Bogar

Bogar or Bhogar or Boganathar has been described in varying traditions as either a South Indian siddhar who lived sometime between 550 and 300 BCE.^[1] Bogar went from Tamil Nadu to China and taught about enlightenment, he mentioned that one of his songs "Bogar 7000, song 6". There are those who consider him to have been a Chinese Taoist.^[2] Bogar is considered as a contemporary of Thirumoolar. Samadhi for Bogar is reported in at least six places in Tamil Nadu.

It is said that Bogar created the image of Murugan at the hill temple in Palani from an alloy made from nine metals. He also established the temple for Murugan in Kathirgamam, Sri Lanka. There is no statue of Muruga, but only a copper plate with manthras written.^[3] The priests of Palani Murugan temple were said to have been the descendants of Pulipanni, one of Bogar's students, until the sixteenth century.^[4]

According to siddha medicine documents, Bogar was the discoverer of an elixir of immortality. The Pharmacognosy is the best of his treatises. His other works are on yoga, archery and a glossary on medicine.^[5]

Notes

1. White, David Gordon (1998). The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India. University of Chicago Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-0226894997.
2. Lal, Mohan (1992). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: sasay to zorgot. Sahitya Akademi. p. 4093. ISBN 8126012218.
3. Template:Babaji By M.GovindasnCite book
4. Clothey, Fred W.; A.K. Ramanujan (1978). The many faces of Murugan̲: the history and meaning of a South Indian god. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 228–229. ISBN 978-90-279-7632-1. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
5. Indian Psychiatric Society (2002). Indian Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 44. Indian Psychiatric Society. p. 167.