Mayon

The 'dark god' of Sangam Tamil religion, tutelary deity of the pastoral mullai landscape and the most frequently named god of the Sangam corpus, accorded supreme (paramporuḷ) status in the Paripāṭal; later identified with Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa but Dravidian in conception.

Domains

• mullai pastoral land
• supreme reality

Powers

• Preside over the pastoral mullai country
• Create, sustain, and dissolve the universe

Epithets

• மாயோன் tamil · Māyōṉ · epithetThe dark one; tutelary deity of the mullai (pastoral) landTolkāppiyam, Poruḷatikāram (Māyōṉ as the mullai deity); Paripāṭal (primary)
• மால் tamil · Māl · epithetThe great/dark god; the Tamil ViṣṇuParipāṭal; Tiruvāymoḻi of Nammāḻvār (Tamil Vaishnava bhakti) (primary)
• திருமால் tamil · Tirumāl · cultThe holy dark/great one; sacred name of Viṣṇu in TamilDivya Prabandham of the Āḻvārs; Paripāṭal (primary)
• நெடியோன் Tamil · Neṭiyōṉ · literarythe tall one / the far-reachingSangam corpus; Paripāṭal (primary)

Relations

• sibling: KorravaiReciprocal of tamil_korravai.sibling — In the hunters' hymn of the Cilappatikaram the war goddess is hailed as the younger sister of dark Māyōn, wearing his emblems beside Shiva's.Silappatikāram, Vēṭṭuva Vari (canto 12) (primary)
• equated with: VishnuMāyōṉ 'the dark one' of the pastoral mullai is identified with Viṣṇu-Kṛṣṇa in the Paripāṭal and feeds the Āḻvārs; the Tamil god's cowherd intimacy precedes and colours the Sanskrit reception.Paripāṭal, hymns to Tirumāl (Māyōṉ) (primary); Friedhelm Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti: The Early History of Kṛṣṇa Devotion in South India (1983) (secondary)

Sources

• existence: Tolkāppiyam; Paripāṭal (Sangam corpus) (primary)