Kambar

Tradition says Kambar was born at Thiruvazhundur (Therazhundur) on the banks of the Kaveri in the Chola country, and he is usually placed in the twelfth century. Sadaiyappa Vallal of Thiruvennainallur honoured and supported him. It is said that Kambar never forgot this kindness and named his patron once in every thousand verses of his Ramayana.

Taking the Sanskrit Ramayana of Sage Valmiki as his source, Kambar sang the great Tamil epic he called Iramavataram, "the descent of Rama", known to all as the Kamba Ramayanam. Its six books hold more than ten thousand verses, and in them Rama is not only a noble man but Lord Vishnu himself come down to earth. Tamil sayings keep his fame alive: "In learning, Kambar is the greatest", and "Even the tethering post in Kamban's house will sing verse." Bharathiyar sang: "Among the poets we know, none like Kamban, like Valluvar, like Ilango was ever born anywhere on this earth."

Beside the great epic, Kambar sang a few shorter devotional works. One is the Saraswathi Andhadhi, in praise of Kalaimagal, the queen of learning. Its first invocation verse, "Aaya kalaigal arubaththu naanginaiyum", is still recited in Tamil homes and schools and at every Saraswathi Puja. Another is the Sadagopar Andhadhi, in praise of Nammalvar, who sang the Thiruvaimozhi. The Erezhupathu, the Thirukkai Vazhakkam and the Silai Ezhupathu are also traditionally ascribed to him.