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Rh They were Siva, Vishnu, Balarama ind Muruga. In his later life, however, this writer became a Saiva and coinposed a poem in praise of Murugan, for which he was canonized as one of the Saints of the Saiva sect.

This was probably a period of eclecticism, since the Vedic and the Puranic gods had not yet been subjected to the process of separation, but were in a nebulous form. Besides the four gods mentioned above the Vedic deities Indra, Yama, Varuna, Soma, Aditya, Rudra, Vasu and Marut had been adored or respected even at that time by the Aryan immigrants, Nakkirar tells us that the first four were 'great gods' (16 pouC516 Q Suqi), while the rest were divided into thirty-three deities as follows–Aditya, 12; Rudra, 11; Vasu, 8; and Marut, 2. These were subsequently increased to thirty-three crores during the Puranic period.

beba Dlw Doo su u9Q.T eloi.-Nak. நால்வேறு தேவரு நலத்தகு சிறப்பிற்

LITACQUM C Sun LUUGI ULIGH.-Mani. Greater attention was also paid to sacrifices both by the Brahmans and kings, the latter chiefly providing funds for their performance, as they had believed that the prosperity of the country depended mainly on such sacrifices. The following quotations will bear testimony to the prevalence of this belief:(1) அந்தி யந்தண ரருங்கட னிறுக்கு

us & alasco-Pur.