The Life
Perumizhalai Kurumbar was born in the Kurumba (shepherd) community at Perumizhalai and lived by rearing sheep and weaving thick woollen blankets, all the while devoted to Shiva. He revered the saint Sundarar as his guru and, through long and intense devotion, attained the eight yogic siddhis. By these powers he came to know that Shiva had resolved to recall Sundarar to His divine abode and grant him liberation. Unable to bear the thought of life without his beloved guru, Kurumbar willed his own soul from his body and reached the feet of Shiva even before Sundarar himself. Sekkizhar celebrates this selfless love for the guru, through which he gained liberation and a place among the Lord's servants. His guru puja is kept in the month of Aadi under the star Chithirai.