Śaiva Siddhānta teaches that God, souls and bonds are three eternal realities. Souls, bound by impurity, karma and māyā, are freed by Śiva’s grace through ritual and devotion, attaining equality with Śiva but not identity. Its Tamil branch draws on the hymns of the Nāyaṉār saints.
Śaiva Siddhānta
A dualist tradition of Śaiva theology and ritual, influential especially in Tamil South India.
Also: Shaiva Siddhanta