(1) Tiruppugazh: As Arunagiri was ordained by Lord Murugan to sing His glories, the Saint's main work is the Tiruppugazh songs. Tiru is God or Divine, and Pugazh is glory. Hence, true to the title, it is primarily the glory of God that is sung in these verses which are said to be 16,000 in number, though only about 1,300 are available now. Even from these one can get a glimpse of the extraordinary capacity of the Saint. These Tiruppugazh songs contain information on different subjects like religion, art, music and literature; the different systems of Yoga like Bhakti, Jnana, Raja, Kundalini, Hatha, etc. Though Lord Murugan is the sole Object of praise, each Tiruppugazh being addressed to Him and ending with 'Perumale', etc., Arunagiri so dexterously brings in all other deities like Vishnu, Brahma, Siva, Vinayaka, Lakshmi, Sarasvati, Parvati, Kali, Rama, Krishna, etc., in the capacity of their relationship to Skanda as this or that, and thus glorifies everyone of them. In so doing, Arunagiri brings in innumerable anecdotes, incidents and episodes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Srimad-Bhagavata, Periya Puranam, Skanda-Puranam, etc. It is believed that, apart from the purpose of turning the minds of people from sensuality to religion and devotion, the Avatara of Arunagiri heralded a new era of religious unity, tolerance and understanding between the Saivites and Vaishnavites, through his Tiruppugazh songs which, in glorifying Lord Skanda, praise Him as the son of Siva, Uma Devi, etc., as also the son-in-law of Vishnu, Lakshmi, etc., thus bringing about a harmony between the two sects. Indeed this is no small achievement. This praise of all Gods and Goddesses is one of the outstanding features of Arunagiri's Tiruppugazh songs, and is rarely seen in the works of any single saint or poet of the Tamil country.

Another salient feature is the free employment of Sanskrit words, phrases and even complete lines in the Tiruppugazhs and also in the Kandar Alankaaram, which exhibits not only Arunagiri's mastery over that language but also his skill to blend it with Tamil, and thus show that the two languages are not incompatible with each other.

The Tiruppugazh songs are in Santham metre and Arunagiri is the pioneer of this type of poems in the Tamil language.

lxviii If the available 1,300 and odd Tiruppugazhs themselves disclose so much of the superhuman skill of Arunagiri and his vast range of knowledge in different fields, we can imagine the mine of information and wisdom that could be inherited by us if all the 16,000 songs were to be available to us. Also, it is quite possible that more authentic clues or even definite information might become available on the Saint's life.

(2) Kandar Alankaaram: This is a work of 107 verses. As the title suggests, it gives a grand description of the Divine personality of Lord Skanda from Feet to Head, and His adventurous deeds, as also descriptions of His consorts, Valli and Deivayanai, His Vahana (vehicle), the Peacock, and the Cock. The language or style of the verses is also dramatic in character, kindling the spirit of emotion, or evoking enthusiasm, or admonishing with words jolting and piercing in their effect, such as:

"Is one to study the poems of Vel-Murugan, which free one from rebirth, at the last moment when the terrible Yama, fierce in nature, throws his noose on one's neck and drags?"

"By the touch of the wind created by the movement of the plumage of the Peacock of Lord Murugan, the mount Meru shook; by the footsteps of the Peacock, mountains crumbled to dust; and the seas, filled with this dust, became raised grounds."

"Due to the motion of the Cock's wings, the oceans tore away, the sky broke, the stars dropped and the mountains crumbled."

"O Lord Yama! I am the devotee of the Lord (Skanda) of Tiruchchendur. I have the 'Avirodha' sword of Wisdom before which nothing can stand, with which I shall attack you and put you down with your weapons of 'Sula' and 'Danda'. Come close to me and see (what happens to you), if you dare!"

"O mind! Knowing the transitory nature of wealth, when will you go beyond pleasure and pain? You do not repeat the Names of the Lord, as Vel-Murugan, Vel, etc. How do you hope to get Mukti or liberation?"

"O Hero (Muruga) who destroyed Surapadma! Though I might be immersed in sex, I shall not forget Thy Vel!"

"By the touch of the Feet of Murugan, Brahma's written words on my head (fate) have been wiped out!"

"To Siva, the ornament is a garland of skulls; to Vishnu, the Tulasi-garland; to the Feet of Murugan, the crown of the Devas' heads and the Kadamba-flower garland; and to the Vel, the ocean, Surapadma and the Krauncha mountain."

"O Yama! I am in the presence of Lord Murugan. If you oppose me, I shall cut you with the Shakti-sword in my hand and make you run away. Therefore, trace your way back."

lxix "Learned men will say: 'The body is perishable, wealth is transitory.' But if one approaches them for charity, they will quietly slip away. These are the people who have no devotion to Vel-Murugan. Wonderful is their wisdom!"

"O Yogis! There is no use of torturing the body through Hatha Yoga. Knowing what Siva-Yoga is through the Upadesa of Murugan, if you become 'silent', you will attain Mukti."

"O Yogis who do hard Yoga-practices! If you meditate on the Lotus-Feet of the Beloved of Valli Devi (Lord Murugan), you shall easily attain Mukti."

(3) Tiru Vaguppu: This is a work with 25 sections, each one specially devoted to portray the greatness of the different aspects of or matters connected with Lord Murugan, --- His Feet, His Devotees' Group, His principal weapon Vel, His consort Valli, His twelve divine hands, His eye's grace-glance, Arunagiri's Tiruppugazh, etc. Unlike the other works, since each section deals with a particular subject, it is called 'Tiru-Vaguppu'. Vaguppu means section or a group of verses and Tiru means Divine or pertaining to the Divine.

It is held by some that the first 18 sections are only Arunagiri's and that the remaining sections are later interpolations.

(4) Kandar Anthaathi: This is a work of 100 verses. Each verse is of four lines and mostly all the lines of every verse begin with the same words with, of course, different meanings. Antha means end and Aathi means beginning, and Anthaathi is a particular type of work wherein the last word or phrase of the previous verse forms the beginning of the next verse, --- the Antha or end of a verse is the Aathi or beginning of the following verse.

It is believed that this work was the outcome of the literary contest between the learned but arrogant Villiputturar and the devout and divine-inspired Arunagiri. The condition was, it is said, that Arunagiri should compose Anthaathi songs without interruption and Villiputturar should at once give their meaning, and he who failed to do so would have to accept defeat. As it was composed mainly for the purpose of a literary competition, the language and style are so hard as to baffle even learned scholars, and one can imagine their toughness from the fact that Villiputturar who had won over all the Tamil poets and Pundits of his time failed even to decipher the 54th song whose four lines comprising 97 letters are composed of letters of only the Tha-Varga, i.e., Tha, Thaa, Thi, Thii, Thu, Thuu, etc. Only Arunagiri could give its meaning and even to this date no one attempts to comment on it, except to reproduce Arunagiri's word-to-word meaning.

(5) Kandar Anubhuti: It is a work of 51 verses. It is held in high esteem as a Mantra-Sastra and as the crowning glory of Arunagiri's works, because of its high spiritual value and depth. The verses are short, rather the smallest of all the works of Arunagiri, but they are the most sublime. As the title suggests, it is a work on (the attainment of) God-Experience. It is a philosophical treatise on

lxx Advaitic Realisation. Much need not be said about it, as the present work is devoted to its exposition.

There are certain editions of the Kandar Anubhuti with 100 verses, but the last 49 verses are generally rejected as later additions by someone and not Arunagiri's own words.

(6) Vel Viruttam: This is a work of 10 poems. The Vel is glorified by Arunagiri in all his works in a scattered manner. Not being satisfied with them, Arunagiri seems to have chosen to dedicate a small work exclusively to sing the praises, glory, greatness and the valorous achievements of the Vel.

(7) Mayil Viruttam: Mayil means Peacock, -- the Vahana or vehicle of the Lord. This work, like the Vel Viruttam, is devoted to the glorification of the Peacock which has also been described in Arunagiri's different works. This also is a work of 10 poems.

(8) Seval Viruttam: Seval means Cock; and it is the banner-symbol of Lord Murugan. This work consists of 11 poems and deals with the greatness of the banner which is also described in a scattered manner in the other works of the Saint.

(9) Tiru Ezhu Kootrirukkai: This is a single poem; it comes under the category of Chitra-Kavi; it consists of numbers one to seven in ascending and descending orders (as 1; 1-2-1; 1-2-3-2-1; 1-2-3-4-3-2-1; etc.) and is capable of being portrayed or encased in a drawing. It is a rare piece of work, the like of which is composed by a few poets only.