Who are the Siddhas?
In the Tamil language the root word for siddha, is ‘ chit’, meaning ‘consciousness’. The person abiding as consciousness is called as ‘Chittar’. Later they came to be called as ‘Siddhas’ based on the root word ‘Siddhi’. In ancient South India these saints or divine people had super natural powers that were 8 in number viz., Anima, Karima, Llagima, Praapthi, Prakannmiyam, Vasithuvam and Easathuvam. They were known followers of the Shiva Cult. Even though there may have been thousands of Siddhas in this lineage, 18 Siddhas are considered the main founders of this mystic cult housing all dimensions. There does seem to be a controversy on who formed the group of these 18 Moola Varga Siddhas. It is probable that originally they were only 18 in number and whoever followed their philosophy and wrote book on their line of thinking were also called as Siddhars.
