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THE STORY of SAIVA SAINTS
PROEM
Suntharamurthy Swamigal is one of the four great Saiva Saints. He was also known by the name Vanthondar. By the grace of the Lord he improvised a pathigam called Thiruththondaththogai (containing 11 stanzas). This contains the names of all Saiva Saints contemporary and prior to Suntharar. One Nambi Andar Nambi who lived during the reign of Rajaraja I was a native of Thirunaraiyur near Chidambaram and he wrote a minor poem called Tiruththondar Thiruvanthathi containing 89 stanzas. It relates the story of all Saints mentioned by Suntharar in his Thiruththondaththogai, allotting one stanza for each saint in the order related by Suntharar. Following the above mentioned poem, Sekkizhar, the renowned minister and litterateur during the time of Kulothunga II sang the well known Thiruththondar Puranam popularly known as Periya Puranam describing vividly the history of all Saivite Saints in 4253 stanzas. Umapathi Sivacharya the fourth of the Santhana Kuravars (Saiva Acharyas who propagated the Saiva Siddhanta Philosophy) summarised the above said elaborate Periyapuranam in 76 stanzas. (We also find the history of those Saivite Saints related in precision in a minor poem called Tiruththondar Satakam which contains about 100 stanzas.
Following the work of Umapathi Sivacharya, the stories of the Saints are narrated in the following few pages as briefly as possible.
1. SUNTHARAMURTHI SWAMIGAL
Suntharar's father was Sadayanar and mother Isai Gnaniyar. While he was playing with a toy cart at Thirunavalar, a
