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Rh importance. Tamil religious literature is replete with descriptions of Hindu shrines visited by the Saints, who composed on the spot hymns about them. Among the towns of religious celebrity come first Gokarnam and Tirucchengunrur (near Quilon). These are seats of famous Siva shrines which were visited by the Tamil saints Appar and Sambandar in the seventh century. Tiruvanjaikulam seems to be a later one, because only one saint, Sundarar, a contemporary of the Chera king Cheraman Perumal sang of it. Among the Vaishnava shrines of the Tamil-Malayalam country Tirumuzhikalam, Tirunavoy, and Tiruvallavazh, were visited by Tirumangai Alvar about A.D. 750 ; Nammalvar (A.D. 920) mentions in addition to these Trivandram, Tiruvanparisaram, Tirukatkarai, Tirupuliyur, Tiruchengunrur, Tiruvanvandur, Tiruvattaru, Tirukkadittanam and Tiruyaranvilai. Kulasekhara Perumal has sung only Vittuvakkod. The Vishnu shrine at Tiruchengunrur could have come into existence only after the time of Tirumangai Alvar, that is after A. D. 750.

This last town which was built on the Chittar river was an important Brahman settlement in the days of Nammalvar (A. D. 920) wherein, as described by him, 3,000 Brahmans lived.—அமர்ந்த சீர் மூவாயிரவர் வேதியர்கள் தம்பதி (VIII, iv. 10.) We have therefore every reason to believe that the Nambudri (or Nambi-sri, Nambi-tiru or Nambi, Tamil நம்பி meaning ‘a