkayanaar (Kanakkayanar) of Madurai.[1](https://www.projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/utf8/pmuni0070.html) • [2](https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/nakkirar) According to Wisdom Library's definition of Nakkirar, the traditional commentary on the Iraiyanar Akapporul identifies its author as Kanakkayanar's son.[2](https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/nakkirar)
## Works
Of the ten poems gathered in the Pattuppattu (the "ten songs" of Sangam-era long poetry), Nakkirar composed two.[6](https://www.tamilvu.org/tdb/titles_cont/lite/html/n_keerar.htm) • [5](https://tamilnation.org/literature/krishnamurti/02sangam)
**Nedunalvatai** (188 lines as printed) belongs to the vaagai thinai and describes a cold season, the koothirppaasurai setting, in which the Kovalar shepherd people, struck by severe frost, migrate with their cattle and belongings.[1](https://www.projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/utf8/pmuni0070.html) Its historical value lies in the references it carries to the three crowned kings (the Chera, Chola, and Pandya) and to lesser chiefs.[6](https://www.tamilvu.org/tdb/titles_cont/lite/html/n_keerar.htm)
**Tirumurukarruppatai** (317 lines) is an arruppatai, a poem that guides the reader to a patron, here the god Murugan: it describes his shrines and his battle imagery, including his drum and many flags.[8](https://www.projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/utf8/pmuni0067.html) • [5](https://tamilnation.org/literature/krishnamurti/02sangam) It stands first in the Pattuppattu and is counted as the ninth of the ten prabandhas of the eleventh [Tirumurai](https://www.edgepedia.org/tirumurai), the devotional canon of Tamil Shaivism.[3](https://www.shaivam.org/devotees/nakkirar-history)
The kings praised in Nakkirar's poems include the Pandyan Neduncheliyan who won the battle of Talaiyalanganam, Killivalavan, Agni, Titiyan, Kadavul, Erumai, Kuttuvan Cheral, Tiraiyan, Pazhaiyanmaran, and Aruman; he also praised the poets Thungoriyar and [Kapilar](https://www.edgepedia.org/kapilar), and his verses mention Kaveripumpattinam, Marungurpattinam, Thondi, Madurai, Unur, Pavathiri, and Sirukudi.[6](https://www.tamilvu.org/tdb/titles_cont/lite/html/n_keerar.htm)
## The Iraiyanar Akapporul commentary
Nakkirar wrote a commentary, the Iraiyanar Kalaviyalurai, on the Iraiyanar Akapporul, a work of akam grammar dealing with the love life of the Tamils.[7](https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP1217-1-305) The base work states its subject in 60 sutras.[7](https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP1217-1-305) In this commentary Nakkirar referred to the Tamil academies, and it contains the first recorded account of the history of the three Sangams, the traditional literary academies of Madurai.[7](https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP1217-1-305) • [5](https://tamilnation.org/literature/krishnamurti/02sangam) A palm-leaf manuscript of the work with Nakkirar's commentary survives, with leaves 16 and 22 missing.[7](https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP1217-1-305)
## Political influence
His commentary contains the first recorded account of the three-Sangam tradition.[7](https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP1217-1-305)
## Hagiographic tradition
In the account told of the Pandyan king Shenbaga Maran, the king offered a thousand gold coins to anyone who could resolve whether the fragrance of a woman's hair was natural; Nakkirar declared the premise of the composition faulty, saying women's hair is fragrant only through perfumes and flowers.[3](https://www.shaivam.org/devotees/nakkirar-history)
## Historians' assessment: date and identity
The tradition followed by the Shaiva hagiographies dates the poet of the last Sangam to the 2nd century AD.[3](https://www.shaivam.org/devotees/nakkirar-history) • [4](https://www.thiruvarul.net/posts/nakkeerar) The Tamil Virtual Academy database attributes both Pattuppattu poems to one Nakkirar,[6](https://www.tamilvu.org/tdb/titles_cont/lite/html/n_keerar.htm) and the Pattuppattu list gives both to his name.[5](https://tamilnation.org/literature/krishnamurti/02sangam)
## Legacy
His Tirumurukarruppatai remains the first poem of the Pattuppattu.[3](https://www.shaivam.org/devotees/nakkirar-history)
## References
1. neTunalvATai of nakkIrar, Project Madurai. https://www.projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/utf8/pmuni0070.html
2. Nakkirar: definition, Wisdom Library. https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/nakkirar
3. Nakkeerar History, Shaivam.org. https://www.shaivam.org/devotees/nakkirar-history
4. நக்கீரதேவ நாயனார், Thiruvarul.net. https://www.thiruvarul.net/posts/nakkeerar
5. History of Tamil Literature, C. R. Krishnamurti, Tamil Nation. https://tamilnation.org/literature/krishnamurti/02sangam
6. நக்கீரர், Tamil Virtual Academy literature database. https://www.tamilvu.org/tdb/titles_cont/lite/html/n_keerar.htm
7. இறையனார் களவியல் - நக்கீரர் உரையுடன், Endangered Archives Programme, British Library. https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP1217-1-305
8. tirumurukARRuppaTai of nakkIrar, Project Madurai. https://www.projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/utf8/pmuni0067.html
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Asian history › India and South Asia › Post-Mauryan kingdoms (200 BC to AD 320) › Satavahanas, Deccan, and Tamilakam*
*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026*
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